In Sydney Diocese clergy are licenced and lay ministers are authorised for ministry.
It is the rector’s responsibility to ensure that all lay minsters in the parish are authorised for their ministry.
Who is a lay minster?
As a rule of thumb, if someone is in a paid ministry role AND/OR has the word “minister” in their title (eg. Student Minister, Youth Minister, Women’s Minister, Children’s Minister) and/or is engaged in a regular preaching ministry (eg. 4 times per annum or more), then they should be authorised. Authorisation is not related to whether people are paid or not.
There is a higher level Safe Ministry Check that applies to clergy and authorised lay ministers, which is administered by the PSU and the Registry. Check with them about what is required. For more information about authorising lay people, including a link to the online application form, click here