Religious discrimination commissioner to cost $11m

A new religious discrimination commissioner would be handed an $11m ­budget over five years to establish a stand-alone office inside the Human Rights Commission.

The proposed protections in the religious discrimination bill are headlined by a statement of belief sub-clause that overrides state aged, sex and disability ­discrimination laws.

A new religious discrimination commissioner tasked with overseeing proposed protections for faith-based groups and individuals would be handed an $11m ­budget over five years to establish a stand-alone office inside the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The Australian can reveal the Morrison government will proceed with appointing a religious watchdog alongside existing age, disability, race and sex discrimination commissioners.

Religious discrimination legislation put into the parliament next week will establish the statutory position of religious discrimination commissioner to promote understanding and compliance with new laws.

The religious discrimination commissioner will also advocate, inquire into and report on issues associated with freedom of ­religion in Australia, filling a void inside the AHRC.

Additional ­responsibilities imposed on the AHRC will require additional funding and resources under the religious discrimination commissioner.

The new role, which was a key demand from faith leaders and organisations, aligns with similar regimes overseeing commonwealth anti-discrimination law. LGBTIQ discrimination currently falls under the remit of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner and was not expected to be considered as a stand-alone statutory office.

Ahead of MPs returning to Canberra on Monday for the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of the year, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash this week briefed government backbenchers on the religious discrimination bill.

The religious protections – which were first raised after the same-sex marriage plebiscite and promised by Scott Morrison during the 2019 election campaign – are headlined by a statement of belief sub-clause that overrides state aged, sex and disability ­discrimination laws.

The bill will be debated in the lower house before being sent to the Senate where it was expected to be referred to a committee. It is unlikely to be resolved before next year’s election, which is due by May.

The Australian Christian Lobby on Thursday said the government’s religious discrimination bill was a “constructive and helpful reform, requiring some improvement”.

The ACL had pushed hard for the jettisoned ­“Israel Folau clause” which would have given individuals in large companies and organisations legal protection from termination as a result of expressing their ­religious ­beliefs.

ACL national director for politics Wendy Francis said “we hope that this bill can be improved in 2022”.

“There will be a further consultation process in the Senate, and we will take that opportunity to make further recommendations,” she said.

“As we approach the 2022 federal election, we are heartened by Labor’s platform which recognises ‘the right of religious organisations to act in accordance with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of their faith’ and that ‘such rights should be protected by law’ and be subject only to such limitations as are necessary to protect fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”

The ACL said the bill failed to address “some of the flashpoints for religious hostility in the real world”, including the overreach of employers into employees’ private speech and the misuse of hate speech laws against religious expression.

They also raised concerns over “threats to churches and families from conversion therapy laws and the increasing attacks on the ability of Christian schools to ­operate according to their ethos”.

The Christian lobby group praised five reforms in the bill, ­including statement of faith protections being extended to qualifying bodies such as medical and teaching registration authorities and “the ability for faith-based schools, public benevolent institutions, hospitals, and aged-care facilities to prefer to employ faith-based staff”.