An Australian state is considering the nation’s first ban and jail sentences for so-called gay conversion therapy, a bid that has sparked division more than two years after the country legalised same-sex marriage. The northeastern state of Queensland introduced a bill in November that would prohibit conversion therapy, with its top health official labelling the practice “highly destructive”. Offenders face up to 18 months in jail under the proposal. The bill, if passed, would be the first outright ban on conversion therapy in Australia. Other states have come under pressure to adopt the same ban and the state of Victoria began public consultation on a proposed law in October. A committee in Queensland’s parliament that has been tasked to examine the bill on Friday urged the government to review parts of its proposal to provide clarity on which health services would fall under the ban.