LGBT+ equality, religious freedom and government-funded faith-based religiously affiliated educational workplaces

Religiously affiliated schools employ a substantial portion of the Australian educational workforce. These religiously affiliated schools are exempt from Australian state-based anti-discrimination legislation in varying degrees. This can have a devastating effect on LGBT+ employees. While NSW has broad exemptions to anti-discrimination legislation, in contrast Tasmanian anti-discrimination legislation provides very limited exemptions. This paper examines and compares the experiences of ten LGBT+ teachers employed in religiously affiliated schools in Tasmania and New South Wales. The aim of this paper is to document the differing experiences of these LGBT+ teachers, examining whether the distinctive state-based legislation has an impact on their lives. The small number of cases examined here suggests that the state difference in anti-discrimination legislation has a significant impact on LGBT+ peoples’ job security and career development.