Tim Nicholls

Not to be confused with Tim Nichols.

The Honourable Tim Nicholls MP
Nicholls in 2023
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland Elections: 2017
In office 6 May 2016 – 12 December 2017
Premier	Annastacia Palaszczuk
Deputy	Deb Frecklington
Preceded by	Lawrence Springborg
Succeeded by	Deb Frecklington
Leader of the Liberal National Party
In office 6 May 2016 – 12 December 2017
Deputy	Deb Frecklington
Preceded by	Lawrence Springborg
Succeeded by	Deb Frecklington
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in Queensland
In office 6 December 2007 – 27 July 2008
Leader	Mark McArdle
Preceded by	Mark McArdle
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Cabinet posts Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Incumbent Assumed office 1 November 2024 Premier David Crisafulli Preceded by Shannon Fentiman Minister for Trade in Queensland In office 3 April 2012 – 14 February 2015 Premier Campbell Newman Preceded by Andrew Fraser Succeeded by Jackie Trad Treasurer of Queensland In office 26 March 2012 – 14 February 2015 Premier Campbell Newman Preceded by Andrew Fraser Succeeded by Curtis Pitt
Shadow cabinet posts Shadow Attorney-General Shadow Minister for Justice In office 16 November 2020 – 28 October 2024 Leader David Crisafulli Preceded by David Janetzki Succeeded by Meaghan Scanlon Shadow Minister for Arts and Major Events In office 6 May 2016 – 15 December 2017 Leader Himself Preceded by Jann Stuckey (Major Events) Ian Walker (Arts) Succeeded by Christian Rowan Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Planning, Small Business, Employment and Trade In office 14 February 2015 – 6 May 2016 Leader Lawrence Springborg Preceded by Tim Mulherin Succeeded by Deb Frecklington (Infrastructure and Trade) Jarrod Bleijie (Employment) Scott Emerson (Small Business) Ian Walker (Planning) Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland In office 23 March 2011 – 24 March 2012 Leader Jeff Seeney Preceded by Lawrence Springborg Succeeded by Tim Mulherin Shadow Treasurer of Queensland In office 12 August 2008 – 24 March 2012 Leader Lawrence Springborg John-Paul Langbroek Campbell Newman Preceded by Bruce Flegg Succeeded by Curtis Pitt Shadow Minister for Transport In office 17 September 2007 – 12 August 2008 Leader Jeff Seeney Lawrence Springborg Preceded by Vaughan Johnson Succeeded by Fiona Simpson
Electorate Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Clayfield Incumbent Assumed office 9 September 2006 Preceded by Liddy Clark Succeeded by
Local government politics Member of the Brisbane City Council In office 2000–2006 Constituency Hamilton Ward
Personal details
Born	(1965-04-06) 6 April 1965 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Liberal National (since 2008)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (until 2008)
Education	Trinity Grammar School Church of England Grammar School
Alma mater	Queensland University of Technology (LLB)
Profession	Solicitor

Timothy James Nicholls (born 6 April 1965) is an Australian politician and a former leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. He served as the Treasurer of Queensland and the Minister for Trade of that state between March/April 2012 and 14 February 2015. He is the member for Clayfield in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and Minister for Health and Ambulance Services in the Crisafulli ministry.

He was originally a member of the Liberal Party, including a stint as its deputy leader, but joined the Liberal National Party in 2008 when the Liberal Party and the National Party merged in Queensland.

Education

Nicholls was educated at Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne and the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane.

He completed a Bachelor of Laws at Queensland University of Technology.

Political career

Nicholls in 2011

Originally a solicitor, Nicholls began his political career as a councillor in the Hamilton ward of the Brisbane City Council, which he held for six years. In 2006, he ran as the Liberal candidate in Clayfield, and defeated incumbent member Liddy Clark, achieving a swing of 3.2 points.

Shortly after being elected to State Parliament, Nicholls was encouraged by party colleagues to stand against Bruce Flegg for the Liberal Party leadership. Initially, he did not have enough support in the eight-member Liberal caucus.

Shortly after the federal election of 2007, Nicholls again stood against Flegg for leadership. Eventually Mark McArdle was offered as a neutral party and he accepted leadership with Nicholls as his deputy.

The leadership dispute was rendered virtually moot when the Queensland Liberal Party and Queensland National Party merged less than a year later to form the Liberal National Party. Nicholls was appointed Shadow Treasurer by Lawrence Springborg and continued to hold that position in John-Paul Langbroek's Shadow Ministry.

When Campbell Newman stood for the leadership of the party in April 2011, Nicholls supported him and was named interim Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Newman retained Nicholls as Shadow Treasurer. After the LNP won the largest majority government in Queensland history at the 2012 state election, Newman named Nicholls as his Treasurer, and he was sworn in on 26 March.

As Treasurer, Nicholls played a prominent role in the Newman government's unsuccessful campaign to privatise a range of state assets.

Leader of the LNP (2016–2017)

Following the state election in 2015 which saw the LNP lose government and several difficult months in parliament, Nicholls challenged Lawrence Springborg for the leadership of the party on 6 May 2016, winning the ballot 22 votes to 19. He was the third person from the Liberal side of the merger to hold the post. After the party suffered a three-seat swing at the 2017 state election, Nicholls announced he would stand down as leader of the party.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services (2024-present)

In January 2025, shortly after assuming office, Nicholls announced an immediate pause on the prescription of puberty blockers (Stage 1 treatment) and cross-sex hormones (Stage 2 treatment) for new patients under 18 with gender dysphoria in Queensland's public health services, pending an independent review of evidence and best practices. The directive, issued by Queensland Health Director-General David Rosengren, exempted existing patients and allowed non-pharmacological support such as counselling, citing "contested evidence" on benefits and risks, including reports of treatments provided to children as young as 12 without adequate oversight.

The policy, the first such ban in an Australian state, faced legal challenge from a parent of a transgender teenager, who argued it was procedurally flawed and politically motivated. On 27 October 2025, the Queensland Supreme Court ruled the directive unlawful, finding Rosengren had failed to conduct required consultations with Hospital and Health Service executives (limited to a 22-minute Microsoft Teams meeting concurrent with Nicholls's media announcement) under the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011. Justice Peter Callaghan set aside the order, describing it as an improper exercise of power, though he did not rule on its substantive merits.

Hours later, on 28 October 2025, Nicholls exercised his ministerial discretion under section 44 of the Act to issue a new directive reinstating the restrictions in substantially the same terms, applying immediately to all public Hospital and Health Services. It mandates multidisciplinary panel approval for any exceptions and prioritises psychological interventions, pending the review's completion (expected November 2025) and a further evidence assessment by January 2026. Nicholls justified the action as necessary "in the public interest" to protect children amid ongoing debates over treatment efficacy. The move has drawn criticism from medical bodies like the Australian Medical Association and LGBTQ+ advocates, who contend it undermines clinical autonomy, evidence-based care, and access for vulnerable youth, potentially exacerbating inequities by pushing families toward private services.

See also

• Shadow ministry of Tim Nicholls

External links

Media related to Tim Nicholls at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website