Former ministers have given evidence in a Supreme Court hearing as IBM tries to stop a State Government lawsuit over the Queensland Health payroll debacle.

The technology giant was contracted in 2007 by the Labor government of the time to set up a new payroll system that went live three years later and saw thousands of staff underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all.

The state launched legal action to recoup some of the $1.2 billion it cost to fix the bungle.

On Tuesday, lawyers for IBM appeared in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in a bid to block the case.

Former health minister Paul Lucas and former public works minster Robert Schwarten were questioned why the Government did not pursue legal action straight away.

Both men said their first priority was getting workers paid and that legal action might have jeopardised that.

Mr Lucas said he was "extremely disappointed" with IBM at the time, but he did not want to sack the company and risk workers not getting paid.

The Barrister acting for IBM, Shane Doyle QC told the hearing the company was cleared of any litigation during an earlier settlement with the state in 2010.

He also argued any failures with the scheme were because the Government was "not able to define and stick to a scope".

But Liam Kelly QC, acting on behalf of the Government, disputed the previous settlement released IBM from any further court action.

He argued the agreement in 2015 did not cover all aspects of the tech giant's involvement in the scheme, and they were still liable.

Mr Kelly claimed IBM were "misleading and deceitful" going into the contract and misrepresented their expertise and ability to deliver the project.

The state is claiming an unspecified amount of damages with the hearing scheduled to run until Thursday.