The Rationalist Society of Australia welcomes a Victorian parliamentary committee’s call for new laws to address coercive control in high-control groups and for reform of federal charities laws to ensure greater accountability of such groups.
On Wednesday, the Legislative Assembly’s Legal and Social Issues Committee published the report for its inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups.
Among 39 recommendations, the report recommended that the Victorian government ask the Victorian Law Reform Commission to review legislative options to criminalise group-based coercion, and then introduce legislation in response to the Law Reform Commission’s work.
Ex-cult survivors, who were instrumental in having the inquiry established, have welcomed the recommendations.
In a submission to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry last year, the Rationalist Society of Australia urged the state to become a leader in addressing harmful and abusive practices in destructive cults and called for it to expand coercive control laws to also apply to group-based contexts.
The committee also called for the removal of the Basic Religious Charities (BRC) category from federal charities laws to “improve transparency” to ensure all charities “are regulated in a consistent manner”.
The committee described the national Productivity Commission’s previous findings and recommendations about the regulatory treatment of BRCs as “compelling” and said implementation of these would “go some way” to addressing governance concerns raised in its inquiry.
Many high-control groups have BRC status with the national charities regulator and are, therefore, exempt from meeting the governance standards and reporting requirements that apply to all other charities. The exemptions also mean that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has no power to suspend or remove a ‘responsible person’ from such groups.
As reported by the Rationalist Society of Australia last year, the ACNC confirmed to the parliamentary inquiry that members of the public had raised concerns with it about issues of coercive control in religious charities.
On several occasions in recent years, the ACNC has publicly stated that the exemptions provided to BRCs under federal charities laws impacts its regulatory work and that “reduced transparency” of BRCs “may impact public trust and confidence in the charity sector”.
In 2024, the Productivity Commission, as part of its inquiry into philanthropy, said it “could not identify a policy rationale that justifies retaining” BRCs and called for the removal of BRCs in order to “enhance regulatory consistency and public transparency”.
More than two years on, the Albanese government has still not provided a formal response to the Productivity’s recommendation.
The Victorian parliamentary committee said it agreed that the existence of a distinct BRC category, exempt from key governance and reporting obligations, created “inconsistency” within Australia’s charity regulatory framework and “limits transparency and accountability”.
“The Committee is particularly concerned that these exemptions apply regardless of risk or size, and may be relied upon by coercive or high-control groups registered as BRCs,” said the report.
“Inquiry evidence suggests that the reduced oversight of BRCs can constrain ACNC’s ability to respond effectively to complaints, investigate concerns, and take proportionate enforcement action where risks to individuals or charitable assets are identified.”
The committee’s report said the inquiry had helped to raise broader public awareness about an issue that “often remains out of the public view”.
“Coercive high-control groups cause serious, cumulative harm, often with the deliberate intention to control and coerce an individual”, the report said.
“A key concern identified by the Committee is the risk that coercive high-control groups pose to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Effective protection relies on the ability to recognise the problem, understand how risk may present in different contexts, and having the capability to respond appropriately.”
We are actively campaigning for coercive control laws to be extended to cover cults and high-demand groups. Follow our campaign here.
We are actively campaigning for reform of the charities sector. Follow our campaign updates here.
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Si Gladman is Executive Director at the Rationalist Society of Australia. You can contact him at sigladman@rationalist.com.au.