Private Legal

Broadcast on 15 July 2024.

This webinar is for church leaders and facilitators on key legal strategies to maximise donations and church profitability in 2024.

It discussed:

• Establishing deductible Gift Recipient Funds and how they can increase giving, including:
  • DGR funds for building funds;
  • DGR funds for ministries to the poor and needy;
  • Public Benevolent Institutions;
• Educating donors on strategies to enable pre-tax giving to tax concessional charities;
• Ministers’ exempt fringe benefit (in the church and in related pastoral ministries);
• Models for structuring and other considerations.

Presenter: Simon Mason, Senior Associate.

Register to watch the replay of this webinar  on demand here.

PDF Presentation slides can be downloaded here.

Broadcast 8 April 2024

This webinar discussed:

• What is the position on religious freedom as it intersects with employment law particularly for churches that run additional entities such as after-school, before-school and vacation centres, care ministries and schools.
• Can anti-discrimination exception(s) on grounds of religion apply to employment of staff? What are practical guidelines for recruitment and onboarding. Policies to consider for the employment relationship.

Presenter: Fran Mayer , Associate.

Register to watch the replay of this webinar  on demand Here

PDF Presentation slides can be downloaded Here

Register to watch the replay of this webinar  on demand Here

PDF Presentation slides can be downloaded Here

Broadcast 14 November 2023

This webinar discussed:

• What is DGR?
• How DGR work
• Compliance
• Benefits
• Updates – Pastoral Care

Presenter: Jessica Lipsett, Director

PDF Presentation slides can be downloaded Here

Register to watch the replay of this webinar  on demand  Here

Broadcast 19 September 2023

This webinar discussed:

• QLD’s legal position regarding gender identity and sexuality – an update
  Practical implications for pastoral counselling
• Is there a need for policy? How far reaching?
• Can exemption(s) apply?

Presenter:  Ashleigh Fanning, Associate

PDF Presentation slides can be downloaded Here

Register to watch the replay of this webinar  on demand  Here

Broadcast 3rd August 2023

This webinar discussed:

• What are the various contexts that merger opportunity arises?
• Mission objectives – identifiable v mission drift.
• Type of merger – Picking and understanding your structure
• Specific issues that need addressing:
  • Church culture
  • Governance leadership
  • Staffing
  • Legal
  • Property Ownership and Trust obligations

Presenter: Paul Neville, Senior Associate

Register to watch the replay of this webinar  on demand  Here

This webinar discussed:

• Rights of members: in unincorporated associations, incorporated associations, and companies
• Church councils: their role, and should you have one? So, the pastor wants to sack the elders: the role of members in governance disputes
• Selling the AGM: accountability when nobody wants to come
• Members vs congregants: who should we tell what?
• Membership responsibilities: it’s not just about rights
• Amputation: what can I do about a problematic member?

Presenter: Rachel Sloper, Senior Associate

Register to watch a replay of the webinar Here 

This discussed:

• Why privacy policies matter
• Australian Privacy Principles (APP)
• Application of the APP and Best Practice
• Personal Information
• Storage and Databases
• Data Leak
• Issues of concern for churches

This webinar was presented by Simon Mason, Senior Associate.

This discussed:

• Remote working and flexible work arrangements
• Reasonable adjustments
• Online mentoring, professional supervision – how effective is it?
• Minimising stress, promoting mental health – resources and support

This webinar was presented by: Francisca Mayer, Senior Lawyer.

This discussed:

• Remote working and flexible work arrangements
• Reasonable adjustments
• Online mentoring, professional supervision – how effective is it?
• Minimising stress, promoting mental health – resources and support

This webinar was presented by: Francisca Mayer, Senior Lawyer.

This webinar discussed:

• Mandatory reporting – an update
• Are your policies up to date?
• Dealing with staff and volunteers that have criminal history
• Changing landscape of insurance claims

This webinar was presented by: Jessica Lipsett, Director.

Download PDF Slides

This webinar discussed:

• Who are your entity controllers?
  1. Difference between management committee and members
  2. Understanding members and their roles
• Extent of powers
• Dealing with termination of office bearers
• The importance of rules and policy alignment

This webinar was presented by: Kathleen Stonehouse.

