Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday the country would ban private or religious schools from expelling Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) students.

The announcement follows controversy over a leaked government report that sought to review religious protections, which at present allow schools in most states to reject gay students.

Fairfax Media, which obtained a copy, had said the report recommended the rule be applied nationwide, and also include discrimination based on gender identity and relationship status.

Read more: Scouts Australia apologize to child abuse victims

Watch video 01:23 Share Gay couples wed in Australia Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2qYE0 First gay couples tie the knot in Australia

Leak caused 'confusion'

But Morrison rejected the recommendation, and criticized the leak for creating "unnecessary confusion and anxiety for parents and students alike."

"I will be taking action to ensure amendments are introduced as soon as practicable to make it clear that no student of a non-state school should be expelled on the basis of their sexuality," he said in a statement.

Morrison said his government does not support expulsion of students from religious non-state schools on the basis of their sexuality and that he believed most MPs agreed with his stance.

"I also know that this view is widely shared by religious schools and communities across the country," he added.

The controversial review was ordered after Australia, last year, legalized same-sex marriage, after conservatives complained that the change would restrict religious freedoms.

Read more: Australia's third largest bank ANZ fires 200 staff for misconduct

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2001, The Netherlands The Netherlands was the first country in the world to permit same-sex marriages after the Dutch parliament voted for legalization in 2000. The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, wedded the first four same-sex couples at midnight on April 1, 2001 when the legislation came into effect. The new law also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2003, Belgium The Netherlands' neighbor, Belgium, followed the Dutch lead and legalized same-sex marriage two years later. The law gave same-sex partners many of the rights of their heterosexual counterparts. But unlike the Dutch, the Belgians did not initially allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The Belgian parliament passed a bill granting them that right three years later.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2010, Argentina Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages when its Senate voted 33 to 27 in favor of it in July 2010. Argentina thereby became the tenth country in the world to permit gay and lesbian marriages. The South American country was not the only one to do so in 2010. Earlier in the year, Portugal and Iceland also passed same-sex marriage legislation.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2012, Denmark Denmark's parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of legalization in June 2012. The small Scandinavian country had made headlines before when it was the first country in the world to recognize civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1989. Same-sex couples had also enjoyed the right to adopt children since 2009.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2013, New Zealand New Zealand became the 15th country worldwide and the first Asia-Pacific country to allow gay and lesbian marriages in 2013. The first couples were married on August 19. Lynley Bendall (left) and Ally Wanik (right) were among them when they exchanged vows on board an Air New Zealand flight from Queenstown to Auckland. France legalized same-sex marriage the same year.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2015, Ireland Ireland made headlines in May 2015 when it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a referendum. Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Dublin as the results came in showing almost two-thirds of voters opting for the measure.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2015, USA The White House was alight in the colors of the rainbow flag on June 26, 2015. Earlier, the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the constitution guaranteed marriage equality, a verdict that paved the way for same-sex couples to be married across the country. The decision came 12 years after the Supreme Court ruled that laws criminalizing gay sex were unconstitutional.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2017, Germany Germany became the fifteenth European country to legalize gay and lesbian marriages in June 30, 2017. The bill passed by 393 to 226 in the Bundestag, with four abstentions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel voted against the bill, but paved the way for its passage when she said her party would be allowed to vote freely on the measure only days before the vote took place.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2017 - 2018, Australia Following a postal survey which showed the majority of Australians were in favor of same-sex marriage, the country's parliament passed a law to legalize it in December 2017. As couples in Australia have to give authorities one month's notice of their nuptials, many of the first weddings took place just after midnight on January 9, 2018 - including that of Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan, pictured.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2019, Taiwan In May 2019, the island state became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The government survived an attempt by conservative opposition to water down the bill. Gay couples are able to offically register their marriage from May 24 onwards. President Tsai Ing-wen called it "a big step towards true equality."

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2019, Ecuador The Andean state's top court ruled 5-4 to allow two gay couples to marry in June. The decision followed a ruling from the Inter-American Court on Human Rights affirming that countries should allow same-sex couples the right to marry. Author: Alexander Pearson



By-election next week

The discrimination issue has come to the fore ahead of a crucial by-election for Morrison's ruling Liberal-National coalition in the vital Sydney seat of Wentworth on October 20.

Australian public broadcaster, ABC, cited government insiders saying they were concerned about the Liberal Party's prospects of holding the seat vacated by former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull.

At least one opposition politician, meanwhile, called for the planned law to go further, to cover discrimination against LGBT teachers and other staff.

Meanwhile, a study of high school students found the majority of young Australians do not support religious exemptions.

Eighty-four percent of 1,200 teenagers interviewed last year believed students should be allowed to openly express their sexual or gender identity, according to data compiled by three top Australian universities.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.