The Federal Government’s draft religious discrimination laws are ambiguous and would create “serious confusion” for doctors when exercising their right to conscientious objection, the AMA has warned.

A doctor’s right to religious freedom should be balanced with an individual’s right to healthcare, it wrote in its submission to the Religious Discrimination Bill last week.

The draft Bill, which was unveiled in August, might inadvertently allow doctors and other healthcare professionals with strong religious beliefs to turn away patients on faith grounds alone, further marginalising some groups, the AMA said.

The Bill is part of a Coalition commitment to protect people from being discriminated against for their religious belief or activity, including doctors and other healthcare professionals.