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Queensland children are once again shielded from life-altering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones after Health Minister Tim Nicholls reinstated a ban on the drugs, pending an independent review due next month.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls has reinstated a ban on puberty blockers for children only six hours after the Supreme Court overturned a previous freeze aimed at protecting minors across the Sunshine State.

The new directive prevents public doctors from prescribing the life-altering drugs to minors suffering gender dysphoria, and will remain in effect until an independent review is completed.

The Supreme Court ruling, delivered Tuesday morning by Justice Peter Callaghan, had ruled Queensland’s original January pause to be unlawful.

In late January, Queensland Health director‑general David Rosengren issued a statewide freeze on puberty blockers and hormone therapies for new patients under 18. An independent review of “stage one” and “stage two” treatments was launched as part of that freeze.

However, earlier this week, Justice Callaghan overturned Rosengren’s directive, declaring that it lacked proper consultation with hospital executives.

In issuing the ruling, Callaghan made allowance that Mr Nicholls could introduce his own ban “if he is satisfied it is necessary to do so in the public interest”.

Nicholls responded by doing just that, on Tuesday afternoon issuing a written directive to all Queensland Hospital and Health Services, reintroducing the ban on both “stage one” and “stage two” treatments for new patients under 18.

“I have now had an opportunity to consider this issue further and consider the steps available to the government given that we were prepared for an adverse finding,” he told state parliament on Tuesday evening.

Nicholls emphasised that the ban applies to new patients only, leaving ongoing treatment plans uninterrupted.

He issued the directive to all hospital and health services in Queensland with immediate effect.

What are ‘Puberty Blockers’?

Stage one treatments, now halted for all new underage patients across Queensland, involve the use of puberty blockers — drugs that halt the release of sex hormones and inhibit natural puberty, and are the same class of medication used to chemically castrate violent sex offenders, though at lower doses.

Stage two treatments, also paused under Mr Nicholls’ directive, involve cross-sex hormones that permanently alter an adolescent’s body.

Estrogen is used to reduce testosterone in boys and promote breast growth, though it is known to cause infertility and blood clots in some cases.

In girls, testosterone is administered to deepen the voice and increase muscle mass, and may also lead to permanent infertility and other metabolic changes.

The updated ban is expected to shield nearly 500 children who were on the waiting list for the life-altering treatments at the Queensland Children’s Gender Service, which is part of the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

As reported by ABC News, “trans rights supporters were jubilant after Justice Callaghan’s ruling, but their celebrations were short-lived” when Mr Nicholls reinstated the ban.

In issuing the directive, Nicholls highlighted his careful assessment of human rights and public interest, explaining, “I have considered an appropriate human rights and compatibility assessment in this deliberation.”

“I have now had an opportunity to consider this issue further and consider the steps available to the government given that we were prepared for an adverse finding,” he added.

Queensland’s independent review of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for children will inform the state’s future policy on these treatments.

The review is expected to be delivered to the government by the end of next month.

In the wake of the UK’s Cass Review and the WPATH scandal, more than 100 prominent Australian doctors, lawyers, academics and detransitioners have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to halt the chemical castration of children nationwide and conduct an urgent federal public inquiry into so-called “gender-affirming care”.

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Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Unsplash.