The Institute for Civil Society supports the Religious Discrimination Bill and accompanying Bills as a long overdue protection of people of faith and their organisations from being discriminated against on the ground of their religious belief or religious activity. In January 2022, ICS made a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into
PDF available here. The Bill’s strengths It provides for the first time national protection for individuals against discrimination on grounds of their religious belief or lawful religious activity in many fields of public life (like employment, education, accommodation, provision of goods or services). Currently there is no protection against religious discrimination in NSW or (except
Mark Sneddon and Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker discuss the necessity of protections for religious freedom, the many worrying recent anti-religious legal and political developments and the fundamental importance of religious tolerance in Australian history.
An all-party NSW Parliamentary Joint Select Committee Report has made detailed recommendations for a NSW Government Bill to protect people and organisations from discrimination based on their religious belief or activity.[1] The Committee’s Report deserves strong support. Federal, State and Territory anti-discrimination laws all prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation and
Victoria set to create the broadest and harshest limits on free speech and access to advice, health care, counselling and prayer for same-sex attracted and gender dysphoric people A PDF version of this brief is available here. Summary The Victorian Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020 started with a good idea of banning coerced
A PDF of this document is available here and a summary here. A. Summary of Issues with the Bill The Bill’s bans are far too broad and make beneficial conduct and practices illegal This Bill has been introduced in response to reports by people of practices they experienced as harmful and traumatic (at the time or later) which were
The Andrews Government’s Conversion and Suppression Practices Ban Bill started with an idea many would support – banning non-consensual aversion therapy for sexual orientation. But it totally jumps the shark by making illegal (and often criminal) a very wide range of conduct directed towards a person (from mere conversation to counselling to therapy) by anyone
ICS supports NSW Bill on Religious Discrimination and unpicks erroneous criticism that the Bill preferences religion. Mark Sneddon appeared before the Committee on 23 October to speak to the submission. PDF available here. The need for Religious Discrimination Legislation in NSW now Australians who regularly practise their religion are in a minority. Those who follow
Australians who regularly practise their religion are in a minority. Those who follow traditional religious practices on matters like sexual ethics, marriage, sanctity of human life, prayer and fasting or religious dress are an unpopular minority in some quarters. Like other minorities, they experience discrimination, but they don’t have the same legal protection. All federal,
ICS believes that the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill (RDB2) is a considerable improvement on the First Exposure Draft. We welcome the fact that a number of our concerns that were raised in our submission on the First Exposure Draft have been addressed. However, a number of those concerns remain unaddressed and
