As Australia’s only religious freedom charitable law firm, HRLA has been established to protect Australians’ freedom of belief, speech, expression and conscience in an increasingly hostile Australian culture.

Everyday Australians face increasing attacks on their freedom to live according to their conscience and faith.

Pressure is coming at all levels of society – media, government, institutions, industry and activists. Increasingly, Australians are being compelled to endorse and affirm ideologies that conflict with their faith and conscience.

As the year comes to an end, some of our key cases are gaining momentum, and we are eager to provide you with the latest updates.

We are focused on working hard to protect the freedom of everyday Australians to speak and live the truth.

Dr Jillian Spencer

HRLA is representing Dr Jillian Spencer, an experienced child and adolescent psychiatrist from Queensland who was stood down by her employer, the Queensland Children’s Hospital, following a complaint about her treatment of children with gender dysphoria.

The Hospital tried to compel Dr Spencer to adopt a gender affirmation approach rather than an evidence-led holistic clinical approach to the treatment of vulnerable children that she believes compromises her conscience and clinical judgement and is bad for children.

HRLA has assembled a formidable legal team to challenge this approach, backed by expert evidence from leading psychiatrists, doctors, and academics.

As Principal Lawyer at HRLA John Steenhof said:

“Jillian’s case is of utmost significance for protecting the conscience of medical practitioners everywhere. A win will help protect the freedom of conscience of doctors to give patient care that is informed by best clinical practice rather than dangerous political ideology”.

Jasmine Sussex

HRLA is representing Jasmine Sussex, a former breastfeeding counsellor in Victoria who is being sued for hate speech after stating that men cannot breastfeed. Jasmine’s stand for women’s sex-based rights has drawn a complaint from a transgender-identifying activist, and has been elevated to the Queensland Human Rights Commission. HRLA is providing Jasmine with pro-bono legal support, assembling expert witnesses and barristers to defend her and push back against this lawfare seeking to silence the truth.

Courage comes at a cost.

These cases take a personal and professional toll on our clients.  Your support for the work of HRLA allows us to provide them with the best possible defence to secure the best outcomes in the courts.

John Steenhof has commented on the significance of these cases:

“Our wins are not only a huge relief for our clients, but they provide generational, landmark decisions that strengthen legal precedents for future cases”.

This is why we do the work we do.

HRLA is the team who are here for you when no one else can be.

Thank you for standing with us as we defend truth and freedom in the courts.