A Brisbane Christian college is facing an investigation by one of the state's education bodies after its enrolment contract has sparked great controversy across the country.
Citipointe Christian College has requested parents sign a new contract ahead of the new school year, which states a child’s enrolment can be terminated due to sexual orientation, gender identity or sexual activity.
Parents allegedly had one week to sign the contract , with some lawyers raising a potential breach of anti-discrimination laws.
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace announced on Tuesday she has referred the matter to the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board for investigation.
"It's unacceptable for myself as a parent of a non-binary child, and it's very distressing," Queensland's Education Minister Grace Grace said on Tuesday.
The contract, seen by SBS News, says the college believes any form of sexual immorality is sinful, and lists gay and bisexual acts alongside incest and adultery among others.
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said Citipointe Christian College's contract was "very distressing". Source: AAP
It also places focus on students to identify "with the genders that God bestowed upon each person in all aspects of their life".
A petition demanding the Citipointe Christian College recall their enrolment contract has now reached more than 100,000 signatures, as Queensland ministers, the Brisbane Lord Mayor and former students have shared their dismay.
"I don't know what the motivation was to send something like that out on a Friday, just before the students were due to start online learning on Monday," Ms Grace said.
Her comments follow a statement by the state's Human Rights Commission outlining how discrimination laws apply to schools.
"The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act has not permitted religious schools to discriminate against currently enrolled students because of their sexuality or gender identity for 20 years," the statement said.
"A school policy that requires a trans or gender-diverse young person to be treated as their sex assigned at birth, or that requires a young person to hide or deny their sexuality, is likely to amount to unlawful discrimination" it continued.
In a statement on Sunday, Citipointe Principal, Pastor Brian Mulheran, said the college was seeking to "give parents and students the right to make an informed choice about whether they can support and embrace our approach to Christian Education".
"Citipointe does not judge students on their sexuality or gender identity and we would not make a decision about their enrolment in the College simply on that basis," he said.
The College declined to comment further when contacted on Tuesday.
Former student Felicity Myers said she believed the contract "is so outrightly discriminatory" and has been contacted by many people expressing their concerns since the details of the contract were made public.
"Feelings of unworthiness, all the negative thoughts, a lot of people are reaching out to me and saying that this is all flooding back to them," she said.
Ms Myers said current students should know there are people fighting for them.
"We're trying to provide all the support from our end that we can," she said.
Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said "she is really shocked" that the kind of language in the contact is still being used.
"We want all of our students in Queensland to feel accepted and supported and included in their school community," she told ABC Radio Brisbane on Tuesday.
Brisbane Lord Mayor and former Citipointe student Adrian Schrinner said he would raise his concerns with the principal.
"I am reassured by his public statements that Citipointe does not discriminate against students because of their sexuality or gender identity," he said.
The state's Anglican School Commission has released a statement reassuring that "neither students nor staff in our school will be discriminated against on the basis of their gender or sexuality".
"We welcome amongst our students and staff people of diverse backgrounds, diverse faith perspectives and those who identify LGBTI+," the statement said.
"No one is excluded."
With Rayane Tamer.
