Landmark report calls for removal of LGBTQ+ discrimination exemptions for Australia’s religious schools

Blanket exemptions allowing religious schools to discriminate against staff and students on the basis of sexuality and gender identity should be repealed, a key report to the federal government has recommended.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said on Thursday the government would seek to “enhance protections” against discrimination in an effort to bring the country together.

On Wednesday, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, revealed the federal government had drafted two bills in response to the commission’s report which was handed to Dreyfus in December.

Jacinta Collins, the National Catholic Education Commission’s executive director, said the recommendations would “severely limit” how religious schools operate and teach if adopted by the government.

“It’s disappointing that they overlook the concerns of religious leaders and the high regard parents hold for the ethos and nature of their schools,” Collins said.

Bilal Rauf, a spokesperson for the Australian National Imams Council, said there was a “more pressing need” for religious discrimination protections where none exist.