One Law For All NSW Welcomes the United nations’ second call to end exemptions for schools
In January 2026, Australia underwent the Universal Periodic Review process, a regular peer review of each country’s record on human rights. Australia’s record was reviewed for the fourth time and three separate countries recommended ending the exemptions given to religious schools and institutions which allow discrimination against LGBTQ+ students and staff.
On March 2 2026, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights released its Concluding Observations on Australia after separately reviewing our human rights performance, and among other recommendations implored the Australian government to “amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to ensure that exemptions do not result in discrimination… including against LGBTQI+ persons.”
President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Hugh de Kretser, commented “These findings set out a compelling agenda for action. The UN Committee has shown where Australia can and must do better to ensure everyone’s basic rights are respected and upheld.” Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill said “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.”
Numerous state and federal anti-discrimination laws contain these exemptions. The federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 contains exemptions for religious schools which allow them to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex, as well as marital or relationship status and pregnancy. The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) offers very similar, if not identical, exemptions. NSW in particular has been identified by Equality Australia as having “the most regressive and extreme state laws” in the country. In NSW, nearly one half (44%) of secondary school students, and one in three across Australia, are enrolled in non-government schools, and of the many young LGBTQ+ students within this group, countless have experienced fear, bullying, harassment, and discrimination on account of their identity.
One Law For All NSW is a youth-led advocacy organisation that exists to fight for the protection of LGBTQ+ students in NSW through reform of the Anti-Discrimination Act. These laws actively allow religious schools to discriminate at will against LGBTQ+ students, and they have now led to Australia being called out by the international community for the second time. We urge both the federal and NSW governments to heed the advice of our international peers, and take decisive action to ensure that all young people feel safe to express themselves in a school environment.
You can find all our other public statements from our website, as well as more information about our fight for the right to education without discrimination for all students in NSW.
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Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636
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