Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our chaplains contribute so much to students, staff and parents in our schools right across the country. I am pleased to highlight the fantastic work of the chaplains in Forde at a recent thankyou afternoon tea. It was surprising to hear some of the stories from these chaplains on what they deal with on a day-to-day basis in their various school communities. It is important to note that they often counsel not only the students but also the parents and the teachers of those students. On average, chaplains have 15,724 conversations with students each week across the country, delivering measurable results for children to improve school attendance, have greater focus in class and improve behaviour.

The school chaplaincy program—now known as the Student Wellbeing Program—has been a tremendous help to students across Forde since its inception in 2007 under the Howard government. The previous coalition government recommitted to the program through $245 million in funding to support schools in hiring chaplains. It's disappointing to see that Labor has deleted the impact of chaplains by allowing schools to hire secular pastoral care workers through the same funding while also allowing the deductible gift recipient status to lapse for chaplaincy service providers, restricting the donations they receive. Thank you to all of our chaplains for the wonderful work you do.