NSW Protection from Discrimination and Vilification on the Ground of Heterosexuality

Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Heterosexual Discrimination) Bill 2024

Private Member's Bill

5 Jun 2024: MPs in the first house are debating whether this bill is a good idea in principle.

Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly

Assent

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Topics

anti-discrimination employment rights hate speech heterosexuality human rights sexual orientation workplace discrimination

Introduced by: Mark Banasiak MLC (SFFP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

People cannot treat others less favourably because they are heterosexual.
Public acts that incite hatred, serious contempt, or severe ridicule toward heterosexual people are banned.
Employers cannot discriminate against people based on heterosexuality during hiring, promotion, or dismissal; this excludes private households and businesses with five or fewer employees.
Principals cannot discriminate against commission agents or contract workers on the ground of heterosexuality.
Partnerships with six or more partners cannot discriminate when offering positions or expelling partners.
Local government council members cannot discriminate against other members while performing official duties.
Industrial organisations cannot refuse membership or deny benefits based on heterosexuality.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Susan Carter LIB

“It is important that I begin my contribution to debate on the Anti‑Discrimination Amendment (Heterosexual Discrimination) Bill 2024 by declaring a personal interest. I am straight, which makes me part of the 96 per cent of the population identified by the Hon. Mark Banasiak, who introduced the bill, as a potential beneficiary.”

Official source →

Amanda Cohn GRN

“The Greens oppose the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Heterosexual Discrimination) Bill 2024. It is clear that the Hon. Mark Banasiak has not even read the Act that he is seeking to amend.”

Official source →

Penny Sharpe ALP

“I speak in debate on the Anti‑Discrimination Amendment (Heterosexual Discrimination) Bill 2024. A core tenet of the Minns Labor Government is ensuring that all people across New South Wales can live a life free of discrimination.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Heterosexual Discrimination) Bill 2024

The Hon. MARK BANASIAK — 2024-03-20

The objects of the bill provide that discrimination against a person on the ground of the person’s heterosexuality is unlawful; provide that heterosexual vilification, by certain public acts, is unlawful; and prescribe certain work and other arrangements in which discrimination against a person on the ground of the person’s heterosexuality is unlawful. The bill aims to rectify a glaring omission in our current legislation. While the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 rightly protects individuals from discrimination based on attributes such as disability, race, Aboriginality, sexual orientation and transgender status, there remains a significant gap in its coverage.