School accused of discriminating against LGBTQI+ kids loses strike out bid

A Brisbane independent school that came under fire over allegations it discriminated against gay and transgender students has lost a bid to have the legal proceedings brought against it summarily dismissed.

Citipointe Christian College has lost a bid to have legal proceedings brought against it summarily dismissed. Picture: Richard Walker

A Brisbane independent school that came under fire over allegations it discriminated against gay and transgender students has lost a bid to have the legal proceedings brought against it summarily dismissed.

Citipointe Christian College principal Brian Mulheran resigned from the Carindale school in 2022 amid widespread outrage over a plan by the school to have parents sign a controversial contract which warned students who did not identify as their birth gender faced being excluded from the school.

The ‘Declaration of Faith’ document described homosexuality as “sinful and offensive to God” and “destructive to human relationships and society”.

“We believe that God created human beings as male or female … and does not make a distinction between male or female…Living in this fullness includes identifying with the gender that God bestowed upon each person in all aspects of their life,” the document stated.

Citipointe Christian College enrolment contract.

According to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, parents were emailed a link to the new enrolment contract on January 28, 2022 which was to be signed by February 7 in time for the new school year.

It stipulated that students would be required to adhere to their biological sex recognised at birth and act in accordance with that sex, including in relation to “uniforms, presentation, terminology, use of facilities and amenities, participation in sporting events and accommodation”.

“Accordingly, the College believes that by creating each person, God in His divine love and wisdom, gifted them their gender, as male and female,” the document said.

“The College therefore acknowledges the biological sex of a person as recognised at birth and requires practices consistent with that sex.”

Former Citipointe Christian College Principal Brian Mulheran

The institution faced widespread backlash over the move which prompted an equality rally at King George Square and saw then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison vow to fast-track laws to stop schools from discriminating against LGBTQI+ students.

More than 155,000 people signed a petition demanding the revocation of the document and at least two parents complained to the Queensland Human Rights Commission which referred the matter to QCAT.

According to two decisions published by the tribunal this week, the named respondents – Christian Outreach Centre and former principal Mr Mulheran – sought to have the two separate discrimination cases dismissed or struck out on the basis that they were “vexatious, misconceived, lacking in substance and otherwise an abuse of process”.

The applicants in the two cases are the father of a bisexual student and the mother of a transgender student.

The respondents submitted that the father’s case should be dismissed because the proceedings were predicated upon his objection to an amended enrolment contract, “which, it is alleged, did nothing other than recite certain biblical statements with which the applicant had already agreed by allowing his child to remain enrolled at the first respondent’s College throughout the 2021 academic year.”

Emmey Leo, Felicity Myers and Bethany Lau gather to protest outside Citipointe Christian College, Carindale, in January 2022. Picture: Richard Walker

In the mother’s case, the respondents argued her complaint should be thrown out because her complaint about the amended contract “was not received by her and therefore she could not be the subject of any discrimination, either direct or indirect”.

But senior QCAT member Ann Fitzpatrick dismissed the college’s application in both matters, saying the complaints “articulate at least a rational cause of action”.

“Claims of contravention of the (anti-discrimination) Act should not be dismissed without it being very clear that the claims are absolutely hopeless or so clearly untenable that they cannot succeed,” she wrote.

“I am unable to find on any basis put by the respondent that the case is frivolous, vexatious or misconceived, lacking in substance or otherwise an abuse of process.”

Senior Member Fitzpatrick said the strike out applications had been made at an early stage before all the evidence was before the tribunal, making it impossible to assess the prospects at this stage.

She said an argument that the amended contract was withdrawn after five days did not alter the existence of the claims “given that prospective conduct is caught by the definitions of direct and indirect discrimination”.

She said the effect of the withdrawal may merely limit the remedy available to the applicants.