Religious Discrimination Awareness

Empowering diverse emergency responders in Australia to understand, address, and seek help for religious discrimination issues in the workplace

This page does not seek to comment on the recent rise in religious discrimination in Australia particularly amongst religious minorities such as Jews and Muslims but highlight what protections are available for diverse emergency responders when confronted with such discrimination in the workplace. Caldern does not discount the scourge of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Religious discrimination in the Australian workplace is a significant issue, and there are various protections in place to address it. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against employees or prospective employees based on their religion1. This includes actions like dismissal, demotion, or any other unfavorable treatment.

Additionally, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) can investigate complaints of religious discrimination in employment. They handle cases involving workplace harassment, discrimination due to religious dress, and even discrimination against those who do not hold any religious beliefs2.

Anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws in each state and territory detail what constitutes discrimination based on someone’s religion. For instance, in Victoria ‘religion’ refers to both religious practise and belief whilst in NSW ‘religion must be connected with an ethno-religious group and therefore an aspect of racial discrimination. Religious discrimination may relate to certain workplace practices related to dress codes, religious holidays, leave for religious reasons, prayers and related practices.

The Australian Human Rights Commission can also inquire into a complaint about acts or practices of the Commonwealth that are inconsistent with or contrary to:

• the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion in article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

• the right to non-discrimination, including on the basis of religion, in article 26 of the ICCPR

• the Declaration on the Elimination of all forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief, proclaimed by General Assembly of the United Nations on 25 November 1981.

Where any member suspects religious discrimination it is important to record and report the incident and practices as soon as possible as investigations by authorities are time limited. As with all forms of discrimination safety first is the paramount concern.