The majority of Australian churches have developed formal policies for protecting children and vulnerable people, according to findings published by the National Church Life Survey, though a wide gap remains between what church leaders know and what ordinary congregants understand about reporting abuse.
The NCLS data, drawn from surveys conducted in 2016 and 2021, found that 83% of churches reported having well-developed safety and protection policies by 2021, while 87% said they had formal processes for lodging complaints about child abuse or sexual misconduct by a minister or church worker.
Both figures represent an increase from 2016, and the trend held across four broad faith traditions — Catholic, Mainstream Protestant, Evangelical Protestant and Pentecostal.
Larger congregations were more likely to report having well-developed policies in both categories, the survey found, suggesting that institutional size plays a role in safeguarding capacity.
A gap in awareness
Despite the policy gains, the survey revealed a striking disparity between leaders and ordinary church members. Nine in 10 senior leaders — 93% — said they knew how to lodge a complaint about child abuse or sexual misconduct in their church. Among general attendees, that figure dropped to just three in 10.
People serving in children's or youth ministry roles were more likely than other attendees to know the reporting process, the NCLS found. Senior leader awareness of complaint procedures also increased between 2016 and 2021 across all traditions surveyed.
On broader misconduct not related to child abuse, 88% of senior leaders said they knew how to file a complaint.
Training and confidence
In the three years leading up to the 2021 survey, 93% of senior church leaders reported receiving formal Safe Churches training, mostly in the form of refresher courses. The survey noted that standards for how frequently such training should be completed remain unclear.
Congregant confidence in church authorities, however, has been affected by the ongoing fallout from clergy sexual abuse scandals. Half of church attendees — 51% — said in 2021 that clergy sexual abuse had damaged their confidence in church authorities, a figure that rose from 2016 and was consistent across all faith traditions included in the study.
At the same time, 69% of respondents agreed that the church now appeared to be taking appropriate steps to meet its responsibilities, a slight increase from five years earlier. Leaders and those in ministry positions were more likely than general attendees to hold that view.
More work needed
The April report, drawing on National Church Life Survey data, concluded that while Australian churches have made measurable progress in safeguarding infrastructure, congregational awareness of how to report concerns about child abuse or sexual misconduct remains a significant gap requiring further attention.
The NCLS is a national research initiative that has tracked church life in Australia over several decades.
