This article explores the interpretation and application of the term ‘doctrine’ within the Anglican Church of Australia and its implications in Australian civil law, particularly anti-discrimination legislation. It examines the tension between (1) the constitutional definition in the Church's constitution and (2) broader interpretations found in General Synod resolutions. The anxiety evident in the General Synod resolutions underscores ongoing debates within the Church about same-sex marriage and relationships and the application of secular exemptions in anti-discrimination legislation. The article concludes that the civil law definition of the term ‘doctrine’ is wide enough to encompass both the Anglican Church of Australia's constitutional definition and the broader meaning found in General Synod resolutions. Nevertheless, care needs to be taken by the Church to avoid the risk of civil courts being called upon to engage in their own exegesis of scripture, and thereby come to conclusions which are at odds with the avowed beliefs of the Church.

In December 2021, the Episcopal Standards Board of the Anglican Church of Australia (the Board) was satisfied that Bishop Roger Herft, the former Bishop of Newcastle between 1993 and 2005, was unfit to remain in holy orders and determined that he be deposed from the exercise of holy orders (the Board Determination). This decision is significant because it is the first occasion in the Anglican Communion on which a senior church leader has had the most severe sanction of deposition from the exercise of holy orders imposed for their inaction in response to allegations of abuse. The context for this decision has been one of allegations of abuse made against church leaders and the concealment of these allegations by senior church leaders in contravention of the statutory requirement to report the allegations to government authorities. There has also been the public scrutiny through government inquiries of the response of churches and their leaders to child abuse.

In November 2020, the Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal) of the Anglican Church of Australia (ACA) provided its opinion on references as to the constitutionality of diocesan legislation relating to same-sex blessings and marriage. There were two concurrent references about a marriage blessing service intended for use in the Diocese of Wangaratta (the Wangaratta references). There were also two concurrent references about the Clergy Discipline Ordinance 2019 Amending Ordinance 2019 of the Diocese of Newcastle (the Newcastle references).

This article concerns child sexual abuse in the Anglican Church of Australia and the Church of England and, in particular, an integrity system to combat this problem and the ethical problems it gives rise to. The article relies on the findings of various commissions of inquiry to determine the nature and extent of child sexual abuse in the Anglican Church. The two salient ethical problems identified are: (1) design of safety measures in the light of the statistical preponderance of male on male sexuality; (2) justice issues arising from redress schemes established or proposed to provide redress to victims.

This article examines the contribution of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to the ecclesiology of the Anglican Church of Australia (ACA). The focus is on diocesanism – the strong form of diocesan autonomy that exists in the ACA. The article concludes that the Royal Commission identified diocesanism and the associated dispersion of ecclesial authority as key factors constraining the ACA’s responses to child sexual abuse, and actively sought to modify its impact. The article also points to the significance of the Royal Commission’s findings to ACA ecclesiological understandings and change.