Scripture Union Queensland (SU QLD) will have its day in court again, from the 6th – 8th of May, as the High Court of Australia hears the second case regarding Federal Government funding for school chaplaincy.

The case will rule on the validity of a funding model that distributes 10 per cent of the Federal Government’s expenditure budget to 450 community programs, one of which is school chaplaincy.

The first school chaplains in government schools were placed in Victoria in the 1950s, with funding from a mix of local churches, communities and individual schools (1).  In 2006, the Federal Government established the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) to support the “wellbeing, values and spirituality of young people”. More than 3,000 school communities across the nation now have school chaplains.

In 2012, Toowoomba resident and father Ron Williams challenged the NSCP, which offers schools up to $20,000 a year to introduce or extend chaplaincy services. The Federal Government were the first defendants in the court case, with Scripture Union Queensland listed also, being the providers of school chaplains in Queensland and Australia’s largest employing authority for school chaplains. Williams argued federal funding for the NSCP exceeding the Commonwealth’s executive spending powers under the constitution. The High Court ruled in favour of Williams on this ground, but dismissed a further ground that argued the program violated religious freedom.

The 2012 decision meant the federal spending program needed legislative support (rather than only a cabinet decision), and affected more than 450 other federal spending programs, including overseas aid, education grants and drought assistance. Emergency legislation was introduced to protect those programs, including school chaplaincy, quickly after the 2012 High Court decision.

Since then, the school chaplaincy program has continued, administered by Scripture Union QLD has appointed chaplains in an additional 230 Queensland schools.

SU QLD CEO, Peter James, says the new court hearing will allow the benefits of chaplaincy service to be heard.

“We see first-hand the incredible support chaplains provide to thousands of young people in Australian school communities.  We are glad that this issue has been raised on a national scale because we believe it will again highlight the depth of community support for school chaplaincy, a program that is in constant demand in Australian schools,” says Peter.

“School can be an overwhelming experience for some young people.  Every day chaplains are in schools across the nation as trained and trusted adults, who are available to listen and provide support for young people who find it tough.  This service is highly valued by the schools and the court will have the opportunity to understand that.”

Scripture Union Queensland says schools and communities highly value the services of their school chaplains, evidenced by significant additional support through donations and volunteer time, on top of the federal funding that can pay for a chaplain for two days a week.

In February this year, Peter James told Eternity that if next week’s High Court challenge meant the end of federal funding for the program, school chaplains would still continue but “it would be a great challenge to raise the funds required … as well as jeopardising the many programs run through school chaplaincy that help young people deal with anxiety, depression, grief, loneliness, family breakdown and other issues.”

SU QLD are running a campaign in the lead up to the High Court challenge next week, encouraging supporters to sign an online statement and pray for the case as it comes to court. Almost 83,000 Australians have signed so far, and they’d like to reach 100,000. Visit www.backourchappies.com.au for more.

(1) http://schoolchaplaincy.org.au/files/2012/09/chaplaincyeffectiveness.pdf