Religious Freedom Review

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On 22 November 2017, the Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, announced the appointment of an Expert Panel to examine whether Australian law adequately protects the human right to freedom of religion.

The Prime Minister announced the Terms of Reference for the Review on 14 December 2017. In undertaking its Review, the Prime Minister has instructed the Panel to:

consider the intersections between the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and other human rights
have regard to any previous or ongoing reviews or inquiries that it considers relevant
consult as widely as it considers necessary

The Expert Panel comprises:

the Hon Philip Ruddock (chair)
Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM
the Hon Dr Annabelle Bennett AO SC
Father Frank Brennan SJ AO
Professor Nicholas Aroney

The Prime Minister has asked the Expert Panel to report its findings by 31 March 2018.

A full copy of the Terms of Reference is available online.

The Panel is being supported by a Secretariat within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Submissions

The Panel accepted submissions on the matters contained in its Terms of Reference from 14 December 2017 to 14 February 2018. Submissions to the Panel are now closed.

The Panel is grateful to the large number of people who took the time to make a submission on this important issue. The Panel has received well over 16,000 submissions.

The Panel has agreed that submissions will be published online by 31 March 2018, provided the author of the submission consented to its publication and provided there is no other reason not to publish the submission (for example, if publication could raise legal issues).

Consultations

The Panel is conducting face-to-face consultations with a wide range of stakeholders with different viewpoints on the topic of religious freedom. Consultations are being held as follows:

5 & 6 February: Canberra
12 & 13 February: Perth
14 & 15 February: Sydney
19 February: Hobart
20 & 21 February: Melbourne
23 February: Western Sydney
26 February: Brisbane
27 February: Adelaide

Additional meetings will be held as the Panel considers necessary.

Rather than holding open public meetings, the Panel has chosen to hold meetings with individual stakeholders or small groups to give people an opportunity to share their views openly and honestly with the Panel in a respectful and safe environment.