Download PDF Slides

This webinar discussed:

• Queensland’s current position
• Do cafes, childcare centres and community arms extend to being a place of worship because it shares the same premises/venue as the Church
• Essentials for venue/premises policies.

This webinar was presented by: Melissa Sidney.

This webinar discussed:

• Subsidiary PBI care arm
• Subsidiary School / College
• DGR funds – when can the church ‘use’ DGR fund and when you can’t
• School DGR Building Fund for your Sunday School
• Common Boards and how to manage conflicts of interest

This webinar was presented by: Andrew Lind, Consultant, and Co-founder.

This webinar discussed:

• 5 essential tax questions religious practitioners should know about fringe benefits and Centrelink tax benefits.
• Compliance issues

This webinar was presented by: Francisca Mayer, Senior Lawyer.

This webinar discussed:

• Church databases
• Duration to keep sign in records and how to store sign in records
• Specifications on personal information that is required to keep long term
• Compliance issues around data storage

This webinar was presented by: James Tan, Director.

This webinar discussed:

• Structuring – what works best and what Boards should consider when picking/changing a structure
• Importance of constitutions and getting it right.
• Suggested policies for good governance
• DGR status and what Boards need to consider ensuring compliance
• Donations abroad and overseas activities – ACNC external conduct standards

This webinar was presented by: Nina Flewell-Smith.

This webinar discussed:

• Understanding the legal duties of a Board.
• Managing mental health and recognising the signs to ‘burn out’ with policy in place
• Workers compensation – how it works
• Dealing with injury and avoiding discrimination.

This webinar was presented by: Alistair Macpherson, Managing Director.

This webinar discussed:

• Re-cap Board roles and responsibilities
• Empowering delegation to the Senior Executive – Senior Pastor Limitation Policy
• Implementing HR training in policies for church staff and volunteers
• Creating a policies checklist to ensure basic coverage including post-covid compliance, child reporting, WHS.

This webinar was presented by: Jessica Lipsett, Director.

This webinar discussed:

• Due diligence
• Treatment of assets and liabilities
• Navigating restructure issues

Presented by: Andrew Lind, Consultant and Co-Founder.

This Webinar discussed the JobKeeper Scheme in light of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020. Broadly, the following will be covered:

• What the Scheme seeks to accomplish.
  • Who is an eligible employer?
  • Understanding the decline in turnover test.
• Who is an eligible employee?
  • One of the problems is “who are employees”, particularly in context of churches or other religious organisations?
  • Registration dates
  • Risks
• Specifically, for church organisations:
• What is included and excluded in GST turnover: gifts and donations.
  • Types of gifts and donations
  • Grants
• How benefits are treated in terms of remuneration:
  • Fortnightly remuneration as $1,500.00 :
    • Salary or wage allowance
    • Salary sacrifice superannuation
    • Fringe benefits
  • Single touch payroll
• Some more points specific to religious organisations:
• Mission and overseas aid organisations
  • Bearing in mind the requirement for employees to be residents.
    • Social security definition of “resident”
    • Are they residents or non-residents for tax purposes
    • Incumbent on employee to decide.
• Further risk factors:
  • Urgency of legislation introduced
  • Issues of definition/interpretation/discretion
  • Urgency in registration and payment
  • Cashflow considerations
  • Pressure from employees to participate
  • Record keeping
  • Penalties for overpayment
• What should the Board require?
• Does it make a difference if an employee has been asked to or is on leave? What is the difference between annual leave and long service leave?

This webinar was delivered by James Tan, Director.

The webinar discussed:

• When the External Conduct Standards (ECSs) apply and when they don’t – what overseas operation is caught?
• The ESCs apply to all charities even Basic Religious Charities
• What does ‘reasonable steps’ mean?
• Practical ‘how to comply’ tips for each ECS including what internal policies, processes and MOUs with third parties need to be considered.
• How to respond to the ACNC ECS guidance that the ECSs must be complied with by the Australian charity right through the supply chain of multiple third parties?
• What reporting to the ACNC is required?
• What happens in the event of non compliance? How regulatory action by the ACNC against your charity can lead to ultimate loss of registered charity status (and commonwealth tax exemption) and suspension of governors.

Presented by: Kathleen Stonehouse.

As churches move towards greater understanding and inclusion for transgender persons, this webinar will address common questions regarding discrimination and inclusion of transgender persons in the local church.

Presented by Alistair Macpherson, Managing Director.

This webinar will ask discuss current issues of:

• What are your new Director obligations?
• How to consider the ACNC new questions regarding protective measures for:
• young children and vulnerable adults
• overseas operations
• financial management
• conflict of interest

Presented by  Nina Flewell-Smith.

‘Burn out’ is real for workers in churches, ministries and Christian workplaces. When lines are blurred between pastoral care and self-care in light of helping hurt and needing people on a regular – mental, emotional and psychological fatigue can occur.

Addressing mental health and having policies in place to recognise injury in the workplace can help churches recognise early signs, seek help and build a resilient team.

This webinar will discuss:

• The concern with mental health in the workplace.
• Employees who develop a condition and/or show symptoms of a condition.
• Receiving notice of psychological or psychiatric injury.
• Workers compensation.
• Avoiding discrimination.
• Protection of privacy.
• Developing a safe system of work.

Presented by Fran Keyes, Practice Leader – Employment.

‘Burn out’ is real for workers in churches, ministries and Christian workplaces. When lines are blurred between pastoral care and self-care in light of helping hurt and needing people on a regular – mental, emotional and psychological fatigue can occur.

Addressing mental health and having policies in place to recognise injury in the workplace can help churches recognise early signs, seek help and build a resilient team.

This webinar will discuss:

• The concern with mental health in the workplace.
• Employees who develop a condition and/or show symptoms of a condition.
• Receiving notice of psychological or psychiatric injury.
• Workers compensation.
• Avoiding discrimination.
• Protection of privacy.
• Developing a safe system of work.

Presented by Fran Keyes, Practice Leader – Employment.

The webinar covers the following:

Commonwealth Redress Scheme for survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse

• How are claims assessed?
• What will it cost us?
• What about the risk of false claims?
• Should my organisation/church join?
• What is the Review Report saying?

Civil Liability Changes

• Statute of Limitation and Stay Applications
• Nominating a Proper Defendant
• Assessing civil liability for retrospective claims
• Assessing civil liability for prospective claims

Presenter: Alistair Macpherson, Managing Director.

Safety and justice are biblical principles. Investing in awareness, recognition and response to hurt people in the Church would mean churches and ministries understanding people struggling in abusive relationships? In this webinar, we discuss:

• Recognising abuse – it is more than physical violence.
• Current statistics.
• Understanding the effect of domestic violence.
• Signs and symptoms in adults and children.
• Creating a safe environment.
• Equipping people to recognise and respond.
• Shaping community attitude towards domestic violence.

Presented by Eustacia Yates, Special Counsel.

This webinar will look at understanding consent from various legal aspects including criminal law, equity, tort, contract and privacy. Churches need to know which form is applicable when dealing with a situation where consent is an issue.

Presented by Alistair Macpherson, Managing Director.

In 2017, there was an increased awareness of domestic violence within churches.

This webinar will discuss the definition of domestic violence. Why the Churches role is important in playing being an active advocate against domestic violence? What is the cost of domestic violence? How to recognize and respond to domestic violence within the church?

This webinar is recommended for senior pastors, elders, leadership team and administrators charged with leadership and policy direction within the local church.

Presented by Fiona Manderson.

Starting a new church? We understand that new churches are often underfunded and light on the available volunteer side.

This webinar will discuss things to consider in your church start up, including constitution composition, board members role, church management role, the role of a “mother” church, registration and compliance with the ACNC and ATO.

This webinar is suitable for church boards, church executives, senior pastors, church administrators.

Presented by Kathleen Watt.

We see disputes arising in churches because of a lack of clarity in the roles of:

• Directors;
• Members; and
• Senior Pastors.

This webinar will discuss who can make decisions; what powers are given to office bearers; the importance of the members register; what is the practical implication of disciplining or terminating office bearers; how do you reconcile this in church life?

This webinar is recommended for church boards, church leaders, senior pastors, elders and leadership team members.

Presented by James Tan, Director.

There is a distinction in the employment relationship that classifies religious practitioners, missionaries, ministry workers as spiritual appointments rather than employees.

The classification of spiritual appointments will have bearing on the benefits they can claim as a spiritual appointment as opposed to a common law employee.

Church affiliated entities like schools or care facilities may not meet the test of being a religious institution because of their primary objects.

This webinar will discuss spiritual appointments, its meaning, practical application and benefits.

Presented by Alistair Macpherson, Managing Director & Michael Burgess.

We find that churches are becoming increasingly concerned and fearful about what they can or cannot preach about from the pulpit.

The purpose of this webinar is not to educate pastors on what should or should not be preached, or what is appropriate during a Sunday Service, but rather we will cover a number of cases where allegations of vilification, discrimination and defamation have arisen within Church context for sermons that offend congregations.

The webinar is suited for senior pastors, church elders, church leaders.

Presented by Natasha Duff and Michaela Vaughn.

In times of Church difficulty, as lawyers we have had to review the governing documents to ensure that the parties in dispute have standing and that there is a process to be followed to settle the dispute quickly. More often, we find that churches have not updated their governing documents so that when crisis arises there is no direction forward.

Governing documents for recent times need to be stringent in identifying decision making parties, address dispute resolution process, enforcement options, and termination.

The importance of the church membership register being up to date and mechanisms to remove members who might have left the church are also highly significant.

This webinar is recommended for church boards, church administrators, church leaders.

Presented by Kathleen Watt & Jessica Lipsett, Director.

This is an exclusive webinar for Queensland Baptist Churches.

When is it the right time to consider creating a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) arm for your church to attract tax deductible giving?

Structuring options for your PBI and how to keep the control in the hands of the church.

Limits around the movement of money from the PBI to the Church.

What contractual arrangements should be in place between the Church and the PBI?

Presented by: Andrew Lind, Director and Nina Brewer, Associate.

Allegations of negligence and abuse are becoming increasingly frequent in the church community.

Our webinar looks at what are some of the difficult situations that have arisen where pastors, volunteers and employees have not been appropriately screened, and the consequences that have arisen.

We also make recommendations on what steps you can take to ensure that you have adequately screened your pastors, volunteers and employees.

Presented by Michaela Vaughn, Lawyer and Alistair Macpherson, Director

Allegations of negligence and abuse are becoming increasingly frequent in the church community.

Our webinar looks at what are some of the difficult situations that have arisen where pastors, volunteers and employees have not been appropriately screened, and the consequences that have arisen.

We also make recommendations on what steps you can take to ensure that you have adequately screened your pastors, volunteers and employees.

Presented by Michaela Vaughn, Lawyer and Alistair Macpherson, Director

Conflict within the Church is sadly not an uncommon occurrence. Churches can be caught in the middle, and have to deal with a variety of allegations, from bullying to inappropriate behaviour.

We consider the various strategies available to churches to deal with which disputes (including negotiation, mediation and Christian arbitration), and consider when a Church might be justified in instigating legal proceedings.

Presenter: Alistair Macpherson, Director

Conflict within the Church is sadly not an uncommon occurrence. Churches can be caught in the middle, and have to deal with a variety of allegations, from bullying to inappropriate behaviour.

We consider the various strategies available to churches to deal with which disputes (including negotiation, mediation and Christian arbitration), and consider when a Church might be justified in instigating legal proceedings.

Presenter: Alistair Macpherson, Director

In recent times, Church restructure has moved church entities from the traditional method of being an unincorporated association to a structure of being a church entity that is limited by guarantee.

Whilst this structure is recommended, there are a number of structures churches can consider.

In this webinar, we discuss the various church restructure options available, the advantages and disadvantages of those structures; and how to use a structure to protect the personal property of leaders and church property from claims made.

This webinar is recommended for church boards, church executives, senior pastors, elders and leadership team members. This is part 1 of a 2 part series.

Presented by Andrew Lind, Director and Callum Gibson, Lawyer

This webinar will discuss the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. Of particular note will be the 10 Child Safe standards as recommended to all religious institutions in Australia. The recommendations for the adoption of the 10 child safe standards include working closely with oversight bodies, child safety training for church members, prevention education and the implementation of an annual performance appraisal.

The webinar is suited for senior pastors, church leaders, church executives, and church administrators.

Presented by Alistair Macpherson, Director and Natasha Duff, Associate

The missional activities of the church are becoming increasingly diversified. From the more traditional missions, such as setting up a Christian college, to care arms, building funds, cafes and publishers.

We discuss setting up a separate entity to act as deductible gift recipients to raise funds for the mission work of the church and how to structure and use such entity to protect claims being made against the church.

We cover steps that a church can take to ensure that it has the right people in the right positions running these arms (diversity and composition on the boards of these entities), and look at some of the risks of bad legal structures and old governing documents that create issues down the track.

This webinar is recommended for church boards, church executives, senior pastors, elders and leadership team members. This is part 2 of a 2 part series.

Presented by Nina Brewer and Miriam Sadler

On 8 December 2017, the Australian parliament passed a Bill that amended the law relating to the definition of marriage and protect religious freedoms. The amendment allowed same sex marriage in Australia and this came into effect on 9 January 2018.  This webinar will discuss the new legislation for same sex marriages, practical terms and implication for the church, celebrants, pastors and congregation.

The webinar is suited for senior pastors, church leaders, church executives, Church administrators.

Presented by Jessica Lipsett, Director.

This is an exclusive webinar for Queensland Baptist Churches.

When is it the right time to consider creating a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) arm for your church to attract tax deductible giving?

Structuring options for your PBI and how to keep the control in the hands of the church.

Limits around the movement of money from the PBI to the Church.

What contractual arrangements should be in place between the Church and the PBI?

Presented by: Andrew Lind, Director and Nina Brewer, Associate.

In this webinar, our Andrew Lind (Director) & Kathleen Watt (Senior Lawyer) discuss:

• typical Lutheran School structure;
• what entities / activities may not be under the governance oversight of the College Council? (Early Childhood, After School Care, Sporting Clubs, Parents & Friends, Foundation, DGRs) ;
• what needs to be housed under separate ABNs?
• Separate ABNs – separate Charity registrations, reporting and Tax Concessions ;
• Problems of moving surplus from one to another?
• Are there restructuring options – for common governance oversight and empowering delegated autonomy?
• How to deal with Common employees, i.e. are there employees, being used in more than one entity?

Discussed in this webinar:

• Do we really need a Foundation entity?
• How does a Foundation entity relate to the College Council?
• Who are the controlling minds to a Foundation entity?
• The problem of unmaintained Foundation entities and how to fix them
• DGRs under the Foundation entity – how this works and how to move money back to the College?

In this presentation, our Alistair Macpherson (Director) discussed:

• The Faith Based Charity (FBC)
• Mission, Vision and Values which drives its relationships and service delivery
• Challenge – maintaining the Christian distinctive in a secular environment
• The legislative hurdles – Anti-Discrimination Act (Qld) (ADA), Sex Discrimination Act (Cth) (SDA); Fair Work Act (Cth)
• Exemptions – not uniform with the onus on the charity
• Judicial interpretation: Walsh v St Vincent de Paul; OW & OV v Wesley Mission Council; Christian Youth Camps v Cobaw Community Health Service
• Tension between protection of individual rights and freedom of religion
• Public Policy and Legal Arguments for and against the exemptions
• The Path Forward

This webinar is recommended for senior pastors, elders, leadership team and administrators charged with leadership and policy direction within the local church.

In this presentation, our Fiona Manderson discussed:

• What is Domestic Violence? Isn’t it just hitting or kicking?
• Why is your role so important?
• What is the cost of Domestic Violence?
• The victim–
  where to access support?
  what needs to be done for immediate safety?
  what need to be done for medium and long term safety?
• The children –
  they are more at risk than you might think
  when to speak to the children and when not to
• The alleged perpetrator –
  where to access support?
• Agencies – who does what when?
• Police
• Child safety
• Courts
• What if there is a reasonable suspicion and the family is in your church?

This webinar is recommended for senior pastors, elders, leadership team and administrators charged with leadership and policy direction within the local church.

In this presentation, our Eduardo Cruz (Senior Associate) and Alistair Macpherson (Director) discussed:

• The Limitation of Actions (Institutional Child Sexual Abuse) and Other Legislative Amendment Act 2016 (‘the Act’) was passed on 8 November 2016 and assented to on 11 November 2016; and
• The Act was prompted by the Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (‘the Commission’) and its release of the Redress and Civil Litigation Report (‘the Report’).

This webinar is recommended for senior pastors, elders, leadership team and administrators charged with leadership and who deal with conflict against the local church.

This presentation discussed:

• Dealing with transgender issues;
• Understanding exemptions for local churches and faith based institutions; and
• Dealing with staff, leaders, members and parishioners in these matters

This was webinar was presented by Alistair Macpherson, Director.

The webinar discussed our observation of Churches expanding their income streams in new and inventive ways.

From leasing their Church buildings to undertaking commercial activities, to starting up alternative activities such cafes, child care, book sales, music sales and English classes, to even crowd-funding projects by the congregation.

Some churches are even “partnering” with for profit investors in unit trust type structures to seek to access capital and increase charitable services.

We discuss some of the new activities Churches are entering into to raise monies for their charitable purposes, and discuss what steps can be taken in terms of structuring, and protecting the Church’s reputation and assets.

Presenter: Andrew Lind, Director

The webinar discussed our observation of Churches expanding their income streams in new and inventive ways.

From leasing their Church buildings to undertaking commercial activities, to starting up alternative activities such cafes, child care, book sales, music sales and English classes, to even crowd-funding projects by the congregation.

Some churches are even “partnering” with for profit investors in unit trust type structures to seek to access capital and increase charitable services.

We discuss some of the new activities Churches are entering into to raise monies for their charitable purposes, and discuss what steps can be taken in terms of structuring, and protecting the Church’s reputation and assets.

Presenter: Andrew Lind, Director

Social media and online marketing are powerful modern tools that the church is utilising to promote its activities. These tools are able to generate rapid distribution of information, and also efficiently collect information.

It also creates concerns for churches, as individuals may take issue or offence with content published.

We have also seen social media used as a platform to “cyber-bully” or spread inappropriate content about pastors or leaders.

We discuss some of our experiences in dealing with difficult situations where social media has been misued by, or against, charities, and what steps can be taken to minimise liability.

Presenter: Matthew Shearing, Lawyer & Alistair Macpherson, Director

Social media and online marketing are powerful modern tools that the church is utilising to promote its activities. These tools are able to generate rapid distribution of information, and also efficiently collect information.

It also creates concerns for churches, as individuals may take issue or offence with content published.

We have also seen social media used as a platform to “cyber-bully” or spread inappropriate content about pastors or leaders.

We discuss some of our experiences in dealing with difficult situations where social media has been misued by, or against, charities, and what steps can be taken to minimise liability.

Presenter: Matthew Shearing, Lawyer & Alistair Macpherson, Director

In this webinar, Alistair Macpherson (Director) and Jacques Nel (Special counsel) discuss when Schools sign local council contracts:

• Key clauses to consider,
• Insurance expectations, and
• Risk Management.

This webinar is recommended for teachers, executive members and other relevant school staff and administrators charged with operating a local school.

In this webinar, Eduardo Cruz (Senior Associate) speaks on responding with care & wisdom to physical or emotional injury inside and outside the Church.

In his presentation, Eduardo discussed:

• Does the location of the injury affect the Churches response?
• When is it OK to admit fault or say ‘Sorry’?
• What is the Churches response under Workplace Health and Safety legislation towards staff, volunteers and parishioners

This webinar is recommended for senior pastors, elders, leadership team and administrators charged with responding to injury within the local church.

In this webinar, Andrew Lind (Director) and Kristel Winkler (Senior Associate) speak on church structuring and property holding options ACC member churches may want to consider in the face of a church restructure.

This webinar is recommended for senior pastors, elders and leadership team members charged with decision making of their local church.

In this webinar, Andrew Lind (Director) touches on the main developments in the regulatory and compliance environments as well as reiterate the perennials in the now ever changing demands upon churches.

This webinar is recommended for senior leaders as well as administrative staff charged with effecting these outcomes in the local church.

Presenter: Andrew Lind (Director)

Presenter: Andrew Lind

This one hour webinar will provide practical assistance to pastors and church boards for putting together and leading healthy boards. Topics covered will include:

• The Importance of Boards (Legally and Practically);
• How to Select and Appoint Board Members;
• Roles and Responsibilities of Board Members;
• Ongoing Professional Development of Board Members;
• Running Board Meetings that Attract and Keep High Capacity People and more.

Presenter: Alistair Macpherson

This Webinar is a summary of the Royal Commission into child abuse which contains important lessons that will enable churches to better ensure the safety of children in their care.