About Us

Our mission

Sydney Diocesan Services (“SDS”) exists to support the mission of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Sydney. We mainly do this by providing a range of professional services to the Synod, to other diocesan organisations and to parishes in support of the central administration of the Diocese. The short video below from CEO Robert Wicks explains more about the role of SDS.

Our vision

At SDS we want to be Enhancing Capacity for Mission – that is, we want to help those we serve to increase their own capacity for mission by providing the essential services they require. Over the next few years we plan to achieve our vision by –

  • Helping to build a strong diocesan network
  • Optimising the quality of our services
  • Alleviating burden
  • Collaborating with the broader network
  • Empowering staff to make a difference
 

 

 

Our services

Our services include financial management, corporate secretarial, property oversight, IT and human resources. We also manage the procurement of services from external providers of insurance and investment management.

Organisations we serve

SDS was initially established to provide services to the Synod, Standing Committee and parishes of the Diocese. This remains an important part of our work. However over time we have extended our service offering to a number of other diocesan organisations including –

  • Anglican Church Property Trust Diocese of Sydney
  • St Andrew’s House Corporation
  • Safe Ministry Board
  • Anglican Aid
  • New Churches for New Communities
  • Glebe Administration Board
  • SDS Legal
  • Endowment of the See Corporation
  • Sydney Anglican Loans
  • Ministry Training and Development
  • Anglican Youthworks
  • Sydney Anglican (National Redress Scheme) Corporation
  • Anglican Church Growth Corporation
 
This organisational diagram shows the structure of the Sydney Diocese and the relationships between SDS and the diocesan organisations it serves. This further organisational diagram shows the central structures of the Diocese in more detail.
 

Our website

Our website is home to a large amount of information relevant to the administration of the Diocese and its parishes. This includes information about –

  • the Synod, the Standing Committee and the other organisations served by SDS
  • responsibilities of wardens, Synod representatives and other parish officers
  • parish insurance
  • parish property and financial administration
  • remuneration of ministry staff
  • parish AGMs,
  • and much more.

 

The SDS website also provides a searchable database of important historical and contemporary documents relevant to the governance of the Diocese. This includes the ordinances, regulations and policies of the Synod, and circulars and reports about specific matters, for example regulatory updates and alerts. The records of past and present sessions of Synod are also available.


Our people

As partners in the mission of the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney, SDS staff bring dedication as well as a wealth of experience and professional expertise to our work. As a Christian organisation, we have committed to undertake our work in a way that reflects the following bible-based values. At SDS we...

  • Respect
  • Innovate
  • Collaborate
  • Celebrate, and
  • Deliver

Please click on the image for a more detailed overview of these values, along with their biblical underpinnings.

SDS values

 

 
 

Our day to day operations are run by a senior management team headed by CEO, Robert Wicks.
Please click here to see our organisational structure.

 

Our board

We are governed by a board of up to 10 members.

The current members of the board are –

Chair: Mr John Pascoe 

Mrs Michele Carpenter

The Rev Lily Strachan

Dr Laurie Scandrett

 

The Rev Michael Paget

Bishop Michael Stead

 

 

 

Please click here if you would like to know more about each of our board members.

 

Meeting dates

The 2024 meeting dates of SDS are:

21 February 2024

10 April 2024

19 June 2024

28 August 2024

13 November 2024

 

 

Our relationship to the Archbishop

The Archbishop is the President of SDS. Although the Archbishop is not a member of the board, he is entitled to attend board meetings and may address the board on any pastoral or policy issue concerning the Anglican Church of Australia as it applies to SDS.

 

Our constitution

SDS is constituted by the Sydney Diocesan Services Ordinance 2017.

SDS's governance framework is summarised in its Board Charter

[Note: SDS underwent a minor name change in January 2019. Documents published prior refer to SDS as "Sydney Diocesan Secretariat".]

 

Our annual reports

Below are our annual reports and annual financial statements for the last three years –

 

Further information

See our current employment opportunities.

If you would like more information, please contact us.