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Parish Cost Recovery Summary for 2007 - 15 December 2006 

• 1. Parish Personnel Costs
• 2. Parish Insurance and Other Costs
• 3. 2007 Instalment Plan
• Is your 2007 PCR Summary correct?
• Planning to appoint a new minister or assistant minister?
• What about lay ministry staff?
• What should the parish do if its minister or assistant minister resigns or retires from parish ministry?
• What is the best way to advise the Diocesan Registrar of licence changes?
  

Please find enclosed the Parish Cost Recoveries Summary (the ‘PCR Summary’) for 2007 for your parish.

Each year the Synod adopts, under the Assessments and Charges Ordinance 1975 (the ‘Ordinance’), the costs to be recovered from parishes for the following calendar year. This year again, the Synod confirmed the Standing Committee’s recommendations for the costs detailed in the PCR Summary, which are made up of three components:-

1. Parish Personnel Costs

These costs represent entitlements of ordained minisry staff licensed to your pairsh for 2007 (or part thereof) that are paid by the Synod and recovered from your parish over the course of the year.

2. Parish Insurance and Other Costs

These costs include your parish’s proportionate contribution (based on your 2005 net receipts disclosed in your Annual Financial Report) toward the cost of -

·                 the various insurances held on behalf of parishes under the Diocesan Insurance Program;

·                 the Professional Standards Unit; and

·                 the provision for the relief or remission of parish cost recoveries (bad debts).

3. 2007 Instalment Plan

There will be 12 invoices issued to your parish, a month in advance, during 2007. However, under clause 13 of the Ordinance, your parish is required to pay 10 equal instalments over the year, the first being due 2 March 2007, as detailed on the PCR Summary.

To assist your parish in meeting the requirements of the Ordinance, we have enclosed a Direct Debit that will enable each instalment to be paid automatically on the due dates from your nominated parish bank account.

If you already pay your instalments by direct debit, there is no need to complete another Direct Debit Request unless you need to amend your bank account details should they change at any time.

If your parish elects to pay by cheque, please pay the instalment amount on the invoice by the due date.

Is your 2007 PCR Summary correct?

The PCR Summary details the period for which charges will be recovered for each of your ordained ministry staff licensed to your parish during 2007. Therefore, for your parish’s budgeting purposes it is important that these details are correct as charges are levied on a daily basis.

The dates listed on the PCR Summary are obtained from the licensing details for each of your ordained ministry staff held by the Diocesan Registrar (‘Registry’).

Please check the dates for each person on the PCR Summary and if they are incorrect please advise the Deputy Registrar on 9265 1526, immediately.

Some common corrections needed are -

·                 You have an assistant minister whose licence end date is 30 June 2007, but it is expected that they will continue at the parish beyond that date.

·                 You have a minister or assistant minister who you know is to leave your parish, but they do not have an end date on their licence.

Licence changes advised to Registry will automatically amend future invoices issued to your parish through the Parish Cost Recoveries system (‘PCR’).

Planning to appoint a new minister or assistant minister?

If you plan to appoint a new minister or assistant minister at some point in the year they will not be charged through PCR until the licence is issued. Please note that for your budgeting purposes the standard charge for 2007 for ministers (including assistant ministers with 7 or more years service) is $10,905 pa and $10,099 pa for other assistant ministers.

Again, please advise the Registry as soon as the appointment has been confirmed.

What about lay ministry staff?

Lay ministry staff costs are not recovered from parishes under the Ordinance through PCR, but must be paid directly by the parish. Your parish is directly responsible for ensuring that all paid lay workers (both ministry and administrative) are covered for superannuation, workers compensation and long service leave, determined in accordance with relevant legislation and the Diocesan guidelines.

Please visit the Diocesan website for more information at www.sds.asn.au and go to the ‘For Churchwardens & Parish Councillors’ section.

Other matters to consider ....

What should the parish do if its minister or assistant minister resigns or retires from parish ministry?

It is the parish’s responsibility to advise the Registry immediately upon a notice being given of the resignation or retirement of ordained ministry staff.

Until such time the Registry is advised and the licence details amended, the parish will continue to be charged and payments made to external parties for superannuation and long service leave.

Where the parish has failed to advise the Registry in a timely manner and payments have been made for superannuation and long service leave that can not be recovered, the parish will be charged.

What is the best way to advise the Diocesan Registrar of licence changes?

Parishes have previously been advised of the Registry’s secure website which is https://secure.anglican.asn.au/registry/yearbook. Every minister has access to the site as they are responsible for advising Registry of assistant minister licence changes. The minister can also nominate another parish representative to have access to the site. Simply log on to the address above and enter the date the licence is to end in the appropriate amendment field and click ‘Update’.

Important: Please note that the Registry needs to know the date on which the minister or assistant minister was paid up to, rather than their last Sunday or day of work.

For example, an assistant minister has 2 weeks accrued annual leave which they take between leaving your parish on 11 March 2007 and starting at their next parish on 26 March 2007. The date advised to Registry by you will be the date on which their leave ends (i.e. the 25 March 2007), not the date they started their leave.

Service must be continuous from one parish to the next, as any break could mean that entitlements accrued to date are forfeited.

If you have any questions please contact me on 9265 1680 (email: mwn@sydney.anglican.asn.au) or Colin Murphy on 9265 1560 (email: cjm@sydney.anglican.asn.au).

Yours sincerely

MICHAEL NEWMAN
Manager, Clergy & Church Support Services