It is good to see the online publication of Volume 4 of the Australian Journal of Law and Religion. This is a special issue on “Theology and Jurisprudence”.  The table of contents: Volume 4, 2024   The Catholic Modernity of Pope Benedict XVI: Healthy Secularity and Christian Jurisprudence Zachary R. Calo 1  Natural Law with and without God Jonathan Crowe 17  Christian Natural Law and a Foundation for Religious Freedom: Love, the True, and the Good Alex Deagon 34  The Secularisation of Conscience: A Natural Law Critique  Constance Youngwon Lee 57&nb ..read more

The High Court of Australia recently heard an appeal in a case involving an allegation that a Bishop in the Roman Catholic church can be held vicariously liable for an act of child abuse committed by a member of the clergy. The case is Bird v DP (a pseudonym) and I have previously mentioned the earlier stages of the proceedings here and here. I have written a note outlining the arguments being made and offering my view on what I think should be the outcome of the appeal, which can be downloaded here. Here is the summary of the note: In Bird v DP (A Pseudonym) the High Court will address two i ..read more

I have prepared a paper exploring the operation of the NSW Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 in relation to the freedom of churches and other religious groups to continue to provide teaching and guidance based on the tenets of their faith. The Act has received assent but will not commence operation until 3 April 2025. Overall, the Act contains much better protections for religious freedom and the welfare of vulnerable children and young people than similar legislation elsewhere. But there are some areas where it is not clear, and it will require careful consideration by religious groups, as we ..read more

A brief update on two significant challenges to religious freedom which have emerged over the last few days. First, in NSW, the Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024 has been rushed through both Houses of Parliament, receiving final approval on Friday March 22 after an all-night debate in the Legislative Council, and is now awaiting the Royal Assent. I posted about this Bill recently. There I said: Legislation of this sort has been introduced in other jurisdictions around Australia and elsewhere. The aim of banning oppressive and violent practices designed to “convert” someone’s sexual orie ..read more

I am happy to present a guest post today from Associate Professor Mark Fowler, raising more issues of concern from a religious freedom perspective with the recently released proposed Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024 . Dr Mark Fowler is Principal, Fowler Charity Law, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame, School of Law, Sydney and an External Fellow at the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, University of Queensland. The concerns can be broadly grouped as follows: The Bill’s exception for employment by religious institutions would enact the most re ..read more

The NSW government has introduced a Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024 into the Parliament, with the apparent aim of moving it through very quickly. Legislation of this sort has been introduced in other jurisdictions around Australia and elsewhere. The aim of banning oppressive and violent practices designed to “convert” someone’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual is good, of course. But those practices, while they may have existed some time ago, are really no longer around. The problem with these laws now is that their drafting can be so broad that they interfere with the ord ..read more

The Queensland government has released a draft of a proposed new discrimination law for public comment. The proposed Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024 will make some radical changes to Queensland law, and of interest here is that it will seriously impact religious freedom in that State. One of the ways that religious freedom is protected in Australia is through the inclusion in discrimination laws of “balancing clauses” (provisions that balance the right not to be discriminated against, with the important right of religious freedom). But the new Bill will dramatically narrow those clauses. I am pl ..read more

Over the last month there have been three important tribunal decisions (two in the UK, one in Australia) in favour of women who had been disciplined or dismissed or sued for expressing “gender critical” views. This phrase, broadly, refers to those who believe that sex is a biological reality and that someone’s gender aligns with their sex. Allegations of “transgender vilification” or claims that someone’s views on this matter can be a ground for workplace penalties have been common over the last few years. But the three cases I want to mention here (involving social worker Rachel Meade, academ ..read more

Independent MP Mr A H Greenwich last year introduced a private member’s bill called the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 (“the Bill”) into the NSW Parliament. It is understood that time will be allowed for debate on the Bill on February 8, 2024. Freedom for Faith has an excellent overview of the many areas covered by the Bill and why the Bill should not proceed. Most private member’s Bills are not approved, but there is a danger that some MP’s might support some of the provisions of this Bill. In this post I will focus on some of the dangers to religious freedom in NSW if th ..read more

An important decision handed down recently in the Federal Court of Australia rules that part of Victoria’s euthanasia law (the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic)(“VADA 2017”)) is invalid, as it authorises assistance with suicide, which is prohibited by Federal law. The decision, of Abrahams J as a single judge in the Federal Court, is Carr v Attorney-General (Cth) [2023] FCA 1500 (30 November 2023). The implication is that similar provisions of other State and Territory laws are also invalid. The relevant federal law, sections 474.29A and 474.29B of the Criminal Code Act 19 ..read more