MEDIA RELEASE 4 April 2025:

Anti-Discrimination NSW launches program to end conversion “therapy”

Yesterday, at New South Wales Parliament House, Anti-Discrimination NSW launched their program to back the legislation passed last year to ban so-called conversion “therapy”. At the launch were survivors of LGBTQ conversion practices, government officials and LGBTQ advocates.

The launch was opened with an address by Anthony Venn-Brown OAM, founder and CEO of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International (ABBI). Anthony has been working with victims and survivors of these discredited and harmful practices for the last 25 years since he founded a support group in Australia in 2000. He has also been a part of an advisory group assisting Anti-Discrimination NSW in their preparation of the program.

In his address, Venn-Brown said, “Behind closed doors, harmful practices have continued for decades. But with awareness campaigns and brave survivors sharing their stories, these abuses have now been exposed. When I founded that Yahoo group 25 years ago, never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine that the experience I suffered… would become illegal. But here we are. .”

He also noted that it was naïve to think that the legislation will instantly change people’s beliefs, but “The program launched today by the NSW government is a step in the right direction. It will help create a safer environment where LGBTQA people and families can thrive, and most importantly, it WILL save lives.”

NSW joins Victoria, ACT, Queensland and South Australia in making conversion practices illegal.

Under the new NSW legislation, those who perform LGBTQ conversion practices causing substantial harm could face up to five years in prison. Taking someone out of NSW to undergo conversion therapy could result in a three-year sentence.

Survivors could be financially compensated up to $100,000.

The NSW Attorney General, Mike Daley, clarified that the law does not restrict general religious teachings or parental discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity, but specifically targets efforts to change them.

In his speech, Venn-Brown had said, “Some will argue that the legislation infringes on religious freedoms or parental rights. But it’s not anti-religion. This is about ending the well-documented harm and protecting vulnerable LGBTQA people. To treat [LGBTQA people] as unacceptable or in need of ‘fixing’ is not only against the values of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, but it is also a violation of their fundamental human right to equality.”

Venn-Brown concluded with a stark reminder of the devastation these practices have caused. The most tragic has been the suicides.

Quoting from an email he’d received from a survivor who had reached out to him, which said.

“I’ve always been taught that God hates me. Between 14 and 30, I tried to change through ‘ex-gay’ programs. During my years in the conversion “therapy” movement  I made many friends, but of the 40 people, only six are still alive. One died naturally, the rest by suicide.”

Full speech here https://www.abbi.org.au/2025/04/conversion-therapy-ban-anti-discrimination-nsw/

Further inquiries

Email: anthony@abbi.org.au

Mobile: +61 (0)416 015 231

Blog: http://www.abbi.org.au/blog/

Twitter: @gayambassador

Autobiography: ‘A Life of Unlearning – a preacher’s struggle with his homosexuality, church and faith’