St Paul's Anglican

Integrity & Transparency

At St Paul’s, we seek to be transparent and full of integrity, while caring for those who are vulnerable. This reflects the God we serve and the kind of community he calls us to be.

On this page, you’ll find information on:

  • Child Protection at St Paul’s
  • Behaviour Standards for our Church Workers
  • Our Governance Structure
  • Our Finances

Child Protection at St Paul’s

We are committed to protecting and promoting the physical, emotional and spiritual safety of children within our church community. Our children and youth leaders have a Working with Children Check, and stay up to date with their Safe Ministry training. This is the Sydney Diocese’s best practice program, equipping those who work with children and vulnerable people on safe ministry practices. If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact our Safe Ministry presentative, Noni Sinclair, or call the Safe Ministry Abuse Report Line on 1800 774 945. Read more about how St Paul’s builds a culture of safe ministry here.

Behaviour Standards for our Church Workers

Jesus says that those who serve in his name have a special responsibility to protect the most vulnerable. In the New Testament, Christian leaders are to set an example to the faithful and pursue lives of godly conduct – in word and deed, in relationship with others, and in self-control. St Paul’s Anglican upholds the Faithfulness in Service Code of Conduct amongst its pastoral team. This is a national code for personal behaviour in the practice of pastoral ministry for clergy and church workers. You can read the Code of Conduct here. If you wish to raise concerns, you can contact our Senior Minister Raj Gupta, or make a report with the Sydney Diocese’s Professional Standards Unit by calling 1800 744 945.

Our Governance Structure

Our church members regularly elect parish officeholders who oversee the governance and administration of resources at St Paul’s. This helps maintain a healthy, safe, and well-run church that is equipped to serve its members and the wider community.

Good governance also ensures we are transparent and ethical in all of our processes. Our officeholders work with the Senior Minister and ministry staff at St Paul’s, but independently bear the responsibility of administering our church’s finances and assets, and managing risk.

Our 2023 parish officeholders are:

Parish Council – the governing body for the financial and property affairs of St Paul’s

Heather Archbold (Early Morning Church rep), Fay Dunn (Morning Church rep), Kai Liang (Chinese Church rep), Joyce Lu (Afternoon Church rep), Mehrzad Shariati Najafabadi (Iranian Church rep), Peter McCoy (Night Church rep), Matt Toose, Luke Pearce, Owen Craig (Warden), Di Swanton (Warden & Treasurer), Arthur Davis (Warden), and Raj Gupta.

Church Wardens – responsible for the administration of financial, property and employment activities at St Paul’s

Owen Craig, Di Swanton, and Arthur Davis.

Synod Representatives – members of our church who represent St Paul’s Anglican at Synod

Robyn Donohoo and Don Lee

Parish Nominators – members of the church who represent St Paul’s in the decision-making process to appoint a new senior minister, should a vacancy arise.

Rob Binskin, Laurie Boxwell, Immanuel Costigan, Ernest Paw and Iris Yamagishi

For a full description of each officeholder’s role, please get in touch.

Our Finances

Ministry activities at St Paul’s are funded solely by the generosity of our church members. We seek to handle our finances with integrity and transparency; you can view our latest audited accounts here.

Our pastors are remunerated according to Sydney Diocesan guidelines for Parish Ministry Staff. These guidelines contain details of the recommended minimum stipends, allowances and benefits. Remuneration for other staff is in line with appropriate employment awards.