Key Points
- A year 12 student has pushed back at her school's policy disallowing same sex couples to attend formal together.
- NSW law allows religious schools to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ students and teachers, advocates say.
- Premier Chris Minns has offered support to the young couple.
After months of excitement and planning, Abbie Frankland was devastated to learn her school would not let her bring a date to her year 12 formal, unless that date was male.
St Ursula's all-girls Catholic school in Sydney's Kingsgrove has been criticised for banning teenagers in same-sex relationships from attending together.
The final-year student labelled the move "discriminatory" and launched a petition to persuade the school to allow same sex dates, which has since gone viral.
"My girlfriend and I, along with many other students at St Ursula’s in Kingsgrove NSW, Australia, have been eagerly awaiting the school formal for months," Frankland wrote.
"We've purchased non-refundable tickets and outfits in anticipation of this event.
"However, we've recently discovered that the school does not allow same-sex couples to attend the formal together."
Frankland noted that 61.6 per cent of Australians voted in , arguing the school's stance is at odds with "clear public sentiment towards inclusivity and acceptance".
"We believe it is time for St Ursula's to align itself with these values by allowing all students - regardless of their sexual orientation - to bring their chosen partner to the school formal," she said.
Both NSW Premier Chris Minns and his sister Sarah have thrown their support behind the young couple. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
"Excluding people based on sexual orientation does not model Christ like love or acceptance," Sarah Minns, the sister of the NSW premier, wrote when signing the petition.
Premier Chris Minns also showed his support for the young couple on Thursday.
"I think in this day and age you should be able to take anyone you like to your year 12 formal. We are, after all, talking about teenagers who are close to or over the age of 18," he said.
Push to change religious exemptions
Equality Australia is pushing for the NSW government to change its laws to ensure students aren't discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
In New South Wales, faith-based schools or organisations can legally discriminate against LGBTIQ+ students as they are exempt from the 1977 Anti-Discrimination Act.
The exemptions allow them to hire or dismiss staff based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or relationship status, advocates say.
Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said young LGBTIQ+ people should be protected by the government and allowed to enjoy the same rites of passage as their peers.
"Nothing is more important than young Australians being able to grow up confident in who they are and there is no worse message than to be told they can’t love the partners they want to," Brown said.
"But there are significant gaps in protections for students and staff in religious schools which successive governments at a state and federal level have failed to address."
She called for "urgent reform" to ensure students like Abbie can feel "welcome, safe and free to enjoy every aspect of school life".
The Minns government fulfilled one of its election commitments when it commissioned a .
Tasmania leads in anti-discrimination laws
In 1998, in faith-based schools and services, meaning a teacher or student cannot be treated differently because of their sexuality.
There are different levels of protection for individuals across the states, with weaker protections in NSW and Western Australia.
In 2022, the WA government began drafting a new Equal Opportunity Act which would strengthen protections for LGBTIQ+ people in relation to religious schools.
The changes followed a review of the 1984 Act, with the government broadly accepting 163 recommendations.
