The Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) has recently completed a very significant review of the operation of the Anti-Discrimination laws in Queensland.  The QHRC has made a series of recommendations which, if progressed, will potentially impact Queensland Catholic schools in the future. 

The QHRC’s Building Belonging: Review of Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 contains 122 recommendations, including that a new Anti-Discrimination Act replace the current Act and come into force by 1 July 2023.

The recommendations are complex and require careful analysis. They remain under consideration by the Queensland Government which has been asked to formally respond within three months.

The recommendations include a number of proposals which will potentially impact schools in the areas of employment and industrial relations, provisions for students with disabilities and other students coming under new protected attribute classes, religious exemptions and exemptions for educational institutions established for religious purposes.

The Queensland Government will now consider the extent to which these recommendations are implemented through legislative changes. There are likely to be further opportunities for consultation about these matters with the education sector in the future.

Further updates will be provided as this process progresses.