A Melbourne tribunal has commenced a three-day hearing to decide if Melton Christian College discriminated against five-year-old Sidhak Singh Arora for allegedly forbidding him from wearing a turban to school.
Sidhak's father Sagardeep Singh Arora said after the first hearing outside the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on Monday he was "quite surprised in an advanced country like Australia, Australia is not allowing us to wear the patka in the school".
The patka is the children's version of the turban that a Sikh wears.
"I believe other schools may learn from this case and try to amend their policy ... and accommodate more people from different religions," Mr Arora said.
"[The patka is] not just a head covering, it's a part of religion."
Melton Christian College principal David Gleeson told SBS World News the school would not comment on the case at this time.
"At the moment we as a college see it as appropriate that we don't make any comment to media. We are doing that out of respect for the VCAT process ... the tribunal will make its finding, and we respect the process."
Mejindarpal Kaur, international legal director of United Sikhs - a UN-affiliated humanitarian organisation - and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills in Melbourne are legally representing the Singh family.
Mrs Kaur, who travelled from the UK to provide legal assistance, told SBS Radio's Punjabi Program that the organisation is raising this issue in the interest of all religious minorities.
"Sidhak's mother and father told the tribunal that they were disappointed with Melton Christian College's decision of denying their son school enrolment," she said.
Mr Arora took the case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal back in January.
He told SBS News at the time, "It's very difficult for a father to tell his kid, 'oh you can't go to that school', I can't say because of this religion belief or because he's following some religion – that’s a hindrance for his education."
He said he enrolled Sidhak in a public school after Melton Christian College informed the family he could not wear a patka.
However, Mr Arora told media on Monday that if Melton Christian College adjusted its uniform protocol to allow the turban, he would still enrol his son into the school.
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has been contacted for comment.
The three-day hearing continues.
With Preetinder Singh and Sarah Abo
