Good news from Queensland

The Hon. Yvette D'Ath, the Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence introduced the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Bill  into the Queensland Parliament on 14 June 2024. This bill is an improved version of the previous Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024 and has corrected many of the concerns that AACS and other faith leaders raised about the introduction of ‘genuine occupational requirement’ restrictions upon employment decisions which would have significantly undermined the ability of religious bodies and schools to employ people in accordance with their faith, 

It was reported by The Guardian that the proposed removal of exemptions for religious schools will not be passed before the October State election.

We are grateful for the Government's response to our advocacy efforts, however, there are still elements in the new Respect at Work bill that risk religious speech and freedoms:

• The prohibition on “hateful” speech remains, with no clear definition of what “hateful” means.
• A new category of “sex-based discrimination” has been created, which is much broader than “sexual discrimination” and could include traditional teaching on sexuality and gender.
• The positive duty to prevent discrimination could see faith-based institutions and schools forced to teach against their beliefs.
• Religious exemptions have not been extended to cover these new sections of legislation, so religious speech and faith-based institutions are not protected.

AACS will continue to advocate for improvements to this Bill as part of the Committee process which is due to report by 2 August 2024. We will provide further information to QLD member schools about how they can contribute to this process when submissions are open.