The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, has identified defending religious freedom as a “strategic priority” as this month’s Sydney Synod meets to discuss its funding priorities for the next three years.
“Religious freedom is under increasing threat in Australia and directly impacts the ability of ministers and lay people in the Diocese to conduct gospel ministry,” according to a report by the Synod’s Standing Committee. “Over the past three years, an increasing number of laws have been passed which directly impact free speech including online content (sermons and social media posts). In the 34 years from 1989-2023, there were 19 Bills that imposed restrictions on speech. The same number of Bills have been passed in the 26 months to February 2026.”
The report lists the big increase in legislation that affects speech.
Bishop Michael Stead, the Diocesan spokesperson for religious freedom, estimates that on average one third of his time is now spent on religious freedom matters.
The report asserts, “Since the same-sex marriage plebiscite, religious freedom has been under increasing pressure especially in relation to the teaching and preaching of God’s Word on matters of sexual ethics and gender identity.”
The report cites the conversion acts passed in several state parliaments, observing that a whole-of-Australia response is needed. “Legislation in one jurisdiction (for example the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act, VIC) often becomes a template for other jurisdictions such as NSW (the Conversion Practices Ban Act, NSW). For this reason, proposed legislation in other states should be reviewedto determine its risk to religious freedom for Christians in those states, as well as the potential for itto overflow into NSW.”
Bishop Stead’s involvement in fostering relationships with legislators, now formalised in his role as chair of the NSW Government’s Faith Affairs Council, is seen as a pattern for “effective religious freedom advocacy.”
The report gives three examples of effective advocacy:
• “One particularly exceptional example was the Combatting Antisemitism Hate and Extremism Act 2026 (Cth), with the Committee giving just 36 hours in January between release of the Bill and the deadline for formal submissions. That Act would have had a serious impact on free speech including Christian teaching and preaching. The worst provisions of the Bill were removed due, in part, to a submission and attendance at the Inquiry by Bishop Stead, an open letter from joint faith leaders and subsequent multiple media interviews by Bishop Stead which put pressure on the government to remove the proposed s80.2BF of the Bill, all of which happened in the space of 4 days.”
• “The NSW Inquiry into Measures to Prohibit Slogans that Incite Hatred (2026) saw terms of reference for the Inquiry proposed which would prohibit ‘words or slogans that threaten, intimidate or incite hatred’ – a broad brush which could include gospel calls to repentance as well as religious teaching on sexual ethics and gender identity. Following Diocesan submissions and appearance at the Inquiry, the Report recommended that, instead, a specific phrase such as ‘globalise the intifada’ should be prohibited rather than vague definitions of ‘slogans that incite hatred’.”
• “The QLD Fighting Antisemitism and Keeping Guns out of the Hands of Criminals Bill 2026 initially proposed a system whereby a government Minister would be able to proscribe expressions by regulation, making it criminal to use that expression with a penalty of up to 2 years in prison. The regulation of speech would have been without any parliamentary oversight or review, a dangerous precedent in Australia. Following submissions by Freedom for Faith, this provision was removed before the Bill was passed.”
The report lists two ongoing matters where the Diocese is engaged in advocacy:
• “The lack of a Federal Religious Discrimination Bill and protections in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) leaves individuals in NSW at risk of discrimination on the basis of their faith. For example, it is not illegal in NSW to refuse service to someone on the basis that they are a Christian.
• “Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 (NSW) – despite pre-election promises from Premier Minns and Labor candidates regarding protections for religious belief and practice (especially advice and prayer), the legislation that was passed and ADNSW’s interpretation of it have placed Christians at risk of having action taken against them under the Act.
Currently, the only formal funding by Sydney Anglicans for religious freedom advocacy is an annual affiliate fee of $25,000 to the Christian think tank, Freedom For Faith. Relying on Bishop Stead for the work raises a key person risk.
A proposed motion asks Synod to agree “that funding should be included in the next triennial Synod budget for the legal and administrative support required in order to support [religious freedom advocacy].”
This year’s Sydney Anglican Synod will run on September 14, 15, 16 and 12, and 22 in the Wesley Conference Centre.