Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

The expert panel that conducted the Religious Freedom Review undertook a comprehensive engagement with the community and received over 15,000 submissions. As a result, the government is carefully considering the expert panel's report and will respond to it in due course. The Prime Minister has already announced changes to strengthen protections for students from discrimination by proposing restrictions to the law introduced in 2013 by the previous Labor government, which gave religious schools greater ability to expel students where the school considered that it was necessary according to the doctrines of their religion. Recent misreporting about the proposal and the current law has created unnecessary confusion and anxiety for parents and students alike. The government are currently working on the proposed amendments, and we will consult with the opposition and others to work on a bipartisan basis to provide certainty in this area.