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Great question. Our constitution and guiding principles entrench the local nature of our mission. We have a physical presence in the communities we serve in. Our focus will be to enable mission to be delivered by people who want to reach their local community. Culturally our approach will remain collaborative and consultative, as opposed to a command and control approach. We will aim to raise up leaders with local mission experience. Finally, we will be accountable to our Company Members by reporting annually on how we have lived up to these principles.

SU Australia is a Christian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to working alongside churches and communities to give children, young people and their families opportunities to discover hope and life in God’s big story.
We do this through the provision of school chaplaincy services, camps, community-based missions, schools ministry, At-Risk Youth programs, and offer nationally recognised training programs in youth work at both Certificate IV and Diploma levels.
SU Australia is a member of the worldwide Scripture Union International community.

Response

Not all donations to SU Australia are tax-deductible. However, all gifts over $2 donated to school chaplaincy are tax deductible, unless otherwise specified.

SU Australia is a non-denominational Christian organisation. In working towards this vision, SU Australia has, since its inception, worked closely with local Christian churches of all denominations across Australia to bring God’s love, hope, and good news to children, young people and their families.

The work of SU Australia is made possible, in part, through funding from the Australian Federal and State governments. This funding only covers the work of school chaplaincy. Currently, the funding employs a school chaplain for less than two days a week, which is not enough to meet demand for most school communities. This is where your support comes in. Thanks to generous friends like you, almost half of the time chaplains are in schools is a direct result of your faithful support.

All SU Australia chaplains hold a minimum Certificate IV in Youth Work and also hold, or are working towards, a Diploma of Youth Work, or hold a higher qualification in a relevant field (e.g. Education, Social Work, Counselling, Psychology). SU Australia chaplains must also hold units in ‘appropriate referral’ and ‘mental health’.

It’s easy to start the ball rolling! Go to startchaplaincy.com and start an application. You will need to upload a current Working With Children Check, and copies of qualifications and related transcripts.

At SU Australia we firmly believe that every child and young person matters deeply to God and deserves a safe and meaningful life. This is why we are committed to safeguarding the social, emotional and spiritual well-being of all children, young people and families in our care.
This commitment includes proactively nurturing a child safe culture and working environment.

All our staff and volunteers understand the role they share in upholding this commitment, and everyone is empowered and equipped to champion a child safe culture in bringing hope to a young generation.

To read our Child Protection Policy please click here.

To make a complaint in relation to any breach of SU Australia’s Child Protection Policy please contact fp@su.org.au. To learn more about making a complaint, please refer to our Complaints and Appeals Policy.

Queensland’s Department of Education and Training has a policy of inclusivity that seeks to ensure “that schools are supportive and engaging places for all school community members”, including in supporting the wellbeing of students dealing with sexuality and gender identity issues.
We promote a supportive environment in schools through our school chaplaincy services.

Our work is pastoral: We provide a safe environment in which children and young people can work through any issues or concerns they may have. Our role is to support, not to judge.

Our work is holistic: We support all young people, in all their dimensions – personal, relational, local community, and societal.

Our work is compassionate: We have a particular interest in helping all young people at risk, and all that entails, achieve positive life outcomes.

Our work is spiritual: We do not seek to impose a particular theological view on young people. We think all young people should have opportunities, without coercion or manipulation, to explore and form views on spirituality: their relationships with God, others, and the world around them.

Our work is collaborative: We work with others for positive life outcomes for young people.

Spirituality can be understood as a connection between people and the divine, other people, and the world around them. For decades, the youth work field and other human services fields have not been sure of what to do with spirituality. As a result, they have largely carved it out of their models used to engage with young people and their wellbeing. But there is a growing realisation of how important spirituality is to overall mental health and wellbeing.

In 2006, the Department of Education South Australia released a Spiritual Well-being and Education Discussion Paper which concluded:
“The spiritual is always present in public education whether we acknowledge it or not. Spiritual questions, rightly understood are embedded in every discipline, from health to history, physics to psychology, entomology and English. Spirituality — the human quest for connectedness — is not something that needs to be ‘brought into’ or ‘added into’ the curriculum. It is at the heart of every subject we teach, where it waits to be brought forth.”

You can read more in our School Chaplaincy and the Wellbeing of Young People white paper.

We encourage any individual who may have a general complaint or wishes to appeal a decision to contact SU Australia. If you already know an SU Australia staff member, we suggest you contact them first regarding your complaint. If you have hesitations about discussing your concerns with that person, or you are dissatisfied with their response, please contact our Support Team on 07 3112 6470 or support@su.org.au, who will seek to resolve the matter or refer you to the appropriate person or team to seek a resolution.

If your complaint is in relation to any SU Australia staff member or volunteer breaching our Child Protection Policy, please direct your query to fp@su.org.au.

For more information, please read our Complaints and Appeals Policy.