Health & Safety

Our Commitment

Anglican Movement is committed to creating an environment and a set of workplace and ministry practices that ensure the health, safety and well-being of all persons involved in the ministries, programmes, activities, and undertakings of our diocese. We aim to remove or reduce the risks to the health, safety, and welfare of all our team members (paid or voluntary workers - including clergy and lay leaders); contractors (when they are present at one of our sites or working for us); occasional volunteers and all other persons who access and use our sites, or who participate in our ministries, programmes, events, and activities. We will comply with New Zealand legal requirements, including the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015. We will continually improve our performance through effective safety management by establishing measurable objectives aimed at mitigating the risk of injury and illness in our ministry practices and workplace environments. Our Health and Safety Management Plan includes policies, procedures, practices, and documentation designed to meet our commitment to health, safety, and well-being.

Read the policy and full management plan below.

Read the key policies taken from the full Health and Safety Management Plan.

Watch the Diocesan training videos for Risk Manager

Sacred Spaces, Safe People

We are committed to being a safe church. As followers of Jesus, we believe that every person is made in God’s image. We want to create spaces where everyone knows they will be safe, especially from abuse of any kind.

Diocesan Safety Team

The Diocesan Safety Team is led by Rev. Jean Malcolm and Roger Wigglesworth. To contact the team, please email safety@anglicanmovement.nz or phone Jean on 021 294 2122 or Roger on 021 541 618.

Safety Documents for download

Suggestion for sharing

We suggest that when hosting a group of people to watch this video you:

1. communicate at a high-level what the video is about before you share it.

2. identify a pastoral person who people can talk to if they need to after.

3. create a small break in the meeting or service to give people a chance to exit in a dignified way if they want to remove themselves or their children from the setting where this is shown. You could also say ‘if at some point you need to remove yourself, feel free to do that, that is ok’.

While we want everyone to engage with the message of this video, it may be better for some to engage with it in a non-communal setting, or parents may want to watch the video and then talk about it with their children. Nonetheless our hope is that everyone in our churches will engage with this content, so we encourage people to do that safely and mindful of those who are in the room.

Module 2 - Responding to Disclosures of Abuse

Module 3 - The Wellington Diocesan Safety Principles

Module 4 - Safety Principles continued

Module 5 - Maintaining Boundaries in Ministry

Royal Commission on Abuse in Care

From Bishop Justin Duckworth:

“As you may be aware the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care has commenced its work.

I wanted to communicate with you about this important work firstly to ensure we are doing all we can to enable people to connect with the Commission if they have a story they want share about their experiences. Secondly I wanted to be clear about our welcome and support of the work of the Commission.

This Royal Commission is looking into what happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults in care between 1950 and 1999.

The focus of the Commission is on “Abuse in Care” with reference to (1) state-run institutions, (2) faith-based institutions. The extent of (2) includes our care of children, young people and vulnerable adults in our churches, schools, orphanages, elder care homes, and other ministries governed and managed by Anglican entities.

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, including the Diocese of Wellington, welcomes the scrutiny and independence that this enquiry will bring. As a church we actively sought to be included within the scope of the Commission’s enquiry. We are fully committed to engagement with the Commission and its work, and will do all in our power to assist the Commission fulfilling its purposes. 

Ultimately, we hope to contribute to a process of accountability, closure, and healing that embraces the core Gospel message that “the truth shall set you free.”

Bishop Justin Duckworth,
Anglican Diocese of Wellington.

For more information about the Commission's work or to contact the Commission for help or support please click on the website link below.

These are contact details for communicating with the Commission: 

Phone: 0800 222 727 (10am – 4pm NZT, Mon-Fri)
(Australia – 1800 875 745)
Email: contact@abuseincare.org.nz
Mail: Royal Commission of Inquiry
PO Box 10071
The Terrace
Wellington 6143 

Mental Wellbeing Resources

Our Mental Wellbeing resources are presented by Suzie Baird and Tricia Hendry to help the Church build our knowledge, understanding, and skills to strengthen our communities. These articles were written in 2020-21 after we unexpectedly found ourselves in lockdown facing mental health issues like never before.

Suzie Baird is a mental health advocate. She has lived experience of mental distress that helps her to support others and educate those wanting to understand more. She attends Lyall Bay Community Church, an Anglican pioneer mission unit. Tricia Hendry is a writer and educator specialising in issues relating the mental health and resilience. She has many years’ experience supporting others through mental health and trauma challenges. She attends All Saints, Hataitai.

If you, a member of your whānau, or a friend are experiencing mental distress, please contact a GP for further mental health support and referrals. You can text or call 1737 to talk to a trained counsellor 24/7. In an emergency, please contact your local mental health crisis team or nearest Emergency Department. In a life-threatening situation call 111.