Haumarutanga | Safe Church

We acknowledge the pain of survivors and our hara and seek to restore the mana and tapu of survivors and whānau.

We as Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa make a commitment to transform our tikanga (practices and culture) to be a church that recognises and upholds the tapu and mana of all the people of God. In doing so we commit to principles including aroha, kotahitanga, manaakitanga and tika.

Ngā Pou
– Aroha: a loving approach
– Kotahitanga: a unified approach
– Manaakitanga: a mana-enhancing approach
– Tika: an evidence and mātauranga based approach

Te Rūnanganui Resolution, October 2023

Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa and the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia expects very high standards of behaviour from all its ministers and authorised leaders.

You can expect high standards of ministry from any of these people that you, family members or friends meet in a leadership, teaching or pastoral role in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

We have ministry standards that apply to everyone in licensed Anglican ministry, and to non-licensed office holders, including:

Ordained ministers (priests, deacons, bishops)
Licensed lay ministers
Licensed volunteer leaders
Trustees
Elected leaders (vestry, synod, committee, board members) who have signed a declaration
Licensed youth leaders
Licensed children’s workers

Misconduct occurs when any person from the above groups of people who is in a leadership, teaching or pastoral role violates boundaries (emotional, sexual, financial) with a parishioner, student, employee or staff member in a professional relationship.

Anyone can lodge a complaint about a person in the above list.

If you have experienced misconduct we encourage you to make a complaint so that the matter can be investigated.

To find out more about the ministry standards expected by the Anglican Church, go to: What are Ministry Standards?

To find out how the Church receives and responds to complaints, go to: About the Complaint Process

To make a complaint, go to: How to make a Complaint

The Ministry Standards Commission is an independent body appointed by the Church to oversee the Church’s ministry standards and the complaints process.