Equality Australia Feed Items

12 October 2026 – Equality Australia has welcomed a bill to end legal discrimination in religious schools, introduced by independent MP Allegra Spender, and called on Labor to back the long-overdue protections for LGBTQ+ students and staff.

Ms Spender introduced the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment (Equality in Treatment in Religious Schools) Bill to the Lower House on Monday.

Religious schools can legally discriminate against LGBTQ+ people and people who are pregnant, divorced or in de facto relationships. Labor promised to close this loophole in 2022, but years later there has been no progress.

Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown:

“With the support of the Greens, there is a clear path through parliament to pass this bill. The question is whether the government is serious about honouring the commitment it made to our community and women’s groups all those years ago.

“A gay student should not have to hide who they are to have a shot at leadership or live in fear of being expelled, and no woman should ever risk losing her job because she falls pregnant outside marriage.

“These are basic questions of fairness, and it is unacceptable that in Australia today people are still left without protections against this kind of discrimination.

16 Sept 2026 – One hundred women’s organisations, LGBTIQ+ groups, unions, disability groups and mental health advocates have united to oppose proposals to redefine ‘sex’ under Australia’s anti-discrimination laws, warning that doing so would put longstanding protections for trans and intersex people, as well as women, at risk. 

The letter comes a day after a Coalition Bill seeking to rewrite the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) was voted down in the Senate for the second time.

Similar attempts to amend the Act have also been made by a Nationals MP and One Nation. 

The open letter was signed by organisations including the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), Australian Multicultural Women's Alliance (AMWA), Victorian Trades Hall Council, Australian Services Union, Fair Agenda, ACON, National Foundation for Australian Women, Women With Disabilities Australia, Equality Australia, Women's Electoral Lobby and Women's Legal Services Australia.

Sent to all federal MPs, the letter urges them to reject any changes that would redefine “sex” in the SDA or remove gender identity as a protected attribute, warning that such changes would undermine essenital protections against discrimination.

September 9, 2026 — Equality Australia has welcomed landmark recommendations to tackle anti-LGBTIQ+ hate crime in Victoria, calling on state and federal governments to act on the inquiry’s findings and address the scale and devastating impact of hate.

The report, tabled on Tuesday, makes 41 findings and 35 recommendations to strengthen Victoria’s response to the alarming rise in hate.

They include stronger policing and justice responses, a whole-of-government prevention strategy, a restorative justice pilot, hate crime diversion programs and consideration of aggravated hate-based offences.

The inquiry also made recommendations related to the federal government, including strengthening national data collection, stronger safety measures on dating apps and ensuring anti-terrorism preparedness accounts for threats against LGBTIQA+ communities.

“This report is a stark acknowledgement of the scale and impact of anti-LGBTIQ+ hate in Victoria,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill.

“LGBTIQ+ people are being deliberately targeted because of who they are, including through increasingly serious and violent attacks. We cannot dismiss this as isolated incidents or fringe behaviour.

“This is targeted hate, and it demands an immediate and serious response.”

August 4, 2026 - Equality Australia says the NSW government has failed to act on the clear recommendations of its own review, denying LGBTIQ+ communities equal protection from hate. 

Attorney-General Michael Daley released the findings of Justice John Sackar KC’s review into NSW hate speech protections on Tuesday and dismissed its key recommendation that protections be extended to all communities targeted by hate. 

“The NSW government is choosing to ignore the key recommendations of its own review, leaving LGBTIQ+ people exposed to harm and undermining social cohesion for everyone,” said Legal Director Heather Corkhill. 

“All forms of hate and vilification are harmful, whether they are driven by racism, homophobia, transphobia or any other form of prejudice.” 

The government said that expanding the existing racial hatred offence to cover other attributes raised complex questions about freedom of expression and religion. 

“The government has already shown it can balance these rights when it comes to racial hatred. Claiming that the same approach cannot apply to other communities is disingenuous, creating an inconsistent legal framework and a hierarchy of protections,” Ms Corkhill said. 

3 July 2026 – LGBTIQ+ groups and women’s organisations say the Coalition’s Bill to redefine ‘sex’ would undermine the privacy and safety of all women, and strip trans people of basic legal protections.

The Bill, voted down in the Senate 30 votes to 21 on Wednesday, would have also overridden existing state and territory protections, reversed decades of progress in anti-discrimination law for women and created unintended consequences for intersex people.

Chair of the Women’s Legal Services Australia, Elena Rosenman:

“The SDA provides critical protection for women, trans and gender diverse people and people who are intersex. This Bill would weaken these protections and take Australia backwards by inviting gender policing.

“No woman should have to prove she is 'woman enough' to be protected from discrimination. The strength of the SDA is that it reflects the reality of women's lives and protects people from discrimination based on harmful gender stereotypes.

“At a time when women continue to face discrimination, harassment and gender-based violence, Parliament should be focused on strengthening those protections for everyone - not creating a two-tiered system where some women are protected and others are left behind.”

