Protect Religious Freedom in NSW

Dear Premier and Government, 

We, the undersigned Christian ministers in NSW, write to express our deep concern regarding the Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 (the Act), which came into effect in April 2025. 

The Act, and its administration by Anti-Discrimination NSW (ADNSW), place direct limits on our freedom as Christian ministers to pray, counsel, and pastorally care for all individuals in accordance with our Christian convictions about sex and sexual relationships.1

This directly contradicts pre-election promises made by the Labor Premier, Chris Minns, to our faith communities: 

“An individual, of their own consent, seeking guidance through prayer will not be banned.” 

Similar assurances were made by other Labor candidates, such as: 

“If someone comes voluntarily to seek advice, to seek help, to seek guidance, it is imperative that their right to do that is not outlawed. So I will commit to protecting a pastoral care or prayer situation where the person has come voluntarily and asked for that.” 

These were important promises that gave many Christians the confidence to vote Labor, some for the first time. 

Yet, upon the Act’s implementation, ADNSW issued the following advice: 

“Praying with or over a person with the intent to change or suppress their sexuality or gender identity is unlawful.” 

The NSW Attorney General, Michael Daley, similarly stated at an Estimates hearing: 

“You can pray with a person, but if you pray in a way that it becomes a sustained practice directed to a person with a view to changing their sexual orientation or gender, that’s against the law.” 

These statements directly contradict Labor’s commitments to people of faith. 

As Christian ministers, prayer and pastoral care are always about change, and seeing the transforming power of Jesus lead people to live differently in every area of life, including sexuality and identity. This is a sustained process of discipleship, not coercion. 

Encouraging someone to live in accordance with our understanding of God’s design, male and female, and with sexual intimacy reserved for marriage between a man and a woman, will now be treated as an unlawful “conversion practice.” 

ADNSW also identifies as unlawful: 

“Some religious-based practices, including counselling, conferences and spiritual deliverance practices, directed to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” 

This again breaches Labor’s promise to protect “individuals voluntarily seeking out advice and assistance.” 

Furthermore, ADNSW’s website features a discriminatory comic by Amnesty International titled “Conversion Practices in Australia,” which depicts exclusively Christian imagery, a cross, a church, and pews. A prayer considered ‘unlawful’ employs language central to our faith, such as ‘healing,’ ‘brokenness,’ and ‘aligning our lives with who God made us to be.’ 

As ministers and followers of Jesus Christ, we seek to share the transformative power of the Gospel in love, welcoming all people, including those who identify as LGBT+, and walking with them toward obedience to God and His Word. We reject any form of coercion or control and desire to live peaceably under our governing authorities, praying regularly for our leaders. 

However, our ministry has been wrongly targeted through this Act by a government that pledged to listen, respect and protect people of faith in NSW. 

Under God’s authority, we will continue to minister through prayer, counsel, and pastoral care consistent with our Christian convictions about sex and marriage. We do so knowing this may contravene the Act and expose us to investigation by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. We have no desire for conflict or criminalisation of our ministry, but we implore the NSW Government to recognise that such restrictions do not reflect an inclusive, diverse, and tolerant state. 

We urge the Premier and Government to honour their promises to faith communities and fix the Act to ensure the protection of religious freedom in NSW. 

If no solution is forthcoming by early next year, we will begin a comprehensive public campaign with a view toward the 2027 NSW Election. 

We await your response prayerfully. 

[1] “We believe God created each person in His image as male or female, and any person’s attempt to deny or change this distorts God’s good design.

We believe God blesses sexual intimacy solely between a man and a woman within the holy covenant of marriage, a life-giving mystery that reflects Christ’s love for His church”. Reference: The Australian Creedfor Sexual Integrity