Queensland’s health minister has used his ministerial powers to reinstate a pause on gender-affirming care for children, despite a court ruling just hours earlier that a ban on the care was unlawful and did not follow proper procedures.

In Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Judge Peter Callaghan ruled in favour of the parent of a transgender teenager who had challenged the legality of the government’s directive.

Counsel acting for the parent, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed there was no proper consultation before the January move by Queensland Health’s director-general Dr David Rosengren. They also claimed the ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy was enforced “at the direction or behest” of Health Minister Tim Nicholls.

Queensland’s ban on puberty blockers and ho

See Full Page