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April 2026 SMR News
Welcome to the April Newsletter!
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- Come join our team!
- Busy start to the year
- Safe Ministry parish consultations
- Safe Ministry Training Requirements
- Face to face training 2026
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Come join our team!
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There is a vacancy for a new Parish Consultant to join the Safe Ministry Team.
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If you would like to support our hard-working Safe Ministry Representatives, then this may be the role for you.
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I am not leaving and will be continuing in the role of Safe Ministry Resources Manager
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due to a re-structure in the ODSM.
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Busy start to the year for the Training team
2026 has begun with a very large increase in the numbers of people completing Safe Ministry Training. With the update to the Ordinance that now requires any safe ministry personnel, parish councillors or wardens to complete Safe Ministry Training to be eligible for election or appointment the demand to enrol in and complete training increased substantially with Webinars full to capacity and additional Webinars being added.
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The demand for Webinar places is not as tight at other times of the year so it would be beneficial to encourage your parishioners to complete their training early/take advantage of a quieter period of the year so as to avoid missing out on their preferred Webinar time and where the team has more time available to assist.
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Safe Ministry Consultations
Would you like to improve safe ministry practices in your church in 2026?
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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) - 2026 Dates
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Registrations open 4-5 weeks prior to the event
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Course enrolments close 48hrs prior to the event
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Listed below are the dates and venues for face-to-face training events to be held in 2026.
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Saturday 27 June 2026
Some locations to be added
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Safe Ministry Essentials | 9.00am – 3.00pm
St James Anglican Church, Croydon
St James Anglican Church, Mt Druitt
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Safe Ministry Refresher | 9.00am – 12.30pm
St John’s Anglican Church, Asquith
Central Villages Anglican Church, Lawson
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Saturday 29 August 2026
Safe Ministry Essentials | 9.00am – 3.00pm
St Andrew’s House, Sydney
Safe Ministry Refresher | 9.00am – 12.30pm
St Andrew’s House, Sydney
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Saturday 14 November 2026
Safe Ministry Essentials | 9.00am – 3.00pm
Safe Ministry Refresher | 9.00am – 12.30pm
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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 Safe Ministry training (Chinese)
Saturday 27 June 2026
Safe Ministry Essentials – Chinese | 9.00am – 3.00pm
St Andrew’s House, Sydney
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Saturday 14 November 2026
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Safe Ministry Essentials – Chinese | 9.00am – 3.00pm
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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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