Smith v. Chief Executive, Queensland Corrective Services & Ors

Lower Court Judgment

29/05/2026 Supreme Court of Queensland (Court of Appeal) (Mullins P, Brown and Bradley JJA)

[2026] QCA 99 

Catchwords

Statutory interpretation – Human Rights – s 22 of the Corrective Services Act 2006 (Qld) – where the appellant is a prisoner who will be 39 years old if released at the date fixed for her eligibility for parole and 41 years old at the end of her sentence – where the appellant applied to undergo a process of egg extraction and freezing under s 22 – meaning of assisted reproductive technology – whether egg extraction and freezing is participating in assisted reproductive technology under s 22 – whether the Court of Appeal should have considered the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) at the outset of interpreting s 22 – whether the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of s 22 should be compatible with human rights pursuant to s 8 of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)