Authorised religious volunteers can attend schools to teach in the specific beliefs and practices of their religious persuasion to students who identify with that persuasion for up to one hour per week as per section 32 of the Education Act 1990.

Authorised volunteers of a program in ethical decision making, action and reflection within a secular framework, can teach students who have withdrawn from special religious education for up to one hour per week as per section 33A of the Education Act 1990.

Application process

Applications to provide special religious education (SRE) or special education in ethics (SEE) in NSW Government schools are assessed through the following steps:

• careful analysis of the application
• seeking further information from the applicant where necessary
• obtaining further advice where required
• seeking advice from the Special Religious Education and Special Education in Ethics Consultative Committee, where appropriate
• recommendation made to the Minister for Education
• Minister for Education makes the final decision to approve or not approve an application.

The length of time for an application to become an approved provider can vary and is dependent on several factors including the complexity of the application and the scheduling of the consultative committee meetings. The consultative committee usually meets once per school term. The average length of time to process an application is 165 calendar days.

Additional information on responsibilities for approved providers can be found in the Special religious education and special education in ethics procedures. Please read this information thoroughly to ensure your organisation is able to satisfy all of the responsibilities.

Organisations wishing to obtain approval should obtain an application form from religion.ethics@det.nsw.edu.au.