Professional Standards Uniform Act
Professional Standards Review Panel
On 10 June 2021, the Archbishop in Council moved to adopt the terms of reference for the Professional Standards Review Panel that will review the operation of the Professional Standards Uniform Act 2016 in the Melbourne diocese. The panel’s terms of reference include whether the overriding purposes of the Act remain appropriate and, if they are, how they may best be achieved. The first of these purposes is to enable complaints to be dealt with justly, quickly and inexpensively. The second is to regulate fitness for each of (i) ministry and (ii) service otherwise than in the ministry. The panel, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge David Harper, will carry out the review this year and report to the Archbishop in Council in early 2022.
The panel welcomes submissions from:
- people and organisations who have engaged with processes under the Act, noting concerns and suggestions for improvement
- people and organisations for whom the Act is applicable who have comments and suggestions
- people who have recommendations to improve the operations of Professional Standards
The panel is particularly interested in your answers to the questions outlined in the submission form. While submissions may cover any issue in the panel’s terms of reference, it cannot consider issues which go beyond those terms. In particular, the panel has no mandate to re-open particular individual matters and their outcomes.
It will necessarily be looking at the past, but only to assist formulating high-level recommendations for the future.
The Panel will manage every submission with the strictest of confidence and all submissions will be destroyed at the completion of the review process.
Should participation in this submission process raise matters of concern that give rise personal trauma, support is available at the following link Kooyoora | Public Resources.
Information regarding the Review and the submission form are available on the ADOM website here.
Making a Submission
The Submission form is found here. The Panel welcomes submission from all persons who have directly or indirectly been involved in the professional standards processes for clearance for ministry, clearance for service or a matter of complaint. The closing date for submissions is 24 September 2021.
The Panel will manage every submission with the strictest of confidence and all submissions will be destroyed at the completion of the review process.
Once you have completed the submission, please save it and send it via email to PSUA.Submissions@melbourneanglican.org.au
or print and post to:
PSUA Submissions
Melbourne Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
PO BOX 7081
Croydon South Vic 3136
Enquiries in relation to making a submission can be directed to the Secretary at PSUA.Enquiries@melbourneanglican.org.au