A bill which criminalises gay conversion practices has been passed in Victoria.

Practices which suppress the conversion of gender identity or sexual orientation are now banned in the state following a 12-hour marathon debate where two Liberal MPs broke with party ranks to vote against the bill, which had 29 votes to nine.

Liberal MPs Bev McArthur and Bernie Finn voted against the legislation, along with crossbench MPs Jeff Bourman, Catherine Cumming, Clifford Hayes, Stuart Grimley, David Limbrick, Tania Maxwell and Tim Quilty.

The legislation means that those engaging in practices which result in serious injury of a person will face penalties – 10 years imprisonment or up to $10,000 in fines.

Following the bill, the Family Violence Protection Act will be amended to make sexual identity suppression a form of domestic violence.

Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick stood up in support of the bill, stating he was the father of two “perfect” transgender children.

“They do not need fixing,” he said.

“Nor do any other children or adults who do not fit an often religiously held belief that sexuality and gender are binary only,” he said.

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Faith groups – apart from the Rainbow Catholics – have opposed the bill, stating it encroaches on religious freedom while medical professionals have also raised concerns that it could compromise the practice of psychiatry and psychotherapy, whereas the Law Institute of Victoria has raised concerns on behalf of lawyers that the bill is overly broad and could prevent parents or caregivers from having conversations with their children about gender identity.

Archbishop Makarios of Australia has been one of the church leaders who have already expressed a “grave disquiet” concerning the bill which goes one step further than a similar bill passed in Queensland last year because it includes references to gay conversion in “religious settings” and includes “carrying out a religious practice, included but not limited to, a prayer-based practice, a deliverance practice or an exorcism”.

A statement by Archbishop Makarios in the past expressed “grave disquiet” concerning the bill.

“While the Orthodox Church extends its loving embrace around all, in an effort to protect the vulnerable from coercion, the proposed Bill appears to extend too far towards the opposite extreme, specifically and without properly defining its parametres, criminalising prayer for one another, which is at the heart of Orthodox spirituality,” he said.

Furthermore, Archbishop Makarios is critical of the “ambiguous and vague manner” in which practices are defined in the legislation “since they could be taken to include pastoral care, counselling and spiritual advice provided within the Mystery of Confession.”

Attorney General Jaclyn Symes said that “this bill does not outlaw prayer. It does not prevent health professionals from doing their job

Debate on the bill started at 11am and finished at 6pm on Thursday and the final vote to pass the proposed legislation took place just before 11pm.

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The law will come into effect 12 months after it receives royal assent from Victoria’s governor.

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