Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today—and I welcome it—Equality Australia launched their groundbreaking report on LGBTIQ+ discrimination in religious schools. The findings, unfortunately, do suggest this type of discrimination is endemic in religious schools and organisations across Australia, causing significant harm. More than 70,000 students and some 10,000 staff in non-government schools are estimated to be LGBTIQ+, yet LGBTIQ+ students are more likely to attend an independent school that discriminates against them rather than supports them. That's right. They're more likely to attend a school that discriminates against them rather than supports them.

The report includes accounts of students who've been forced out of school or been told they're going to hell. In other cases, teachers have been fired from their jobs or denied promotions. This discrimination is currently protected by our antidiscrimination laws and is out of step with international law and practice in this area. Many of these organisations rely on billions of dollars of public funding but are not required to comply with the same laws when it comes to employment, education and service delivery as other organisations. As my government has acknowledged, reform is needed at a Commonwealth level, and we're calling on senators and members in both chambers to talk to the community and consider these issues. (Time expired)