(image is not of the couple in lawsuit)

News.com.au reports that a New South Wales gay couple have won a landmark discrimination case after being banned from becoming foster parents because of their orientation. The unidentified couple took legal action when their application to become foster parents was refused by a welfare agency linked to the Uniting Church. The Australian province’s Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled that they were “unlawfully discriminated against on the ground of homosexuality”.

The couple was awarded $10000 as compensation for being “deeply hurt, insulted and embarrassed” by the welfare agency’s decision. The Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits unlawful discrimination in the provision of services on the grounds of homosexuality and marital status. Gay couples are legally allowed to become foster carers in NSW but the agency defended its decision by arguing it was exempt from the Anti-Discrimination Act on religious grounds.

The tribunal refused a request by the couple for a public apology but ordered the welfare agency to review its policy on homosexual foster carers and “take all necessary steps to eliminate unlawful discrimination on the ground of homosexuality in the facilitation and provision of its foster care services”.