Ron Williams

Secular Public Education Limited is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, and is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Our primary charitable purposes are promoting or protecting human rights, promoting or opposing changes to laws, government policies or practices, and advancing education.

While advising and advocating for parents, caregivers, concerned citizens and relevant organisations Australia wide, we are actively pursuing change to government laws and policies regarding religious instruction and federally funded religious chaplains in Australian public schools.

It is also our belief that many of the same federal and state government laws and policies are in breach of, and may be challenged under, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

We are proud to announce that the development of our flagship project, Faith, Philosophy, and Fable – a history of human contemplation, has commenced. Supported by exciting and engaging modular and P-12 graded multimedia resources and materials, FP&F will explore human contemplation from the earliest known manifestations some 300,000 years ago. From Middle Paleolithic burial rites and rituals through the anthropomorphic ‘Lion Man’ figurine of c. 38,000 BCE, to the Sumerian deities of the 3rd millennium BCE, Mesopotamian mythology, and the development of eastern and western philosophies and belief systems, Faith, Philosophy, and Fable – a history of human contemplation will comprehensively observe the astonishing history of human thought—the how, when, where, and why.

Ron Williams
Managing Director
Secular Public Education Limited 

Wednesday 3 February, 2016:

Since the establishment of this website in January 2010, it has been an unofficial receiving point for thousands of enquiries, requests for advice, and complaints regarding the conduct of religious instruction, the National School Chaplaincy Program and numerous other overt and covert evangelical Christian activities and programs in the public schools of Australia. While requests for such assistance are as important and welcome as ever, for a swift response, please direct all such communications to:

Secular Public Education

http://spe.org.au
http://spe.org.au/contact
Urgent matters please phone: 0478 030 705

The dedicated chaplaincy page at Secular Public Education reads:


Commonwealth funded religious chaplains in Australian public schools

From 2015, in order to circumvent two High Court of Australia constitutional decisions, the federal government commenced supplying $60M p/a to all states and territories to place and administer chaplains in Australian public and private schools. The funding was, and remains strictly conditional upon every chaplain being religious, or as it is stated within the “Project Agreement for the National School Chaplaincy Programme” contract signed in late 2014 by the education ministers of every Australian state and territory:

“A chaplain is an individual who is recognised through formal ordination, commissioning, recognised religious qualifications or endorsement by a recognised or accepted religious institution”

The National School Chaplaincy Program is now operating without any form of central guidelines, code of conduct or complaints process. NSCP funded chaplains are employed almost entirely by evangelical parachurch organisations including Scripture Union Queensland (QLD, ACT and TAS), Generate Ministries (NSW), ACCESS ministries (VIC), Schools Ministry Group (SA) and YouthCARE (WA). Unfettered by statute, enforceable constraints or any disciplinary procedures whatsoever, the National School Chaplaincy Program continues as a Trojan Horse which releases upon national public school campuses Bible clubs and evangelical activities such as SUPA clubs (Scripture Union Primary Age), JAFFA clubs (Jesus A Friend For All) and gendered programs such as the ubiquitous Hillsong church SHINE program for girls.

Throughout 2015 we received numerous complaints from across Australia related to Commonwealth funded chaplains evangelising and proselytising on public school campuses via programs and activities described above and other methods which include visiting evangelical speakers, bands, magicians and the Jesus Racing team, while recruiting students to attend Christian camps and church youth activities via school newsletters.

Toward the close of the 2015 school year, many complaints were received regarding chaplains being employed or reinstated for 2016 with grossly inadequate school community consultation—or apparently no consultation whatsoever. Unfortunately, the NSCP project agreement contract provides no requirements or obligations for any consultation processes prior to the employment of a chaplain—leaving these matters entirely at the discretion of individual state and territory signatories. It would seem that the end of 2015 chaplain employment and re-employment process for 2016 has largely been undertaken in a covert manner across Australia.

Operating as a national program without any universal code of conduct, guidelines or complaints process, parents and caregivers with grievances regarding the NSCP are placed in a most frustrating and distressing position. As we enter the 2016 school year, this page will be a ‘work in progress’. We would suggest for now that all complaints regarding the National School Chaplaincy Program as it operates in each state and territory be directed to us via email, or by phone should the matter be urgent.

Media enquiries welcome.