One gay couple are fighting for the right to foster children through a religious organisation after an appeals tribunal found in favour of religious discrimination.

In a report from The Daily Telegraph, an unnamed gay couple were initially awarded $10,000 in a decision from the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and Wesley Mission were told to allow the men to foster children through the organisation’s foster care program.

Appealing the decision, Wesley Mission found a favourable panel that said the case should be heard again, and that this time the tribunal should consider ‘whether monogamous heterosexual couples are the norm for “Wesleyanism” and whether they might have had to reject the couple in order to preserve their beliefs and not offend people in their religion,’ according to The Daily Telegraph.

Australian religious organisations are reportedly applauding the decision.

“The decision is very helpful, a step in the right direction,” Catholic Cardinal George Pell told The Telegraph. “It is important to protect people from unjust discrimination but it is ridiculous to claim discrimination every time we show a preference for some people over others. Anti-discrimination laws should not be used to change how church agencies organise themselves,” said the current Archbishop of Sydney.

Helen Falconer from the Australian Foster Care Association says that while religious organisations form part of each state and territory’s foster care network, all kinds of people are needed to foster.

“Gay couples, singles, married or defacto couples and gay singles are all foster carers across Australia,” Falconer told Same Same . “There is a need for carers and also a need for different types of people from different walks of life,” she said.

Falconer indicated that any decision to deny foster parenting based on sexuality would be due to non-government organisation’s own policy frameworks. “Many, but not all, [foster care] agencies are linked to church organisations… The Australian Foster Care Association represents foster carers and the children for whom they care, regardless of their marital status, sexuality, religion,” says Falconer

The couple involved and Wesley Mission will appear again before the Administrative Decisions Tribunal in what could be a precedent setting decision.

The case comes shortly after the Victorian government announced plans to pass legislation that would allow religious organisations to discriminate against individuals on the basis of sexuality and marital status.