Australia bill targets LGBTQ+ discrimination in religious schools
Allegra Spender has introduced a bill to strengthen LGBTQ+ protections in Australian religious schools and universities, renewing calls for federal action.
An Australian MP has introduced legislation aimed at stopping religious schools from discriminating against LGBTQ+ students and staff, renewing pressure on the government to strengthen protections that have been promised for years.
Independent MP Allegra Spender introduced the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment (Equality in Treatment in Religious Schools) Bill 2026 in the House of Representatives on 12 October. The bill seeks to remove existing federal exemptions that allow religious schools and universities to discriminate against people in certain circumstances because they are gay, transgender, divorced or pregnant.
LGBTQ+ rights organisation Equality Australia has welcomed the proposal and urged the government to support it, arguing that no student or teacher should have to hide their identity to keep their place in an educational community.
What would the bill change?
Under current federal law, religious educational institutions can rely on exemptions that allow discrimination in some circumstances involving students and employees. Spender’s bill would remove the exemption for students and narrow the rules applying to staff, while retaining the ability of religious institutions to prefer candidates of their faith for certain positions.
The proposal follows years of debate over how to balance religious freedom with protections against discrimination. Spender said the changes would allow religious schools to maintain their ethos without giving them a broad legal right to dismiss employees or exclude students because of their identity.
The bill also highlights the experiences of people who say they have been affected by the current rules. In parliament, Spender described the case of Karen Pack, a Baptist college lecturer who said she was dismissed after becoming engaged to her same-sex partner, and James Elliot-Watson, a student who said he faced the threat of expulsion after discussing his sexuality.
Their experiences underline why campaigners argue that stronger national protections are needed, rather than leaving people’s rights dependent on the policies of individual institutions or the rules applying in different states.
Will the bill become law?
The legislation has been introduced but has not passed, so the existing federal framework remains in place. Its prospects will depend on whether Spender can secure enough support in parliament, with Equality Australia urging the government to act on Labor’s 2022 commitment to address discrimination affecting students and teachers.
The organisation argues that the proposal offers a practical way to strengthen equality while allowing religious schools to continue selecting staff for certain roles on the basis of faith. The debate is therefore not simply about whether religious schools can retain their identity, but about where the law should draw the line between religious freedom and discrimination.
For LGBTQ+ students, teachers and their families, the outcome could have a lasting impact on whether educational settings provide equal treatment and a safe environment. The bill puts that question back before federal politicians and gives parliament another opportunity to address protections that advocates say have been delayed for too long.
Image credit: Mick Tsikas/AAP
