Year 11 Legal Studies: Contractual Obligations

"Attorney-General Christian Porter is pushing back on calls from within the Coalition to exempt religious beliefs from employment contracts, which could afford legal protection to views like those expressed by rugby player Israel Folau. Mr Porter, who was sworn in as Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations this week, cautioned the government was not necessarily interested in "trying to prevent individuals privately contracting the terms of their employment". ... "

"Wallabies star Israel Folau will have a legal defence on the grounds of alleged religious discrimination under national employment law if Rugby Australia terminates his contract. Expert views on his legal position emerged ... "

" If Israel Folau can be fired for quoting the Bible, then employers will be left hiring only those who have never had an opinion on anything. Israel Folau versus Rugby Australia is the court case everyone, except our politicians, wants to talk about. The suggestion that it's merely a contractual dispute that has nothing to do with broader questions about the right to freedom of speech or freedom of religion is misconceived."

"Professional athletes are sanctioned pursuant to a clause in playing contracts that authorises a sport association and/or club to take punitive action for conduct that is deemed to be in breach of the requirement not to bring the sport into disrepute. This can include conduct that occurs in a time and place unrelated to the sport. The sport associations claim they have a right to safeguard their brands and accordingly their well-paid athletes need to protect the association’s commercial and reputational interests by being exemplary role models at all times. This article argues that the contractual terms that regulate such conduct are unreasonable and improper ... "

"Sports provide naturally gifted and hardworking athletes a platform from which to promote their fame in return for personal, social, and commercial outcomes, which are usually aligned with their sport’s values and goals. But where does a sport stand when one athlete’s social media post is a sponsor's version of discrimination, and how should the sporting organisation respond? ... "

A hearing on Wallabies star Israel Folau’s alleged breach of contract over his social media posts is set to pit Rugby Australia’s code of conduct against issues of fairness and even human rights.