AMA submission on the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill 2019

The AMA has provided a submission on the Second Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill 2019. The AMA considers that sections of the Bill not only fail to reflect or support the well- developed framework of professional standards of the medical profession, but they also appear to override these standards and create a new confusing element with the potential for serious unintended consequences. The Bill appears to reduce patient safeguards and derogate patients’ rights to access health care, while also undermining the rights of some doctors by enabling employers to discriminate against them based on religious belief.