Queensland’s human rights commissioner says schools cannot use contracts to avoid their responsibilities under anti-discrimination law, after one of the state’s largest religious schools sent families enrolment agreements that imply transgender students will only be recognised by their “biological sex”.
The “statement of faith” required for enrolment at Citipointe Christian College lists “homosexual acts” alongside bestiality, incest and paedophilia as “immoral” and “offensive to God”.
It also includes statements that each person should identify “with the gender that God bestowed”.
The Queensland human rights commissioner, Scott McDougall, released a statement on Wednesday after media reports about Citipointe’s enrolment contract.
“Schools cannot contract out of their duties under discrimination laws by asking parents or students to agree to discriminatory terms,” McDougall said.
He said the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act does not permit religious schools to refuse enrolment based on gender identity or sexuality, or discriminate against existing students.
“Expelling, disciplining or otherwise treating a student unfavourably because of these characteristics is unlawful discrimination in Queensland.
“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.”
There are some concerns the Citipointe contract was a provocation ahead of likely debate in federal parliament about a proposed religious discrimination bill.
Matilda Alexander, president of the LGBTI Legal Service, said Queensland anti-discrimination laws were stronger than federal ones.
“This demonstrates what schools are likely to do after that law is passed – a licence to discriminate against very vulnerable young people and their families who just need access to education, they just need support,” Alexander said.
Alexander encouraged anyone who believed the contracts discriminated against them to contact the LGBTI Legal Service for free legal advice.
Citipointe is widely considered Brisbane’s equivalent of the Sydney megachurch Hillsong.
Initially the Christian Outreach Centre, the church has satellite ministries in Nashville, Auckland and central Bulgaria. Like Hillsong, it has its own Christian music operation, Citipointe Worship.
The school, which occupies part of Citipointe’s extensive campus in the Brisbane suburb of Carindale, claims on its website to be “one of Queensland’s largest independent schools, with a student population of over 1720”.
Petition demands contracts be recalled
A petition demanding the school recall the enrolment contracts, which parents must sign, had more than 50,000 signatures on Monday morning.
The “statement of faith” section in the Citipointe college enrolment contracts is an excerpt from the constitution of the Christian Outreach Centre.
It states that: “We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other.
“We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to: adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bisexual acts, bestiality, incest, paedophilia and pornography) is sinful and offensive to God and is destructive to human relationships and society.
“We believe that God created human beings as male or female.”
The contract also states that “I/we agree that, where distinctions are made between male and female (inclusive of, but not limited to, for example, uniforms, presentation, terminology, use of facilities and amenities, participation in sporting events and accommodation) such distinctions will be applied on the basis of the individual’s biological sex.”
The office of the school principal, pastor Brian Mulheran, said he was not available to answer questions on Monday.
Mulheran – who in 2012 claimed he was totally cured from a long-term debilitating sickness by the prayer of a healing pastor – said in a statement that the school does not judge students on their sexuality or gender identity and a decision about their enrolment would not be made on that basis.
“We have always held these Christian beliefs and we have tried to be fair and transparent to everyone in our community by making them clear in the enrolment contract,” Mulheran said.
“We are seeking to maintain our Christian ethos and to give parents and students the right to make an informed choice about whether they can support and embrace our approach to Christian education.
“We believe each individual is created in the image of God, with dignity and worth equal to every other person. We unequivocally love and respect all people regardless of their lifestyle and choices, even if those choices are different to our beliefs and practice.”
McDougall said all students and their families should feel that they belong in their school community.
“The commission appreciates that most educators in Queensland actively work to support and include LGBTIQ+ students, understanding that student wellbeing and academic performance suffers when a student is not accepted for who they are at school.
“A sense of belonging is conducive to an environment in which students feel confident to participate, and which enables them to reach their full potential.”
