Last week, the New South Wales “conversion therapy” laws came into effect having passed the State Parliament in 2024.

HRLA has previously highlighted the dangers of these laws, noting that while the NSW version of these laws is marginally better than those in Victoria, it remains the case that:

“... the very premise of these laws remains deeply flawed and continues to threaten freedom of religion and speech.”

Unlike the Victorian law, NSW offers some exemptions for expressions of religious faith. The worst elements of the Victorian law, which appears to prohibit even private consensual prayer, do not appear in the NSW version.

Notwithstanding those improvements, the law still threatens fundamental freedoms of religion and speech and creates great uncertainty about what is allowed and what’s captured by the law.

As Neil Foster of Law and Religion Australia wrote last year when the Bill was introduced:

“The problem with these laws now is that their drafting can be so broad that they interfere with the ordinary teaching of religious doctrines and life within families.”

The laws have also been criticised by Christian leaders in NSW, including Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel, who wrote of the law when it passed:

The idea of ‘suppression’ of sexual feelings is poorly defined, extended families are not part of the exemptions, parents’ rights to set standards for their households are undermined and individuals are blocked from accessing support, even though they wish to. Good laws must target extraordinary harm not ordinary faith.

With this law now active, HRLA’s mission to help protect the freedom of Christian families and organisations to practice their faith freely is even more important. We remain ready to help Christians navigate these laws, speak truth, and live faithfully in all areas of their lives.