Section 116 of the Australian constitution prohibits the government from “establishing any religion, [. . .] imposing any religious observance, or [. . .] prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust”.
Australia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The right to religious freedom may be limited under certain circumstances “to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” (Article 18).
Specific provisions exist to protect religious freedom at the state and territorial levels. In Tasmania, the state’s constitution specifically guarantees, subject to public order and morality, “freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion”. In Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the right to freedom of religion is protected by their respective human rights statutes, in approximately the same form: a person’s right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief is protected, including the freedom to choose one’s religion and to demonstrate it in public and in private, subject to “such reasonable limits as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom”.
Discrimination on the basis of religious belief and ethno-religious background is explicitly prohibited by law in six of Australia’s eight states and territories. South Australia prohibits discrimination based on religious dress, while New South Wales bans discrimination based on ethno-religious origin. Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory have criminal laws against conduct (including speech) inciting “hatred against, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of” a person or group based on religion or religious activity.
Religious groups are not required to register with the government, but to receive tax-exempt status, they must be a registered charity and apply to the Australia Tax Office.
Education policy is shared between the federal, state and territorial governments. “General religious education” – instruction on world faiths – is permitted, while “special religious education” in the “distinctive beliefs and practices of an approved religious persuasion” is allowed in some jurisdictions, including in some cases, during regular class time.
As a result of a 2017 religious freedom review, the Attorney-General drafted a Religious Discrimination Bill in August 2019, followed by a second draft in December 2019, available for consultation until 31st January 2020. Notable in the proposed legislation are the establishment of a Freedom of Religion Commissioner (Section 46), protection of conscientious objection for health care practitioners (Section 8,6), protection of religious bodies, including schools, to act in accordance with their tenets (Section 11), and a provision that statements of belief do not constitute discrimination, unless they are malicious or likely to “harass, threaten, seriously intimidate or vilify another” (Section 42). Due to coronavirus restrictions, the introduction of the legislation to the Parliament was delayed.
South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT, and Queensland all have laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession to report child sex abuse to police or face imprisonment. Similar legislation was pending in Western Australia, but a parliamentary committee recommended against the provision in September 2020. The laws contravene the Catholic Church’s requirement of absolute secrecy of everything said during confession.
In April 2020, Australia’s High Court unanimously overturned the convictions and sentence of Cardinal George Pell for sexual abuse. Cardinal Pell served 13 months of a six-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2018 for sexual offences against two boys in 1996. Pope Francis received Cardinal George Pell at the Vatican in October 2020.
Several churches were vandalised with anti-Catholic or anti-Pell graffiti in the wake of the acquittal, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne.
In May 2020, Rugby Australia and player Israel Folau reached an out of court settlement after his contract was terminated over statements he made on social media relating to his Christian view of sin. Both sides apologised for any “hurt or harm” they might have caused to the other. For his part, Mr Folau has called for strengthened religious freedom protections, as in Section 42 of the draft Religious Discrimination Bill.
In Western Australia, the Equal Opportunity Commission refused to hear a discrimination case filed by a Christian couple claiming that their application to be foster parents was denied due to their religious views on LGBT issues. The case was referred to the State Administrative Tribunal in February 2020.
The Report on Antisemitism in Australia 2019 by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) recorded 368 anti-Semitic incidents during the period from 1st October 2018 to 30th September 2019. This is nearly the same number as the previous year, but the number of more serious incidents increased, such as direct verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation, and graffiti. The ECAJ report recorded a doubling of anti-Semitic graffiti incidents, from 46 to 95, with messages such as “Kill the Jews”, swastikas and crossed out Stars of David.
The ECAJ continued to observe that incidents frequently occurred around synagogues, particularly on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays and festivals. The report also indicated a correlation between a rise in anti-Semitic incidents and conflicts in the Middle East.
The ECAJ did note “signs of an increasing recognition within the mainstream of Australian society . . . of the rise of in antisemitism” and called for a national database for hate-motivated crimes and other measures.
Physical violence against Jews included a severe assault on a 12-year-old Jewish boy at a public school in Melbourne, resulting in hospitalisation in July 2019. A security guard was assaulted at a Jewish event by a man who said he would “rip your heart out”.
Acts of vandalism included a March 2019 arson attack outside the Jewish building in a Sydney cemetery; “Kill Jews” was etched into the glass door on a train; and swastikas appeared in neighbourhoods of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra.
In a report covering 2016 and 2017 (the most recent available), Islamophobia Register Australia reported 349 incidents, including on-line and verbal abuse. In the case of women victims of such abuse, nearly all wore a hijab. The report noted that most incidents were verbal and that areas where harassment occurred often had “ineffective” security guards or surveillance. The survey also noted that most bystanders were reluctant to intervene, with just 14 per cent of victims reporting that witnesses stepped in.
The security video of a November 2019 physical attack against a pregnant Muslim woman in Sydney by a man who yelled “you Muslims wrecked my mum” sparked outrage across Australia. The man, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was convicted and sentenced to prison in October 2020.
A Muslim family’s car was targeted with Islamophobic graffiti and a swastika. A man caused significant damage inside a Turkish mosque in Sydney in October 2020. The chairman of the Gallipoli Turkish Cultural Foundation said the mosque had become a target for “anti-Muslim or anti-Turk sentiment.”
On a positive note, construction of a mosque in Bendigo (Victoria) began in July 2019 after six years of controversy.
Australians were permitted to attend religious services in November 2020 after more than a hundred days of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government temporarily banned faith leaders from administering last rites or other end-of-life sacraments in person.
It appears that there were no significant new or increased governmental restrictions on religious freedom during the period under review. The adoption of the Religious Discrimination Bill may result in greater protection for some religious believers, particularly with respect to freedom of expression and conscientious objection.
Australia