CCSP advocating for parents and carers
You may have read in the media about the Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws.
The consultation paper for the inquiry, released at the end of January 2023, proposed such dramatic changes to employment and teaching that it would have made religious schools almost indistinguishable from state schools.
The proposed changes would remove or severely restrict the ability of Catholic schools to prioritise the employment of staff and enrolment of students from our faith background, or to operate and teach in accordance with our Catholic ethos.
A recent survey on school perceptions showed 63% of the general population, 82% of Catholics and 79% of Catholic school parents believe religious schools should be ‘entitled to require employees to act in their roles that uphold the ethos and values of that faith’ and the school should be free to favour hiring employees who share these values. (Utting, 2021)
Over 400 submissions were made to the inquiry, CCSP made a submission on behalf of NSW and ACT families whose children attend Catholic Schools. Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) made a submission on behalf of all families in Australia whose children attend Catholic schools.
We will keep you informed with updates from the inquiry.