Landmark laws to protect LGBTIQ+ Victorians from discrimination at work and in schools came into effect earlier this week.
Welcoming commencement of the laws, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said religious organisations and schools would no longer be able to sack or refuse to hire people based on protected attributes such as sexuality, gender identity or marital status.
“Religious organisations and schools will only be able to make employment decisions based on an employee’s religious beliefs where these are inherent to the job such as a religious studies teacher, and the discrimination is reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances,” Ms Symes said.
“The Bill recognises the rights of religious organisations and schools to continue to practice their faith, provide religious teaching and instil their religious ethos within their organisation,” she said.
“The legislation will not impact how religious bodies can select priests, ministers, religious leaders or their members.”
Ms Symes said further provisions of the Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Act 2021 would commence in December.
“These include ensuring that religious organisations that receive Government funding to provide services will not be able to refuse to provide them to people based on protected attributes,” the Attorney-General said.
“No one should have to hide who they love to do the job they love – from today, Victorians don’t have to,” she said.
