Unions warn the government not to allow religious schools to hire based on faith

Union leaders have raised concern over signals from Labor that it will introduce religious discrimination laws in the first half of this year.

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has told faith leaders he is working on a draft bill that will be ready before July.

Union leaders have raised concern over signals from Labor that it will introduce religious discrimination laws in the first half of this year, arguing the focus should be on cost of living and not on rules that could allow bosses to hire staff based on their faith.

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has told faith leaders he is working on a draft bill that will be ready before July as part of the government’s promise to deliver on legislating against religious discrimination, which the Coalition failed to do before the 2022 election.

Health Services Union national secretary Lloyd Williams said his union’s membership – nearly 50,000 people – would stand against any legislation that allowed an employer to preference hiring someone of faith.

“The Coalition’s bill would have allowed discrimination towards workers of a particular faith, and certainly people of a different sexual orientation,” he told The Australian.

“We would hope that this government, when it goes forward with any bill, will put protections in there for workers so they can’t be discriminated against based on what religion they do or do not follow.”

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith also declared his union stood for the clear principle that “no one should be discriminated against at work”.

Mr Smith cautioned Labor not to lose focus on addressing the cost of living and housing crisis in 2024, declaring his union would push the government hard on a more ambitious housing plan.

“Alongside delivering on its promises from the last election, the federal government must use 2024 to tackle the two biggest issues facing working people today,” he said.

Electrical Trades Union secretary Michael Wright said he was “confident” the government could address both the cost-of-­living crisis and legislate the religious discrimination laws at the same time.

The debate over faith protections came as the Coalition accused Labor of “mounting an attack” on religious charities and non-government schools after a draft Productivity Commission report recommended changes to the tax treatment of charity donations. The report called for deductible gift recipient status to be scrapped for non-government primary, secondary, childcare, aged care and other religious organisations.

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said the PC’s recommendation to scrap the “basic religious charity status” would also increase red tape and reporting requirements for almost one in five charities.

“This proposed school building tax is a direct, ideological attack on independent and faith-based schools and must immediately be ruled out by the Albanese government,” she said.

Assistant Minister for Charities Andrew Leigh said the Coalition knew the Productivity Commission was independent and its recommendations were “not government policy”.

“When we ask an independent body like the Productivity Commission to conduct an inquiry, it’s important that we respect their independence and let them complete the process,” Mr Leigh said.

“The Productivity Commission has not made any final recommendations as it is midway through its work.”

After winning government, Labor tasked the Australian Law Reform Commission with providing advice on designing religious discrimination legislation.

However, an alliance of faith leaders raised alarm with a draft proposal from the ALRC released early last year, which recommended the government allow religious preference only where “the teaching, observance or practice of religion is a genuine occupational requirement”.

In response to the criticism, the government extended the ALRC’s reporting deadline to December 2023, with Mr Dreyfus confirming he had received the ALRC’s report.

When asked if the legislation would allow institutions to take staff’s faith into account when hiring, a spokesman for Mr Dreyfus said: “The government is now considering the ALRC review of anti-discrimination law.”