St Paul’s is committed to providing a safe space for all people, especially children, to worship and to connect with God. The safety of children and vulnerable people is the responsibility of us all, especially in the light of the revelations made during the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Abuse.

We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to the abuse of children, and are working to put all possible mechanisms in place to ensure that when they come to the churches in our parish, children, young people, all people are safe to explore and deepen their relationship with God.

Chapter regularly reviews the status of Child Safety in the parish, ensuring that we are compliant with the Diocese of Gippsland’s policies and procedures.

St Paul's Safe Ministry Policy Statement 

Abuse can be defined as any behaviour which causes harm and violates the rights of others. It can be:

• Emotional, physical, sexual or spiritual abuse;
• Bullying; and / or
• Harassment.

Please tell someone if you feel uneasy or have the slightest concern:

• about the behaviour of an adult towards a child or vulnerable person;
• that someone may have been abused;
• or the welfare of a child.

If you are concerned about your own or somebody else’s safety, or have witnessed behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable you can contact the Deputy Director of Professional Standards in the Gippsland Diocese, Julie Reilly Mobile: 0456 572 589 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You may also like to talk to the Dean or the Lay Canons,
or if this is a really serious matter, go directly to the police, and then to the above.

Making a Report

If a child is in immediate danger, the police should be notified first before any other report

We recognise that making the church a safe place for children is an ongoing process, and we welcome feedback from children, families, and parishioners on how we can improve our procedures.

Clearance for Service

All those who hold roles in the church are required to be screened before they can take up that role. As part of meeting the Safe Ministry requirements of the Diocese, the national church, and to be compliant with state legislation, all volunteers need to complete the following:

• A Crim Check: a “moment in time” police check, relevant only to the tasks you are seeking to do. To do this, go to the Diocesan website Safe Ministry | Gippsland Anglicans and click the dark blue box saying “Crimcheck Online Application”. If you do this, the Diocese will pay the $16 the check for volunteers costs.

• A valid Working With Children Check. There is a link on the Diocesan website to click to do this application. These days it’s possible to do it all online. There’s also a manual option. Please speak to the Dean if you need help with either renewing your WWCC or applying for a new one.

If you already have a WWCC, please log in to your Vic Services account (easy to do via the website Renew your Working with Children Check online | Service Victoria), and make sure that the following contact details are entered for the organisations for which you hold the WWCC:

Name of place KOOYOORA
Address PO BOX 329, CANTERBURY VIC 3126
Phone 03 9416 1008

Name of place: Anglican Diocese of Gippsland
Address PO Box 928, SALE VIC 3853
Phone 0351442044

Name of place: ST PAUL’S ANGLICAN PARISH
Address PO BOX 691, SALE VIC 3853
Phone 0351442020

You will also need to add under “child related work”
Child-related work field: 
64 Religious organisations
Role Type: Volunteer

• Fill out a Notice of Application Form and return it to the Dean.
• The Dean will give you a copy of the Safe Ministry Application Form, depending on what your role will be.

Ordained and licensed lay readers are also required to complete a Clearance for Ministry. For further information please see the Dean.

Child Safe Training

Those who are church workers need to complete training in Child Safety. The Diocese regularly runs workshops, and there is a module to complete online, the link and instructions available on the Diocesan website.