Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Senator Alex Antic introduced the Australian Christian Freedom Index to Federal Senate yesterday (Tuesday, 30 June), placing the first systematic audit of Christian religious liberty in Australia into the parliamentary record.

The Australian Christian Freedom Index (ACFI) is the first systematic audit of its kind — measuring the legislative, institutional, social and cultural pressures on Christian belief and expression across Australia.

Drawing on documented cases, a review of the statute books across nine jurisdictions, and the responses of more than 10,000 Australians, the inaugural 2025 report maps where freedom is being eroded, which institutions are most at risk, and what can be done about it.

Australian Christian Freedom Index Documents Alarming Trends

The survey findings paint a sobering picture. “92% said that they think it’s riskier to affirm Christian beliefs than it was 5 years ago,” Senator Antic reported to Parliament. “42% said they experienced hostility, threats, or harassment for expressing what they consider to be a Christian worldview.”

Additional data revealed that 25% of respondents were denied opportunities at work, volunteering, or leadership due to their beliefs — issues that Senator Antic noted likely relate to positions on marriage and family.

The report documents specific cases of institutional pressure, including university students dismissed for conservative opinions in supposedly “freethinking academic institutions” and teachers in Christian schools expressing frustration at being “policed in an environment where their faith is meant to provide the ethos in their workplace.”

A Warning from Those Who Know

Senator Antic drew a striking parallel, sharing accounts from those with firsthand experience of totalitarianism: “Personally, I’ve had many many people who have escaped communist countries that tell me that Australia feels eerily like what they fled many years ago. Sometimes they whisper to state their honest opinion to avoid being overheard or the need to police themselves lest they face disciplinary measures from HR departments.”

He emphasised that “Many Australians of conservative persuasions have felt for a very long time that an ideology hostile to Christianity has taken hold in our institutions.”

“It shouldn’t be this way in Australia”, he concluded. “And all I can say is that it’s important that we live not by lies. There’s a difference between arrogantly pushing one’s belief onto others and simply holding to one’s religious convictions. And many Australians feel that the latter has become risky.”

Parliamentary Record and Next Steps

By presenting the ACFI to Parliament, the report now enters Hansard — the official parliamentary record — making it readily available for reference in future parliamentary speeches and committee discussions.

The ACFI team, comprising the Canberra Declaration, Australian Christian Lobby, Australian Family Coalition, Citizen GO, Family Voice Australia, and the Human Rights Law Alliance, express our immense gratitude to Senator Antic for bringing the issue before the nation’s lawmakers.

Senator Antic encouraged all Australians to review the full report. “I would encourage anyone listening to go and read the Australian Christian Freedom Index document from May of this year which touches on a whole lot of important subjects,” he said.

Download or order your ACFI report here.

Senate Speech Transcript

The Australian Christian Freedom Index has recently published a report on the state of religious liberty pertaining to Christians in Australia. Over 10,000 Christians were surveyed and shared their experiences regarding expressing their faith. 92% said that they think it’s riskier to affirm Christian beliefs than it was 5 years ago. 42% said they experienced hostility, threats, or harassment for expressing what they consider to be a Christian worldview.

This most likely relates to opinions that would involve things like marriage and family. 25% said they were denied opportunities at work, volunteering, or leadership due to their beliefs.

Now, while these are always subjective perspectives, it signals something that many Australians of conservative persuasions have felt for a very long time that an ideology host hostile to Christianity has taken hold in our institutions, which is something that I’ve been talking about for a long period of time.

There were university students in this document expressing frustration at being dismissed for conservative opinions which supposedly freethinking academic uh institutions can’t tolerate. Teachers in Christian schools’ express frustration with being policed in an environment where their faith is meant to provide the ethos in their workplace.

Personally, I’ve had many many people who have escaped communist countries that tell me that Australia feels eerily like what they fled many years ago. Sometimes they whisper to state their honest opinion to avoid being overheard or the need to police themselves lest they face disciplinary measures from HR departments.

It shouldn’t be this way in Australia. And all I can say is that it’s important that we live not by lies.

There’s a difference between arrogantly pushing one’s belief onto others and simply holding to one’s religious convictions. And many Australians feel that the latter has become risky.

I would encourage anyone listening to go and read the Australian Christian Freedom Index document from May of this year which touches on a whole lot of important subjects including but not limited to the ones I’ve mentioned this afternoon.

___

Image via screenshot of YouTube.