Employees (Ordained and Lay Ministry Staff)
The Anglican Church of Australia has established standards of conduct for clergy and church workers to maintain a safe and healthy ministry environment. The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania adheres to these standards.
Our commitment to these standards requires that we conduct background checks for all persons who intend to engage in ordained and lay ministry in Tasmania.
Note: The online application form can only be completed in one sitting. You cannot save a partially completed form.
Endorsement is undertaken according to the following steps:
You will need clear copies of the following:
- One copy of your Photo Identification (e.g. your Drivers Licence or Passport)
- Your relevant State Working with Children Card. Please note a non-Tasmanian WwVP or WwC is only valid for 28 days in Tasmania. If your Locum is longer than 1 month you will need to apply for a Tasmanian WwVP on arrival in Tasmania. See below: How to Renewing or Obtaining a Working with Vulnerable People Card
You will receive a link from the PSU or Registrar to complete your Safe Ministry Check Questionnaire Online.
If you cannot access the form online, please contact the Professional Standards Unit (psu@anglicantas.org.au or (03) 6220 2020).
Before you fill in this form, you will need to know:
- the name of the church/organisation you are working with,
- your role or position,
- your adult life previous ministry places and start/end dates,
- all previous residential addresses,
- previous 15 years employment history,
- your referees (please notify them you intend to use them as a reference)
As part of our screening process, we request you to answer a series of questions which are, of necessity, intimate in nature. If you do not understand the question or would like to discuss your answer further, please feel free to call the Director of Professional Standards on 6220 2025 or the Safe Church Communities Coordinator on 6220 2020.
After submitting the form, you will receive instructions vie email for adding your e-signature. Follow the instructions in these emails.
You will also receive an email with an attached PDF. Please print the PDF. On the printed copy of your PDF, sign the declaration and ensure that your signature is witnessed by a person authorised to witness a Statutory Declaration. It is a criminal offence to make a Statutory Declaration knowing it to be untrue in any material way.
Scan and send to psu@anglicantas.org.au or post the form to us - address it as follows:
Confidential to the Professional Standards Unit
Anglican Diocese of Tasmania
GPO Box 748
Hobart
Tasmania 7001
Please note that your application is conditional on the outcome of an Anglican National Register Check. This request for information is being made to comply with Anglican Church of Australia policies, and not because we have any reason to believe that any applicant has in fact engaged in inappropriate conduct.
The Diocese of Tasmania conducts Safe Ministry Check Questionnaire interviews to enable discussion of the questions in this form and your responses. You will be advised if this is required for the position for which you have applied. If you attend a Safe Ministry Check Questionnaire interview, please bring one (1) Photographic Proof of Identity document, such as a Passport, current Drivers Licence or WwVP.
Under Tasmanian State legislation those caring for children must have a current Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) card. It is your responsibility to keep this card current (as of February 2021, WWVP cards have a five-year expiry date; this is an increase from the three year expiry date many people have been complying with).
Please add the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania as your employer and your role capacity as ’volunteer’ or ‘employee’, as appropriate.
The application form is available online at: https://www.cbos.tas.gov.au/topics/licensing-and-registration/registrations/work-with-vulnerable-people
When you receive your WWVP card, you will need to notify the Professional Standards Unit so your record can be updated. You can notify them by email at psu@anglicantas.org.au or by calling (03) 6220 2020.
You will be informed of the level of training you are required to complete.
Training is available year-round, on-demand, through the Safety Management Online tool (SMO).
To maintain the licence or position you currently hold (or are applying for) you will need to work through the SCC re-endorsement process every three (3) years. Schedule 1 of the Safe Church Communities Ordinance sets out the re-endorsement requirements.
A reminder to renew your endorsement (either the screening or training requirement) will be sent both 30 days and 15 days prior to it expiring.
When renewing your endorsement, please contact the Professional Standards Unit as there may be a change in the required level of training. The level of endorsement required for different roles is outlined in the Safe Church Communities Ordinance.