Australian Law Student Recounts Discrimination Over School Prefect Rejection
A Sydney law student is speaking out about an incident from his teenage years when he believes he was denied a prefect position at a religious school due to his sexuality.
Luke Gallagher, currently a law student at Sydney University, shared his experience of being rejected for a prefect role at a religious high school at age 15. Gallagher, who was openly gay at the time, stated that the school's principal told him he was not the "right fit" and that his mannerisms did not align with the school's values, implying he was not destined to represent people.
Despite strong academic results and involvement in extracurricular activities such as running the school newspaper and participating in an international school trip, Gallagher believes his sexual orientation was the reason for the rejection. He recalled being bullied for being gay in his earlier high school years and understood the principal's veiled comment.
Gallagher's parents were supportive but advised against causing disruption. Although he has since achieved various leadership positions, the experience has continued to affect him. "I still think back to being told that someone like me couldn’t represent other people," he said.
In a social media video, Gallagher commented on the ongoing issues faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals in some religious schools. "At religious schools today, it is still so much worse than that," he stated, referring to the possibility of teachers being sacked and students expelled for being gay, pregnant, or divorced, even in 2026.
Gallagher hopes his story will contribute to change, acknowledging that many students experience more severe consequences. "I think I got off lightly and that there are kids who lose their friends and lose their livelihood because of who they love," he said, calling the situation "unacceptable in 2026."
He also mentioned the efforts of his local Member of Parliament, Allegra Spender, who introduced the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment (Equality in Treatment in Religious Schools) Bill to the House of Representatives. Spender stated on Instagram that "Every student and teacher should feel safe at school without needing to hide who they are."
The proposed legislation aims to protect students and teachers at religious schools from being expelled or dismissed based on their LGBTQIA+ status, pregnancy, or divorce, while still allowing religious schools to maintain their faith-based hiring practices and teachings. Spender noted that her bill seeks to close a loophole in Australia's Sex Discrimination Act that permits religious schools to dismiss individuals for reasons that would be unlawful in other educational institutions.