WHAT WAS CLAIMED
An Australian government website advocated for sharia law to be legally recognised.
OUR VERDICT
Misleading. The article in question concluded Islamic law should not be implemented.
AAP FACTCHECK - A 15-year-old article on recognising sharia law in Australia is being misrepresented and falsely linked to Anthony Albanese on social media.
The 2010 article concluded that Islamic law should not be recognised in Australia.
There is also no evidence that the prime minister has spoken about changing the status quo ahead of the May 3 election.
The claim appears in a Facebook post featuring a screenshot of the federal government's Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) website bearing the headline "Legal recognition of Sharia law".
Overlaying the image is an abstract reviewing how Muslims in secular countries try to live by the faith-based sharia code, particularly concerning family and relationships.
"Hence, there have been recurring requests, including in Australia, for formal state recognition to be given to Islamic law, especially for family law matters involving Muslims. Just as Canada, Britain and the nations of Europe grapple with this issue, so too is Australia," the overlaid text reads.
The post's caption reads: "Thanks to Labor, it's coming quicker than we think."
However, the screenshot has trimmed the full article abstract to remove the conclusion that sharia should not be recognised.
A Google search of the article title reveals it was published in issue 84 of the journal Family Matters in May 2010.
Family Matters is published by the AIFS, a statutory research body under the Department of Social Services.
The article, by University of Queensland legal expert Ann Black, examines the debate over recognising aspects of sharia in Australian family law.
It ultimately concludes such laws should not be adopted in Australia: "For now, the status quo should prevail," (page 67).
An acknowledgement at the end of the piece (p67) states it is actually a shortened version of a 2008 article in Volume 3, No.4 of the Alternative Law Journal.
Professor Black also concludes in the earlier article that sharia should not be recognised.
"Can we, and should we, give formal legal recognition to Shariah law for inter-personal disputes between Australian Muslims? I would argue that Australia is not yet ready to embrace official recognition," she writes (p219).
AAP FactCheck was unable to find any instance of Mr Albanese mentioning the words "sharia" or "Islamic law" on the prime minister's website.
Labor's main election policy document, the 2023 ALP National Platform, also has no mention of either of those terms.
Similar claims misrepresenting the 2010 article have been debunked by AFP Fact Check.
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