25 June 2026 – Equality Australia says it’s bitterly disappointing the Federal Government has declined to accept a single LGBTIQ+ recommendation in a United Nations (UN) human rights peer review of Australia. 

Australia was reviewed by other member states at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in January as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

The UPR provides a comprehensive peer review of each UN member state’s human rights record every four and a half years.

As part of Australia’s fourth UPR, more than 120 countries delivered around 332 recommendations to improve Australia’s human rights protections, including nine recommendations on LGBTIQ+ rights.

These included removing the exemption that allows religious schools to legally discriminate against LGBTIQ+ students and staff, recommended by Belgium, Iceland and Mexico.

Other LGBTIQ+ specific recommendations included public education campaigns to address stigma, a national ban on conversion practices, banning medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children and more general recommendations about protecting our communities from discrimination and violence.

25 May 2026 - National LGBTIQ+ group Equality Australia has slammed a private member’s bill that would weaken federal anti-discrimination protections for LGBTIQ+ people and women. 

Nationals MP Alison Penfold on Monday introduced the bill to federal parliament, which includes a narrow definition of sex and seeks to exclude trans women from a range of public spaces and protections. 

Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill: 

“This bill would give sexism and misogyny a free pass while stripping trans women of basic protections. 

“This bill is legally messy, socially divisive and risks weakening protections for all women. 

“These changes would fundamentally reshape Australia’s sex discrimination laws. 

“Sex discrimination has never been about biology alone — decades of case law make clear it is about gendered stereotypes, assumptions, and the unequal treatment of women and how they ‘should’ act and live. 

“Rather than improving women’s safety or equality, this culture war risks dragging LGBTIQ+ and women’s rights back to the dark ages.” 

15 May 2026 – National LGBTIQ+ group Equality Australia has welcomed a Federal Court judgment that has upheld the right of trans women to live free from discrimination. 

In a judgement handed down in Sydney on Friday, the Full Court of the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by Sall Grover and her app Giggle for Girls, confirming that Roxanne Tickle was discriminated against when she was excluded from the app for being trans. 

The Court found Ms Tickle was directly discriminated against on two grounds because of her gender identity, and increased damages to $20,000 after taking into account Ms Grover’s aggravating conduct. 

Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill said the ruling was a clear and significant win for equality and fairness. 

“Today’s decision is an important win for everyone protected under the Act, including women and LGBTIQ+ people,” she said. 

“This ruling affirms that all women deserve to live free from discrimination, without being judged on appearance, presentation or perceptions.” 

April 24, 2026 — Equality Australia has welcomed the recommendations of a NSW inquiry that found LGBTIQ+ people are among the communities targeted by right-wing extremism, alongside Jewish communities, women and other minority groups. 

The report, handed down yesterday, found that right-wing extremism is rooted in prejudice, including homophobia and transphobia, as well as antisemitism, racism and misogyny.  

It also notes these forms of hate are not isolated, but are actively promoted, normalised and amplified through online platforms and extremist networks that seek to recruit and radicalise individuals. 

“Importantly, the inquiry makes clear that LGBTIQ+ people are deliberately targeted within extremist narratives that seek to normalise hate in public discourse,” said Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown. 

“It also recognises that addressing extremism requires more than law enforcement — it must include action on the social drivers that enable it.” 

The report emphasises that prevention and early intervention are critical to addressing the rise of extremism in NSW, alongside stronger community-based responses. 

March 17, 2025 — Equality Australia says new legislation to strengthen hate crime laws in NSW is an important first step, but warns a broader response is needed to address the rise in targeted hate against LGBTIQ+ people.

The legislation, to be introduced to NSW parliament on Tuesday, follows media reporting of gay and bisexual teenagers lured through dating apps and violently assaulted on camera in Sydney.  

However, police data obtained by the ABC shows a wider pattern of violence, with almost 200 incidents of anti-LGBTIQ+ attacks reported in NSW since 2023. 

“These reforms are a significant first step but legislation alone won’t address the growing threat facing LGBTIQ+ people,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill. 

“We are seeing an alarming rise in often violent, targeted attacks against LGBTIQ+ people driven by a dangerous and deeply entrenched form of hatred. 

“Addressing this will require more than stronger penalties — it also means improving reporting pathways, tracking emerging hate trends and ensuring victims have access to properly funded support services.” 

5 March 2026 – Equality Australia has welcomed a Queensland Appeal Tribunal ruling that found an earlier court judgment dismissing a vilification complaint against Lyle Shelton was affected by significant legal and factual errors. 

Drag performers Johnny Valkyrie and Dwayne Hill, who perform under the names Queeny and Diamond, brought the complaint against the National Director of Family First over a series of blog posts in 2020. 

The posts by Shelton followed a Drag Queen Story Time event organised by Rainbow Families Queensland, at which the performers read the children’s book ‘Love Makes a Family’ and supervised a craft activity where the children drew pictures and made paper dolls of their family. 

In the posts, Shelton stated that Mr Hill and Mr Valkyrie were “dangerous role models for children” and likened them to “creeps like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew”. 

On Tuesday, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Appeal Tribunal found an earlier Tribunal decision in 2023 - which ruled the complaint against Shelton did not amount to unlawful vilification - was fundamentally flawed and wrongly decided on seven grounds. 

3 March 2026 – Equality Australia has welcomed renewed UN pressure to end LGBTQ+ discrimination in religious schools, saying it’s time for Labor to finally make good on its promise to protect students and staff.

Over the weekend, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended Australia fix the exemptions that allow this discrimination in both schools and healthcare.

This is the second UN rebuke this year, with the same recommendation made during Australia’s Universal Periodic Review in January. 

“Labor promised these reforms before forming government yet LGBTQ+ students and staff are still facing discrimination in religious schools because Australian law continues to permit it,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill. 

“No woman should lose her job for falling pregnant, and no student should be expelled or denied enrolment because of who they are. It’s time for our laws to align with the values of fairness and equality that define modern Australia.” 

Under federal law, religious educational institutions and service providers can legally discriminate against students, staff and the people who rely on their services, based on their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or relationship status, or pregnancy. 

February 27, 2025 — Equality Australia says shocking new police data on anti-LGBTIQ+ violence underscores the urgent need for action from the NSW Government to address rising hate-motivated attacks. 

Almost 200 incidents of anti-LGBTIQ+ violence have been reported in NSW since 2023, according to police data obtained by the ABC. 

Assault, aggravated robbery and affray were the most common violent offences recorded. 

The ABC reported on Friday that many of the attacks appear to be driven by teenage boys, with 36 incidents involving perpetrators luring victims through dating or hook-up apps. 

“These figures are shocking and likely only the tip of the iceberg,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill. 

“This data captures only the most serious violent offences and does not account for the widespread verbal abuse, threats, online hate and doxxing that LGBTIQ+ people experience constantly. 

“Despite years of sustained warnings about escalating hostility towards our communities, government responses — at both state and federal levels — have fallen short. 

February 25, 2025 — Equality Australia and ACON have welcomed a commitment from NSW Premier Chris Minns to do more to combat rising hate against the LGBTIQ+ community following a spate of violent assaults in Sydney. 

However, both organisations have cautioned that a criminal justice response alone will not be sufficient to prevent further harm. 

An ABC investigation published on Wednesday detailed deeply distressing footage and first-hand accounts of gay and bisexual teenagers lured through dating apps and bashed on camera in Sydney. 

Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill said the attacks were a stark example of how online anti-LGBTIQ+ hatred is spilling into real-world violence. 

“For years, we have sounded the alarm about rising hostility toward our communities and yet the response has been woefully inadequate,” she said. 

“The pattern of assaults against gay and bi men around the country makes it clear that this is not isolated behaviour but part of a sustained and troubling trend. 

“Our community is understandably frightened and looking to the government for leadership and action. We welcome the premier’s unequivocal condemnation of these attacks and a commitment to strengthening the law.” 

February 19, 2025 — Intersex advocates and LGBTIQ+ groups have welcomed the passing of landmark legislation in Victoria that will protect future generations of intersex children from irreversible medical procedures. 

The new law, which passed the upper house on Thursday with multipartisan support (24 votes to 15), delays deferrable medical interventions until a person is able to make the decision for themselves. 

Independent assessment panels will also oversee proposed treatment plans for children born with innate variations of their sex characteristics, with additional support for parents and clinicians. 

The reforms follow decades of advocacy by intersex people and community organisations, and build on similar protections introduced in the ACT in 2023. 

Tony Briffa, long standing intersex advocate in Victoria, Co-Chair of InterAction for Health and Human Rights and patron of Equality Australia:  

“I am incredibly proud to see Victoria take this historic step for the next generation. 

February 6, 2025 — Equality Australia and intersex advocates have welcomed the passage of landmark legislation through Victoria’s lower house that will protect intersex children from unnecessary and irreversible medical procedures.

The bill passed without opposition on Thursday.

“These reforms are about stopping unnecessary harm - not stopping necessary and appropriate care,” said Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill.

“Intersex people deserve the right to decide what happens to their own bodies, rather than being subjected to interventions that are not medically necessary and can cause permanent physical and psychological harm.”

Under the legislation, deferrable medical interventions would be delayed until a person is able to make the decision for themselves with independent assessment panels overseeing proposed treatment plans.

The reforms follow decades of advocacy by intersex people and community organisations, and build on similar protections introduced in the ACT in 2023.

Ms Corkhill said the changes were critical to preventing lifelong harm.

“Too many intersex children are still at risk of undergoing unnecessary medical procedures that could be safely delayed or avoided altogether if the right safeguards were in place,” she said.