Vic: Cults Inquiry

The Victorian Parliament has released its report into cults, organised fringe groups and coercive control.

The inquiry was established to address a serious problem. Some groups use manipulation, isolation, threats, financial exploitation and abuse to control people. 

Those harmed deserve protection and support.

The Problem, and the Danger

But there was also a real danger to religious freedom.

Ordinary practices such as evangelism, moral teaching, tithing, pastoral care and membership standards had appeared in lists of possible recruitment or control tactics.

Without a clear distinction between strong belief and abusive conduct, mainstream religious communities could have faced stigma or regulation because of what they believe and practise.

Protecting Religious Freedom

Freedom for Faith coordinated a submission co-signed by Australian Christian Churches, the Baptist Union of Victoria, the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia and the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.

Its central message was simple:

“In themselves, strong religious beliefs and disciplines are not coercive.”

A Significant Win

That distinction is now reflected in the Committee’s report, which quotes our submission throughout.

The report rejects the use of “cult” in legislation and says reform must focus on harmful behaviour rather than beliefs or group identity. It also recognises that exclusive religious claims, voluntary giving and demanding forms of commitment are not inherently coercive.

These are important safeguards.

New Risks Remain

But serious risks remain.

The Committee has recommended a new offence of “group-based coercion”. Some proposed concepts – including “spiritual or existential threats” and interference with “independent thought” – are troublingly broad.

Without careful definition, they could encompass ordinary teaching about judgement, salvation, repentance or spiritual consequences. Religious conversion and formation can reshape how a person understands themselves and the world. That is not the same as removing their ability to make decisions.

A Major Threat to Religious Charities

The report also recommends that Victoria press the Commonwealth to remove the category of “Basic Religious Charity”. That is a massive and unnecessary attack on the charity framework that almost every church and other faith group relies on. Fortunately, it is a proposal that has been regularly rejected by the Federal Government, and we are constantly engaging with them to preserve this important legal expression of religious freedom.

What’s Next?

The battle has therefore moved to the next stage.

Your support helps keep a careful, credible voice for religious freedom in that process – protecting people from genuine abuse without treating voluntary religious commitment as coercion.

Our Submission

When the Committee was announced, we coordinated a submission signed by leaders of church denominations in Victoria. The submission emphasises that poorly drafted laws could stigmatise or even criminalise legitimate religious practices. 

You can read our full submission here.

Our Testimony

As a result of the submission, Freedom for Faith was invited to testify before the Committee. In the hour-long conversation, we emphasised the importance of protecting religious freedom and the danger of describing a faith group as a “cult” or legislating against what a group believes. Instead, we encouraged the Committee to focus on policing existing individual criminal offenses.

You can read the full transcript here.

A Second Opportunity to Make the Case

Following the testimony, the Committee invited Freedom for Faith to lodge a follow-up and address specific questions. This second submission gave us the opportunity to address specific lines of thought that the Committee were exploring, such as possible legislative approaches and providing education and support for people in truly coercive situations.

You can read our follow-up submission here.