The Albanese government has quietly allowed a ‘special status’ to lapse so that donations to support school chaplaincy programs are no longer tax deductible from July 1. The decision came as a shock to Scripture Union Australia (SUA) which is the country’s biggest supplier of school chaplains. It called the move “disappointing and unexpected,” warning that it could result in cuts to chaplaincy services.
The Morrison government specifically listed the chaplaincy provider as eligible for deductible gift recipient (DGR) status from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2023. The Labor government has opted not to extend that arrangement. SUA says that as a result it “will no longer be able to issue tax-deductible receipts for donations to support a chaplain’s in-school hours”.
The Guardian quotes SUA Chief Executive Peter James as saying it “will likely mean some cutbacks to chaplaincy services, however, it is too early to predict to what extent. While chaplaincy receives government funding, SUA can only provide the number of chaplains, hours and services because of the donations made by thousands of community supporters.”
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL)’s National Director of Politics Wendy Francis told Vision Radio: “I’m really praying that this won’t affect giving to SUA. But there are non-Christian secular businesses and people who give a lot of money to SUA because of the good that the chaplains do to the most vulnerable students in our state schools. They’re there in a position of care. They are professional people. They are qualified, but they are not counsellors as such. They are there just to actually experience life with these students and staff and what the government has done all of a sudden, is said no more tax deductibility for any donations.”
“There are people who at the end of every financial year look around because they’ve got money that they want to actually invest in some good cause, and they do want that tax deductibility. That’s what’s going to be affected here. I’m praying that it won’t. I’m praying that people will say: Forget about the tax deductibility, I’m still going to give to chaplaincy. But the very cold, hard fact is that this decision could well result in cuts to chaplaincy services. And the only ones who are going to really suffer are our most vulnerable children,” Ms. Francis lamented.
The great concern for Christian organisations is that the chaplaincy move could be a reflection of growing anti-Christian sentiment within the Albanese government and just the thin edge of the wedge as it considers expanding the removal of tax deductibility to church charities which would impact the provision of multiple care services across the country.
The ACL’s Wendy Francis remains hopeful: “The thought of having cuts to chaplaincy because the government has decided this, it’s actually diabolical in my mind. I’m really sad about this. So I know that SUA particularly and other chaplaincy services are going to really try to help the government understand. It’s not that we want to go in and blast the government for doing the wrong thing. What we want to do is try to help them understand what this actually will mean to the most vulnerable children in our nation. And we’re hoping that they will reverse the decision.”
Queensland LNP MP Tim Mander accused the government of “undermining chaplaincy by stealth.” He told Sky News: “If we don’t fight this, I hate to think what the consequences might be. The chaplains play a crucial role in providing the support that’s required. If we lessen the number of days that they’re in schools, we obviously lessen the support that we provide, and that is the last thing we need in schools right across this country at the moment.”
Since being elected, the Albanese government has reformed the $60 million chaplaincy program to give schools the option to choose a professionally qualified secular student welfare officer as an alternative to a chaplain. Queensland Parents for Secular State Schools (QPSSS) is calling for chaplains to be scrapped and replaced by student well-being officers.
