Arora v Melton Christian College (VCAT) – Jul 2017

This case involved a complaint alleging that Melton Christian College had discriminated against Sidak Singh Arora (Sidak), a 5 year old Sikh boy, by preventing him from wearing a patka to school.

The Equal Opportunity Act 2010 protects people from being discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and activities in the area of education. Melton Christian College relied on exceptions set out in sections 39 and 42 of the Equal Opportunity Act to justify its uniform policy.

The Commission intervened in this matter as a party to the proceedings because the exceptions relied upon by Melton Christian College had not been tested before. As the independent regulator for equality law our aim is to assist the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to interpret and apply the Equal Opportunity Act. The Commission’s submissions in this proceeding focused on providing a framework for VCAT to interpret sections 39 and 42 of the Act, as this was the first time these exceptions had been raised in a court or tribunal.

On 19 September 2017 VCAT made a finding that Melton Christian College had discriminated against Sidak. It held that:

• Sidak was excluded from Melton Christian College due to its uniform policy. His religious beliefs and practices prevented him from being able to comply with the uniform policy
• Sidak was disadvantaged by not being able to attend Melton Christian College because he could not access the emotional and social
  advantages associated with attending a school that his cousins also attend or the practical advantages associated with attending a school that is close to his home
• Melton Christian College’s uniform policy, in so far as it prohibits the wearing of a patka and requires boys to have short hair, is not reasonable because the school did not satisfy VCAT that its amended policy in September 2014 reflected the views of the school community at the time
• Whilst Melton Christian College is a Christian school, it has an open enrolment policy which means it accepts enrolments from students of other faiths (a little over 50 per cent of the school community were non-Christian)
• Melton Christian College could make reasonable adjustments to the uniform policy by allowing Sidak to wear a patka in the same colour as the school uniform
• Melton Christian College could not rely upon the exception set out in section 39 because, even if the school operates mainly for the benefit of students from one religious belief, this section does not allow the school to exclude people with some religious beliefs but not others, or to exclude people who have a particular religious belief, in this case Sikhs who wear patkas
• Melton Christian College could not rely upon the exception set out in section 42, which allows educational authorities to set and enforce reasonable standards of dress, appearance and behaviour for students because this section does not allow educational authorities to exclude persons seeking to be admitted as students from schools where they are unable to comply with a uniform policy due to their religious belief or activity.

The Commission’s submissions are attached.

Read a full copy of the VCAT decision.