Presently, in ‘multi-cultural’ Australia, Pastafarians are still fighting for their religious rights to be recognised.

Pastafarians, and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, are recognised by the general public in many countries of the world. In Austria, the Czech Republic, New Zealand and the US, Pastafarians are allowed to wear their religious headwear in driver’s license photos, as far as we are aware.

We respectfully ask ‘Recognised by who?’ Is ‘recognised religion’ defined in the NSW legislation or regulations? We certainly recognise ourselves as a religion and as Pastafarians. We worship a supernatural deity, and through our deity, we understand our place in the universe. We have canons of conduct that we follow in adherence to our faith. We are an identifiable group, both within our own group and we are recognised as such by other groups. We have an official congregation, we have ordained ministers. This would appear to place Pastafarians within the legal definition of a ‘religion’ as defined by the High Court in Church of the New Faith v Commissioner for Pay-Roll Tax (Vic) (1983) 154 CLR 120.

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Australia, and individual Pastafarians, are not asking for any special privileges, we are simply asking for the exact same privileges as are afforded to any other religious group. We want our religion to have the same treatment and respect that any other religion has in this country.

For Pastafarians to be treated equally with other religions in Australia, all Pastafarians, must be allowed to wear their religious headwear in their driver's license photographs.