The ''Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001'' is an Act of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...

, Australia, that makes behaviour that incites or encourages hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule against another person or group of people, because of their race or religion, unlawful in Victoria. The Act was passed during the premiership of Steve Bracks and went into effect on 1 January 2002. From June 30, 2026 the legislation gets repealed and replaced with a new Anti-Vilification Act. The Act also prohibits racist

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

posters, racist stickers, racist comments made in a publication, including the Internet and email, statements at a meeting or at a public rally. The Act explicitly applies to public behaviour – not personal beliefs.

Provisions

Section 8(1) of the Act provides: ::A person must not, on the ground of the religious belief or activity of another person or class of persons, engage in conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, that other person or class of persons. ::Note: "engage in conduct" includes use of the internet or e-mail to publish or transmit statements or other material. Section 11 of the Act provides: ::A person does not contravene section 7 or 8 if the person establishes that the person's conduct was engaged in reasonably and in good faith— :::(a) in the performance, exhibition or distribution of an artistic work; or :::(b) in the course of any statement, publication, discussion or debate made or held, or any other conduct engaged in, for— ::::(i) any genuine academic, artistic, religious or scientific purpose; or ::::(ii) any purpose that is in the public interest; or :::(c) in making or publishing a fair and accurate report of any event or matter of public interest.

Complaints

Satanism

In 2003, Olivia Watts charged the mayor of the City of Casey, Victoria, Rob Wilson, alleging violation of the Act after he issued a press release in June of that year titled "Satanic cult out to take over Casey", in which Watts was mentioned by name. During a hearing on 12 August 2004, in the

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the tribunal sits 'below' the Magistra ...

, Watts said that after the press release, she suffered vandalism to her property and an assault at her home, in addition to general "hatred, contempt and revulsion". On 13 August, it was revealed in tribunal that the matter had been settled overnight, and Wilson read a statement acknowledging that Watts was not a Satanist and expressing "regret for any hurt felt by Ms Watts in consequence of his press release".

Catch the Fire Ministries

In 2004, the Islamic Council of Victoria laid a complaint under the Act alleging vilification of Muslims about the preaching by two

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

pastors. One was Daniel Scot, a man who had fled

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

when a charge of

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

was made against him there. The other was Danny Nalliah. Both made controversial remarks about

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

at a seminar held in Queensland in March 2002. It was alleged that Scot claimed that Muslims were terrorists who wanted to take over Australia, and that those who didn't weren't true Muslims. On 17 December 2004, the

(VCAT) ruled that Nalliah, Scot and the Christian group Catch the Fire Ministries had vilified Muslims at the seminar, and in a newsletter and website article authored by the group. Nalliah publicly condemned the verdict declaring that "We may have lost the battle, but the war is not over. The law has to be removed, there is no question."Historic win in religious hatred case

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

, 18 December 2004 On 22 June 2005, VCAT Judge Michael Higgins ordered Nalliah and Scot to make a public apology for vilifying Muslims in newspaper advertisements with a value of $68,690. Nalliah and Scot refused, with Nalliah comparing the legislation to "

sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

", calling it a "a foul law" and "invalid", while Mr Scot stated that "You don't compromise truth for fear of jail". On 14 December 2006, the defendants took their case to the Victorian Court of Appeal, which overturned the VCAT decision. On 22 June 2007, the matter was resolved by mediation between the parties. VCAT published a statement agreed to by both parties which affirmed everyone's rights to "robustly debate religion including the right to criticise the religious belief of another, in a free, open and democratic society".

United Patriots Front

In September 2017 three prominent members of the far-right United Patriots Front — Blair Cottrell, Neil Erikson and Chris Shortis — were charged with inciting serious contempt of Muslims, among other offences. They had in 2015 enacted and made a video of a fake beheading, in order to protest against the building of a mosque in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

. Cottrell lodged an appeal, applying for his case to be heard in the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

and arguing that he had been charged under an "invalid law". This was thrown out in February 2019, and he tried to have the matter heard in the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

. The district court judge ruled that there were matters to be decided in her court, such as his intentions in making the video, before the case could proceed to a higher court, and set a date for the appeal to be heard in the County Court. The County Court dismissed Cottrell's appeal in December 2019. The judge also said: “even if the ends were political, the means remain vilifying. Having a political end is not a defence to the charge.“

Criticism

Before the 2006 Victorian state election, Andrew McIntosh, the then state shadow

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, announced that the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

would repeal the religious section of the "fundamentally flawed" Act."libs coy over hatred laws"
9 August 2006 The Liberals did not win the election. In January 2006, nineteen Christian leaders from Melbourne's largest churches wrote to the premier requesting the removal of the civil provisions in the Act, claiming that aspects of the religious vilification law undermines multiculturalism.

Repeal

From June 30, 2026 the legislation gets repealed and replaced with a new Anti-Vilification Act.
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References

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External links

"Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001"
2001 in Australian law Anti-discrimination law in Australia Freedom of expression law Freedom of religion Political controversies in Australia Victoria (state) legislation Religion and politics Antisemitism in Australia Christianity and law in the 21st century Religion in Victoria (state) 2001 in religion Law about religion in Australia 2001 in Victoria (state)