The Justice and Equity Centre’s submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 broadly supported the provisions of the Bill, while calling for the legislation to go much further to protect groups more effectively against hate speech.
This includes recommendations to:
- Consult people with disability organisations about including disability as a protected attribute in existing offences created in sections 80.2H, 80.2HA and 80.2K of the Criminal Code
- Introduce Commonwealth civil vilification provisions, based on section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, covering religious belief, disability, sex and LGBTI people
- Amend the protected attribute of gender identity to ensure it explicitly includes gender expression, so that both the Hate Crimes Bill and any civil vilification protections apply to protect drag performers at Drag Story Times, and
- Replace the protected attribute of intersex status with the best practice term sex characteristics, in the Hate Crimes Bill, any civil vilification protections and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, as the Commonwealth Government has previously promised.
