Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment (Equality in Treatment in Religious Schools) Bill 2026

Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (10:14): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I rise today to introduce the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment (Equality in Treatment in Religious Schools) Bill 2026. Most Australians would be surprised that under federal law today, a religious school or university can still sack a teacher or expel a student simply because they are gay, transgender, divorced or pregnant.

State protections vary, but federal law still allows it. Stories Today, I want to share three stories. Karen Pack, who is in the gallery today, is an ordained minister and was a senior lecturer at Morling College, a Baptist college in Sydney.

The college itself called her an 'excellent and committed educator' with a 'deep and abiding faith'. She was fired in April 2020 after getting engaged to her same-sex partner. In her words: For most people, announcing their engagement means congratulations.

For me it meant getting fired. Karen still has a deep and abiding faith. Her sexuality does not erase that.

James Elliot-Watson is also here today. He was a model high-school student at a Christian school in Sydney and had been told he was a great candidate for prefect. But when he told a staff member he was struggling with his sexuality, he was threatened with expulsion and with being outed to his parents.

His opportunity to become a prefect was withdrawn. Sam Johnstone was a vice-principal at a Catholic school in Tasmania. After a difficult marriage break-up, he began confiding in a female colleague who showed him support.

When he disclosed this to the school out of caution, he was stood down as the school found he could not be a leader because his marriage was not annulled. He told the Tasmanian parliamentary inquiry, despite no finding of professional wrongdoing: I was treated as though I was morally compromised … when … I needed support and care. As Sam's story shows, it is not only LGBTQIA+ Australians who are subject to this discrimination.

This bill removes the exemption in the Sex Discrimination Act that allows this, while preserving the ability for religious schools to both hire staff members based on faith and promote staff to some leadership positions, based on faith. Precedent These exemptions have already been removed in state and territory law, to varying degrees, but there are no national standards.

The variety of experiences in these jurisdictions shows that religious schools can continue to thrive, with greater protections. The Australian Law Reform Commission's 2024 review found that religious schools could still maintain their ethos without this exemption. What the bill does This bill strikes a balance between faith and fairness.

At its heart, section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act is repealed in its entirety and replaced with a far narrower provision. For students, the exemption is removed entirely, with a clause to put this beyond doubt. No student should ever again be treated the way that James was.

The staff exemption is also removed. In its place, institutions may preference staff on the basis of faith at two points: initial employment, and promotion to senior leadership roles such as principal, vice-principal, religious education teacher, chaplain, or a role with comparable religious responsibility. But preferencing is not a licence to discriminate.

A school can choose a candidate because of their faith. It cannot fire someone because of their sexuality. In section 23, protection is extended to boarding houses and accommodation, with existing exemptions for single-sex accommodation remaining.

Section 37 is amended so that schools cannot fall back on the general religious body exemption. Protections are also extended to a person's associates, as under the Disability and Racial Discrimination Act. This means a child cannot be treated differently just because she has two mums.

Finally, amendments to the Fair Work Act ensure its separate religious exemptions cannot be used to get around these changes. How we got here In 2022, the now Prime Minister committed that a future Labor government would: act to protect all students from discrimination on any grounds; and protect teachers from discrimination at work, whilst maintaining the right of religious schools to preference people of their faith in the selection of staff.

Since 2016 there have been 10 inquiries, more than 260 hearings and consultations and more than 70,000 submissions on religious discrimination and the removal of exemptions from the Sex Discrimination Act. More than four years on, we still have no legislation. This bill gives the government the opportunity to keep their promise.

Conclusion Many students have wonderful, formative experiences at religious schools. Many LGBTQIA+ students come out to their friends and teachers in these schools and are accepted. But, as we have heard today, this is not everyone's experience.

And the law as it stands sends a message well beyond the school gate. It says that a teacher can lose their job for marrying the person they love, which has been legal since 2017. It says that a young person can be afraid to be honest with their friends and their trusted teachers about who they are, at the very time in their life when they are working that out.

As a country, we are diverse. We have a variety of practices, of beliefs, of religions and of social norms to which we are all entitled. Religion is deeply personal and religious schools are an integral part of our education system.

But we also have shared Australian values, and one is that no-one should be discriminated against because of who they are. Another is that the first duty of a school is to the wellbeing of its students; it is where they are protected, can grow and can discover who they are without fear. These exemptions, as written, uphold neither.

Australians expect equality in front of the law, not least from those institutions that are partly funded by taxpayers. Getting this balance right is not easy, but our laws need to be applied fairly across our country. I think there is a practical and sensible pathway through this and I welcome working with the government and colleagues across the House to do this.

I believe there is a path that this parliament could unite around. Finally, I'd like to thank, firstly, the people who have told me their stories—the ones I've spoken about and others—because that has informed, and I brought this bill to the House because of those experiences. I also thank Equality Australia for their tireless advocacy and for working with us on this, and every student, teacher and family who has shared their story with others.

Karen and James, thank you for being here, and thank you for your courage. I commend this bill to the House.