Australia: draft religious discrimination bill is opened to public consultation

On 29 August, Australian Attorney General Christian Porter published a proposal for draft legislation that bans religious discrimination, and presented it as a shield protecting citizens who express their faith or exercise religious practice. The text in particular intends to address both direct and indirect religious discrimination and includes some exceptions for businesses able to prove that otherwise “unjustifiable financial hardship to the business” would ensue.
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The text proposes that the notion of religious discrimination can be invoked when unfavorable treatment based on religious belief and practice is observed, and especially in terms of hiring and working conditions.

Discrimination is considered to be direct if the decision is based on a religious criterion. Discrimination can also be considered to be indirect if what is an apparently neutral rule or condition actually unfavorably treats people sharing religious characteristics. Discrimination repo

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