Submissions Invited - close on 2 October 2019
The Australian Government invites submissions on a package of legislative reforms on religious freedom. These are the:
- Religious Discrimination Bill 2019
- Religious Discrimination (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2019
- Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Freedom of Religion) Bill 2019.
The draft bills are available here: https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Pages/religious-freedom-bills.aspx
It is important for Australians to have the opportunity to provide comments on these Bills.
The Attorney General’s Department will consider your submissions when developing these Bills before the package is introduced into Parliament.
Provide your submission
Provide your submission to this consultation by emailing it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We prefer you to use the following template for your submission.
- Submission Form – Religious Discrimination Bill 2019 Exposure Draft [PDF 344KB]
- Submission Form – Religious Discrimination Bill 2019 Exposure Draft [DOCX 82KB]
The consultation closes at 5pm AEST 2 October 2019. Late submissions will not be considered.
Use of your information
The information you give will help to develop the package of legislative reforms. It will only be used for this purpose.
Your submission may be published, unless you request for it to remain confidential, or if the departments consider (for any reason) that it should not be made public. Parts of published submissions, may be redacted as appropriate. You can also ask for your submission to be published anonymously.
Personal information
Personal information is collected to verify submissions are not duplicates and to provide advice to government. If you wish to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym, let us know when you send in your submission.
Refer to the privacy policy to find out more.
Note: The department cannot resolve individual disputes or provide advice on any examples of potential discrimination.
Make an enquiry
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: 02 6141 3444 (between 9:00am to 5:00pm AEDT Monday-Friday).
Note: Submissions cannot be received via phone. All submissions must be provided in writing.
Launch of the public consultation Thursday 29 August 2019
With Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter (centre left) at the launch of the public consultation are (L) Dr Deidre Palmer, President Uniting Church Assembly, (R) Liz Stone, NCCA Interim General Secretary and (far right) Fr Kryllios, Greek Orthodox Church.
In the media:
The Guardian 29 August 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/29/coalition-to-release-religious-discrimination-bill-as-labor-urges-greater-scrutiny
