ARTICLE · 15 JULY 2020

Religious Discrimination Bill – Hard cases make bad law

Stacks Law Firm

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The Religious Discrimination Bill aims to eliminate discrimination of people on the basis of religious belief or activity.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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In 2019, the Attorney-General, Christian Porter, released a draft Religious Discrimination Bill aimed at eliminating discrimination against people on the grounds of their religious belief or activity within their public life.

The religious reform package includes the following three bills; Religious Discrimination Bill 2019, Religious Discrimination (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019 and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Freedom of Religion) Bill 2019.

Following the release of the draft bill, Mr Porter reiterated that the draft bill was aimed to be a shield against discrimination, rather than a sword, adding that: "The laws will protect people from being discriminated against but will not give them a licence to discriminate against other people, or engage in harassing or vilifying speech".

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