We're Equal Campaign

In reply to the Hon. R.A. SIMMS ().9 February 2023).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): I have been advised:

The Commissioner for Equal Opportunity is an independent statutory officer, and We're Equal is an initiative of her office. While government is supportive of the We're Equal initiative, it is not for government to expand it or otherwise.

The Commissioner for Equal Opportunity has provided a briefing to the Minister for Education, Training and Skills on the We're Equal initiative, and is exploring options to deliver elements of the initiative in educational settings.

The commissioner has advised that she has not specifically met with representatives of religiously based schools, however, in relation to whether they would be beyond the scope of the initiative given the exemptions under section 50(1) of the act, there is no impediment to the commissioner seeking to expand We're Equal to those, or any, schools.

The exemptions with respect to religious bodies must be read in conjunction with section 37 of the Equal Opportunity Act (SA) which makes it 'unlawful for an educational authority to discriminate against a person on the ground of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status' by, for instance refusing or failing to accept an application for admissions, the terms or conditions on which it offers to admit a student.

In addition, the exemption provisions in section 50(1) apply to religious bodies and not the body corporate that operates a school (1). Accordingly, the exemptions under section 50(1) do not prevent the commissioner from acting on complaints of sex discrimination against students and prospective students in religious schools by pursuing allegations against the organisation or its staff.

(1) The Commissioner for Equal Opportunity previously met with Ms Kerry Leaver, Chief Executive and Registrar of the Education Standards Board, who advised that a religious body cannot operate a school because standard 1.1 of the Standards for Registration and Review of Registration of Schools in South Australia, requires that a 'school' is established as a body corporate or body politic and its principal purpose is the provision of school education. The commissioner shares this view.