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August 2025 SMR News
Welcome to the August Newsletter!
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- Utilising Role descriptions to strengthen safe ministry
- New and new-ish Safe Ministry Reps - Zoom Workshops
- Safe Ministry parish consultations
- Safe Ministry Training requirements
- Face to face training 2025
- Face to face training (Chinese)
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Utilising role descriptions to strengthen safe ministry
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In preparation for next year, now is a good time to review your volunteer children’s and youth ministry role descriptions (or develop them).
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From a child safe perspective there are valuable reasons to utilise job descriptions:
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- Provides a good opportunity to underline upholding child safe practices as a central aspect of the role.
- Demonstrates a commitment to safe ministry.
- Evidence of meeting the Child Safe Standards – in particular Child Safe Standards 1 and 5.
- Provides clear expectations for those undertaking the roles.
- Supports the selection of suitable people to child related roles.
- Unsuitable applicants may ‘self-select’ out of the process.
- Reinforces aspects of the code of conduct such as maintaining appropriate boundaries.
- Strengthens accountability structures and processes.
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A Sample Volunteer Job Description is available on the Safe Ministry website on the Resources page, Good leadership Forms and Documents tab.
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The Office of the Children’s Guardian also has a sample Role Description template available here.
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New and new-ish Safe Ministry Reps - Zoom Workshops
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The next SMR 101 Zoom workshops will happen in September 2025.
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If you are new (or new-ish) to the role of SMR, then invest an hour in this workshop and reap the benefits!
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No booking or rego required - just boot up your device at the right time and click the appropriate link below. Have your questions and a notebook ready!
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Two days/times - identical content.
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- Monday September 22nd @ 10:30am - 11:30am
- Wednesday September 24th @ 07:30pm - 08:30pm
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Safe Ministry Consultations
Would you like to improve safe ministry practices in your church in 2025?
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Then participate in a Safe Ministry Parish Consultation.
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A Safe Ministry Parish consultation provides an opportunity to obtain feedback about your church’s safe ministry practices and receive recommendations for making improvements as part of your church’s continuous improvement process.
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Since 2022 under the NSW Child Safe Scheme churches are required to implement the 10 Child Safe Standards.
A Parish consultation can assist your church to:
- Highlight where your church is already meeting the Standards
- Bring to light gaps in implementation and develop a plan for continuous improvement
Additionally the consultation will review compliance with the Safe Ministry to Children Ordinance 2020.
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What’s involved?
+ Completing an online Child Safe Standards Self-Assessment tool
+ Meeting with the Parish Consultant and relevant staff in your church
+ Receive a Report which includes recommendations for improving Safe Ministry practices.
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Safe Ministry Training Requirements
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A few training reminders:
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# When a Junior Leader turns 18 years, they MUST complete the Essentials course (not Refresher), even if they have previously completed the Junior Leader course. More information is available here.
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Face to face training (English) - 2025 Dates
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Course enrolments open - 4 weeks prior to the event
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Course enrolments close - 48hrs prior to the event
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Step by step instructions to enrol in Face-to-Face Training are available here.
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Please note: You are not able to enrol or pay at the event.
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Listed below are the dates and venues for face-to-face training events to be held in 2025.
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Saturday 30 August 2025
Safe Ministry Essentials | 9.00am – 3.00pm
St Andrew’s House, Sydney
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Bethel Mar Thoma Church, Horsley Park NEW
Safe Ministry Refresher | 9.00am – 12.30pm
St Andrew’s House, Sydney
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Bethel Mar Thoma Church, Horsley Park NEW
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Saturday 15 November 2025
Safe Ministry Essentials | 9.00am – 3.00pm
Jannali Anglican Church
Rouse Hill Anglican Church
St Stephen’s Anglican Church, Bomaderry
Safe Ministry Refresher | 9.00am – 12.30pm
St Alban’s Anglican Church, Lindfield
Shellharbour City Anglican Church
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Please encourage those in your church who would benefit from face to face training to enrol, and be prepared to assist them if necessary with the technology.
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- Applicants for face to face training need to have an account on the Safe Ministry Training website, log in and enrol in the course.
- Once they complete the course, they will be emailed their certificate a day or so later, and a copy of their certificate details sent to you, their SMR.
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Face to face training (Chinese)
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For information on face-to-face training in Chinese, please click here.
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Enrolments for June events are now open.
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SMR Facebook Group
A reminder that we have a private Facebook group just for SMR's
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- A safe and private place for SMR's to ask questions, support each other, share ideas or solutions to problems, etc
- The address is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173114257798286
- Involvement in this group is entirely optional - but it is proving to be a useful extra channel for SMR's to chat amongst themselves and pose questions.
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Keeping up to date with news
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An archive of all SMR Newsletters (since we moved to our new system) is available here.
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That's it for this edition! Back soon with more info about what is happening in the Safe Ministry scene.
If you are no longer the SMR for your church, please unsubscribe using the link below and drop me an email to let me know.
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