It’s not the first time Australian schools have been given a choice of a religious school chaplain or a secular welfare officer, and for some schools the decision can be divisive.
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Articles on School chaplains
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Schools currently rely on third-party providers that require all those who apply to do student counselling and community work as school chaplains to have a committed Christian faith.
It’s worth recapping what’s known about how Australia’s chaplaincy program has operated so far, and what alternatives exist.
Not all chaplains are religious and Australia’s chaplaincy program actually prohibits preaching or religious practice.
We often rush by without looking, but America’s rich spiritual and religious life is reflected in these sanctuaries.
Late last week, the Senate passed the Abbott government’s controversial A$2.5 billion Emissions Reduction Fund, the centrepiece of its Direct Action Plan to combat climate change. Its passage has been…
Despite recent calls for its elimination and the High Court (again) finding that it was funded unconstitutionally, the Abbott government announced this week that it would continue its school chaplaincy…
What do school chaplains and cassowaries have in common? Both highlight the degree to which federal governments struggle to devolve quality public decision-making to the right level. Our schools and our…
The High Court of Australia, for the second time, recently found that the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP) is funded unconstitutionally, and so is invalid in its current…
The High Court of Australia has declared federal funding of the school chaplains program unconstitutional, largely because it doesn’t meet the legal criteria for authorising such payments. But this lack…
The High Court has again put the future of the federal government’s school chaplaincy program in jeopardy, confirming its 2012 decision that the Commonwealth’s spending programs must be supported by valid…
Today the High Court struck down the funding for the national school chaplaincy funding program for a second time. Today’s decision throws into question a whole range of federally-funded programs. The…
The High Court has again ruled unconstitutional the federal funding for school chaplains, casting doubt over the future of a program to which the Abbott government is deeply committed. Queensland father…
This week, the High Court heard Toowoomba man Ron Williams’ second challenge to the constitutionality of the Commonwealth’s funding of the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program. While…
In the small print in my Qantas in flight magazine I noticed that Qantas is now raising money for Mission Australia. Mission Australia runs a number of useful and worthwhile programs for the disadvantaged…
In days of old, when Legislative Councils were appointed bodies, Labor Governments would try to swamp them with suicide squads of members who, once appointed, would vote to abolish the House. On Tuesday…
The historic majority Australian High Court ruling that the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) is “invalid” is a gift to the argument for secular public education. Secular statutes (for example…
Today, the High Court of Australia dramatically altered the previously understood scope of the Commonwealth’s power to spend money and enter into contracts. This decision has immediate repercussions for…
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Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney
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Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
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Karen Martin is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor, The University of Western Australia
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Professor of Constitutional Law, Monash University
