Overview:

• Australia doesn’t have an established recognition system.

• A key part of the discourse that recognitionism seeks to ignite is to analyse whether the position of a country like Australia is ideal or whether a country having an established recognition system that is dynamic is the ideal situation.

• The sufficiency of state services for new and established groups based on belief is questioned, as is the government capacities for facilitating new developments in religion and belief.

• The closest form of recognition is through the state’s bestowal of tax-exempt status.

Positive elements:

• Freedom of religion or belief for both new and established religions is widely upheld.

Recommendations:

• Establish a set of differentiated systems for both existential recognition and legal registration.