We take the leadership of children and youth very seriously. We expect our leaders to be above reproach in their whole lives, with lives full of integrity and faithfulness, above and beyond what the law demands.
Faithfulness in Service is the National Code of Conduct of the Anglican church of Australia and has been adopted by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney. It provides clear guidance as to the particular expectations and practices to which ministry leaders are to conform, not only in ministry settings but also in personal conduct.
The Code of Conduct for Children’s and Youth Ministry (Chapter 5 in the Safe Ministry Blueprint) applies the expectations of Faithfulness in Service to the particular context of work with children and youth.
Combined, these documents form our code of conduct.
The Guidelines for Children’s and Youth Ministry Activities (Chapter 6 & 7 in the Safe Ministry Blueprint) outlines the practical steps we take to manage risk by ensuring best practices and a safe environment in our programs. The guidelines include policy concerning the supervision of activities, transportation, and appropriate communication (including social media) to name a few. Three “golden rules” of risk management are relevant to all guidelines:
Two or More: There should always be at least two leaders aged 18 years or over present for all children’s and youth ministry events.
Never Alone: Leaders should not be alone with a child during an activity, and should make sure, as far as possible, that other leaders are not left alone with a child or young person.
Stranger Danger: Leaders should be on the alert for people wandering around – a person unknown to the leaders or not part of the children’s or youth ministry should not be allowed access to children or youth.
Following a process of application, training and approval, leaders are selected and appointed by the Lead Pastor. There are requirements under both NSW law and the Anglican Church’s ordinances that must be met before a leader can be appointed. In short, leaders are required to:
Hold a current, cleared, Working with Children Check (WWCC)
Special Religious Education (SRE) teachers have the following additional requirements:
Lead Pastor (Mike Hastie)
Assistant Minister (Nat Ray) — Growth Groups/Sarvos
Youth Minister (Mark Baines) — One80/Garage
Kids Minister (Rachael Nash) — Sunday Kids ministries/ToonieKids Week
Alternately, if the complaint involves the senior minister or for any other reason seems inappropriate to raise with parish leadership, you can contact:
Concerns and complaints involving suspected child abuse or certain types of alleged conduct have mandatory reporting obligations under the children and young person’s (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the Reportable Conduct Scheme under the Children’s Guardian Act 2019 (detailed in Chapter 8 of the Safe Ministry Blueprint).
Reporting known concerns is also mandatory under law, as it is a criminal offence for any adult in NSW who “knows, believes or reasonably ought to know” that a child has been physically or sexually abused to conceal such abuse by failing to report it to the authorities.
In summary, the following organisations are notified in these situations:
