Our missionSydney 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 visionAt 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 –
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Our servicesOur 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 –
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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.
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| Please click on the image for a more detailed overview of these values, along with their biblical underpinnings. | 
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| 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 Mr Greg Hammond OAM |
The Rev Michael Paget Bishop Michael Stead The Rev Roger Cunningham
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Please click here if you would like to know more about each of our board members.
Meeting dates
The 2025 meeting dates of SDS are:
19 February 2025 9 April 2025 18 June 2025 27 August 2025 15 October 2025 3 December 2025 |
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.