What freedoms do people have in Australia?
Last updated 23 October 2026
What freedoms do people have in Australia?
Part 2 of Our Common Bond lists three main freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of association, and freedom of religion. All three come with one condition. You must obey Australian law while you use them.
Learn the condition as well as the freedom.
Freedom of speech and expression
Speech means you can say and write what you think and talk about ideas with other people. You can criticise the government, protest peacefully against its decisions and campaign to change laws.
Expression is wider. It covers art, film, music and writing. People may also meet in public or in private to talk about social or political matters.
There is a duty that goes with it. You must respect the speech and expression of other people too. Your freedom does not cancel theirs.
Freedom of association
This is the right to form or join groups that share a goal. A political party, a trade union, and a religious, cultural or social group are all examples, as long as the group is legal.
It works in the other direction as well. You can decide not to join, and nobody can force you.
People may also gather to protest against a government action or an organisation. The gathering must stay peaceful. It must not hurt anyone or damage property.
Freedom of religion
People in Australia can follow any religion, or none. The booklet notes that many Australians are Christian and that some public holidays fall on Christian days. Even so, no religion is the national one.
The government is secular. In plain words, it keeps itself separate from churches and other religious groups. The law treats every citizen equally, whatever they believe.
When a religious practice and an Australian law clash, the law prevails.
Equality sits beside the freedoms
Part 2 also lists equalities. Men and women have equal rights, and it is against the law to treat someone worse because of their gender. Laws also protect people from unfair treatment because of race, disability or age.
The booklet adds the idea of a "fair go". What a person achieves should come from talent, work and effort, not from wealth or background. In this way Australia avoids formal class divisions.
The same pattern three times
Each freedom has the same shape: you may do it, other people may too, and you stay inside the law. Peaceful gatherings are fine, violence is not. Free speech is fine, breaking the law is not.
A good way to remember it is to picture a fence around a large garden. Inside the fence you have plenty of room. The fence is the law.
These freedoms grow out of the democratic beliefs, and the booklet's Part 2 guide covers them with the equalities. For the values side, see Australian values, because the five values questions must all be right. Then check what you know with the free practice test.
Check yourself
- Can you give one example of each of the three freedoms?
- What must you always do while using any of them?
- What does "secular" mean in your own words?
Questions people ask
- Can you criticise the government in Australia?
- Yes. The booklet gives criticising the government, peaceful protest and campaigning for new laws as examples of free speech.
- Does Australia have a national religion?
- No. The government is secular, which means it works separately from churches and other religious bodies.
- What if a religious practice goes against a law?
- Australian law wins. The booklet says the law prevails in that case.