Child Safety and Religious Freedom

Posted on January 22, 2021 
Filed under Opinion

“The NSW Government is currently inviting comment on draft legislation entitled the Children’s Guardian Amendment (Child Safe Scheme) Bill 2020.

The legislation has been drawn up in response to the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and as well as governing “secular” agencies caring for children, it will mandate a new scheme for child protection covering “religious bodies” (see cl 8AA definition of “child safe organisation”, para (c)).

The Bill is generally a good idea, but I want to suggest one amendment which will be needed for it to properly protect religious freedom. …”

– Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia.