In the director-general’s statement of reasons, obtained five months after the directive was issued, Rosengren said he considered a cabinet submission when deciding to enforce the ban.
It followed allegations that the Cairns Sexual Health Service had delivered “apparently unauthorised” services to 42 paediatric patients, 17 of whom were prescribed stage 1 or stage 2 hormone therapy for gender dysphoria.
Representatives for the family argue the state’s director-general Dr David Rosengren issued the directive at the request of health minister Tim Nicholls. Credit: Matt Dennien
Both parties agreed Rosengren had considered cabinet’s position on a review into gender services at Queensland’s public health facilities and the issues raised at Cairns. But at the core of the legal case is whether the director-general acted at the request of the health minister when enforcing the ban.
Gender-affirming care encompasses a range of treatments, including the use of puberty blockers to prevent the onset of puberty, hormone replacement therapy, mental health support, speech therapy and surgery.
While children seeking hormone therapy can still access treatment privately, it is prohibitively expensive for most families.
A group of about 20 supporters gathered outside Brisbane’s Supreme Court ahead of the hearing, with representatives condemning the government’s ban.
“The government has overstepped, they have not used any due process,” said Magandjin People’s Pride member Piper Valkyrie.
“We know for a fact that they made a captain’s call … and what we want to see is a correction of that misappropriation of the process.”
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Jodie Hall from the Trans Justice Project, said the government was appealing to a small minority “of far-right people who want to bring Trump-style hate and division to Australia”.
“Tim Nicholls, Queensland’s health minister, has catastrophically overreached,” Hall said.
“This is an appalling misuse of the political system to achieve a political outcome where he should be making decisions based on health evidence.”
The health minister said an investigation by an expert psychiatrist was under way and would report back before the end of the year.
“It’s entirely appropriate that we have this pause while we get the review … to make sure that the clinical pathways that are recommended are appropriate and do no harm,” Nicholls said.
A judgment is expected to be handed down next week.
