Media Statement

Wednesday August 19th, 2026

 

 

Equality Tasmania says the discrimination and bullying unearthed by a school discrimination inquiry is disturbing and has called on the Government to act.

 

The following quotes can be attributed to Equality Tasmania spokesperson, Rodney Croome.

 

Further comment can be obtained from Catholic school student and transgender young person, Amilie Courtney, Olivia Hogarth, CEO of Working It Out, and Concerned Catholics of Tasmania (see below for contacts).

 

 

“This inquiry has produced disturbing evidence of discrimination and bullying in both the government and non-government school sectors in Tasmania.”

 

“Most disturbing of all is the finding that Catholic Education Tasmania has  contravened Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act by deliberately discriminating against LGBTIQA+ people in its schools.”

 

“We are particularly concerned by evidence that gay teachers in Catholic schools have not been promoted to positions they are qualified for, and that transgender students have not been recognised for who they are and have been sent to counsellors who endorse conversion practices."

 

 

“We call on Catholic Education Tasmania to reverse course and invest in the training, resources and support necessary to eliminate discrimination and bullying from Catholic schools."

 

“We call on the Tasmanian Government to remind all schools that the state Anti-Discrimination Act is not optional and to ensure teachers and students have the resources necessary to challenge discrimination and bullying.”

 

“At heart this is a simple issue - all students should have safe learning environments, and all teachers should be selected and promoted on their merit."

 

 

“We will write to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner and the Non-Government Schools Registration Board asking them to initiate inquiries into discrimination against LGBTIQA+ staff and students in Catholic schools.”

 

“For non-government schools to be registered in Tasmania they must uphold the law and by its own admission Catholic Education Tasmania has not upheld the Anti-Discrimination Act.”

 

“We will also increase our advocacy for a ban on conversion practices given evidence some Catholic school students have potentially been exposed to such practices."

 

 

“We note Catholic Education Tasmania has offered the poor excuse that the federal Sex Discrimination Act allows it to discriminate against LGBTIQA+ people, despite that Act specifically saying it does not override any state law.”

 

"If CET continues to misuse federal law as an excuse to discriminate, the Tasmanian Government must step in and initiate a test case.”

 

"The burden for determining if Tasmania’s gold-standard Anti-Discrimination Act prevails should not be on the shoulders of discrimination victims.”

 

“The Federal Government should also fulfil its repeated promise to remove exemptions in federal discrimination law that allow religious schools and services to discriminate against LGBTQA+ people.”

 

 

The minority report by Liberal MPs, Michael Ferguson and Mark Shelton, expresses concerns about “proposals to use the power of State laws…to exercise new controls over non-government schools, families and faith communities - risking freedoms of belief and family choice.” (p146)

 

Mr Croome said,

 

“For more than two decades Tasmania's Catholic and independent education systems operated in accordance with the state Anti-Discrimination Act with no loss of religious freedom or family choice."

 

"Only in recent years has the Anti-Discrimination Act come under attack from religious leaders who believe it is their God-given right to defy the law and discriminate against Tasmania's LGBTIQA+ teachers and students.” 

 

“When parents choose non-government schools, they want their child to be safe from bullying and to be taught by teachers who are the best people for the job."

 

 

The Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people in faith-based schools and services. 

 

It was the first anti-discrimination law in Australia to do this. It was enacted in 1998.

 

A copy of the report can be found here: https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/committees/house-of-assembly/standing-committees/government-administration-committee-a/inquiries/inquiry-into-discrimination-and-bullying-in-tasmanian-schools

 

For a copy of this statement on the web, click here