Across Australia, many Christians wonder:
“Can I still pray with or counsel someone who’s struggling with their sexuality?”
“Can I guide my children with a biblical view of identity?”
No Christian parent, pastor, or counsellor should have to ask these questions.
Yet in Western Australia, laws are being considered that could make these ordinary acts of care a criminal offence. As reported in The West Australian, Attorney-General Tony Buti has already committed to introducing conversion therapy legislation to Parliament by the end of 2025. But here’s what most people don’t understand: these laws aren’t targeting electroshock treatment or lobotomies. Those practices were abandoned decades ago. Instead, they redefine prayer and pastoral care as “conversion practices” punishable by heavy fines and even prison terms. And it’s already happening across most of Australia.
85% of Australians now live under conversion therapy bans. In Victoria and NSW, prayer and pastoral care directed toward changing or suppressing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity are now criminal offences. Queensland’s ban applies only to health professionals, while the ACT and South Australia have broader bans, with some limitations. Draft legislation in Tasmania may soon be open for debate. The trajectory is clear. Victoria and NSW have led the ideological charge with the harshest penalties – up to 10 years in prison, $660,000 fines for churches, and $132,000 for individuals. Other jurisdictions are fast catching up. What starts as health regulation ends up as faith regulation. To see what’s coming to WA, look at NSW. It’s now a conversion practice to “tell someone to be celibate because of their sexuality or gender identity.” Teaching biblical sexual ethics is explicitly prohibited, even in private pastoral conversations.
The NSW government states that “praying with or over a person with the intent to change or suppress their sexuality or gender identity is unlawful” – even if they ask. The enforcement agency’s own website reveals how this will be applied: they’re promoting activist materials depicting conversion practices exclusively in Christian contexts – crosses, churches, pastors preaching. This isn’t paranoia. It’s already on full display. For us, this goes deeper than politics. It’s about our freedom to love people through the truth of God’s Word. But there is hope. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is rallying churches and leaders in WA and across the nation. We’re meeting with MPs, equipping pastors, and mobilising parents before it’s too late. And it’s working. Last week, over 100 Christian leaders joined our NSW webinar to push back against these laws. Even when bad laws are passed, we are never powerless. Western Australia could soon criminalise Christian parenting and pastoral ministry. The pattern set in NSW and Victoria is spreading. Our time to speak is now.
Source: Australian Christian Lobby
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