Law, Religion, and Heritage Research Program Team: Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission Consultation Paper: ‘Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws’

Law, Religion, and Heritage Research Program Team: Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission Consultation Paper: ‘Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws’

The relationship between religious educational institutions and anti-discrimination laws in Australia has become the subject of extensive political and legal debate. In response to this controversy, on 24 November 2022, the Attorney-General of Australia referred the subject to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) for study. On 27 January 2023, the ALRC produced a consultation paper listing four general propositions and fourteen technical proposals for legislative reform in this area.
In response to the consultation paper, the LRH RPT has prepared the present written submission. It contains three main points. First, that taken as a whole, the positions expressed in the consultation paper are pragmatic, feasible, and strike a reasonable balance between the fundamental rights of religious freedom and equality. Second, that religious educational institutions need better guidance on which staffing roles and activities are subject to protection by antidiscrimination provisions in the proposals. Third, that additional safeguards should be instituted in regard to Proposal 7 so that LGBTIQ+ students are better protected from a pervasive atmosphere of discrimination and hostility that could result from a religious educational institution’s delivery of curriculum content on matters of sexuality and gender. Below, each of these points is discussed in further detail.

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.