The NSW Conversion Practices law, religious freedom and Government “guidance”

Posted on April 14, 2025 
Filed under Culture wars, NSW

From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:

“The Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 (NSW) (“the Act”) is now in force, having commenced operation on 4 April 2025. I have previously posted a paper expressing concerns about the operation of the Act in relation to religious freedom. In this post I want to re-iterate briefly some of those concerns, and comment on “guidance” on the operation of the Act provided by NSW government officials.

I commend the previous paper to readers for more details. But the following are some extracts which may help to set the scene for my comments on the NSW government guidance. Below I will be referring to the “Frequently Asked Questions” (“FAQ”) page produced by “Anti-Discrimination NSW” (ADNSW)- the version I am commenting on was dated 7 April 2025. (ADNSW is the “online identity” of the body formally known as the “Anti-Discrimination Board” established under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW); the President of the Board receives initial complaints under the Act- see s 14- and the Board has a number of other functions under the Act.) …”

– Read it all here.

Do note his comments about the guidance published by Anti-Discrimination NSW.