Everything You Need to Know About the Religious Discrimination Bill

What is it, what are the consequences, and who’s for and against?

Federal Parliament had its first sitting of 2022, and it was a spicy one.

On the agenda was the government’s religious discrimination bill, which has been stewed upon for several years now.

The Coalition promised the introduction of the bill after the same-sex marriage debate in 2017, and it was taken to the last election. A first draft was released in 2019.

It’s been highly contested by members belonging to the Opposition and Coalition itself. We’ve broken it all down for you, because there’s a lot going on.

What is the religious discrimination bill?

The bill has the intention of protecting people of faith or religious belief from ‘discrimination laws’.

This is different to being protected from discrimination itself. Rather, it ensures that “statements of belief” are not considered discriminatory.

For example—if someone expresses a belief which is in accordance with their religion or faith, then it will be tolerated.

That’s so long as the “statement of belief” does not threaten, intimidate, harass, or vilify someone. It also cannot be considered malicious to a “reasonable person”.

What will happen if this bill is passed?

If a religious primary school has a public policy which requires all its students and staff to practise said religion, it could turn away people who don’t.

This would apply to religious hospitals, aged care facilities and many other organisations.

Why is it controversial?

Whilst an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act will ensure students can’t be expelled because of their sexuality, the same does not apply for gender identity.

If a student identifies as non-binary or trans, for example, they will not be protected from being expelled from a school which holds religious beliefs.

Similarly, if a patient presents with HIV at a religious hospital, they could be turned away if it’s considered unrepresentative of certain beliefs.

Australia should not be passing any bill that discriminates against anyone - especially against vulnerable children.The #LNP’s Religious Discrimination bill is based on hate. It belongs in the dark ages - not 2022 in Australia.#LNPDisgrace #LGBTQI #ReligiousDiscriminationBill

— Maralyn Parker (@MaralynParker) February 7, 2022

So they'd protect adult feelings over children's right to education. Where have I heard that before?

These guys would ban books and support conversion therapy if they could. Only a few years behind the US right. #auspol #ReligionDiscriminationBillhttps://t.co/ErzwnI7RQ2

— keira (@keira_may) February 7, 2022

On the flip side, some religious people are worried about being sacked for expressing their beliefs, after a provision in the bill was scrapped. The Israel Folau clause would have protected them, but it has been removed from the earlier draft.

Who is supporting the bill?

Most Coalition MPs are toeing the party line and supporting the bill. Some on the more conservative side think it’s already been given too much consideration.

Tasmanian Liberal, Eric Abetz, told ABC reporters “the bottom line is religious freedom does need to be protected and in relation to schooling it ultimately should be up to mums and dads to determine that they seek ethos of the school.”

Who is against the bill?

Some Liberal MPs, like Katie Allen, want to ensure that the amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act is made first, so students are not expelled based on their sexuality. She’s threatening to cross the floor and oppose the legislation otherwise.

Liberal MP Bridget Archer also doesn’t support the bill in its current form, saying "I'm not sure that there's any way to bridge the divide between the bill as it currently looks like and my concerns, so as it is, I'm not sure how I can support it."

In terms of the Labor Opposition, they have been supportive of the legislation but are hanging out for the Coalition to formalise their plans before weighing in.

There’s still much to be debated, along with other bills being pushed through before the Federal election looming this May.

Header image: Nikkei Asia via Twitter / Canva.