Suburban church members have played a role in winning a major appeal against the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal over the right to keep using chequebooks in churches through Glebe Income Accounts (GIA).
The tribunal hearing was a response to a decision from ASIC to refuse GIA an exemption to retain its chequebook facility for parishes, Diocesan organisations and trustees of church property without the need for costly licencing requirements.
"ASIC were making life hard for ordinary people at the sharp end of ministry," said Sydney Diocesan Secretariat CEO Rodney Dredge.
"What we have here is an example of how one part of the diocesan administration took on a regulator and won," Mr Dredge said.
"It was no light matter to take this on " history shows that the regulatory authorities are very strong indeed and a small organisation like us dealing with the might of ASIC is daunting in the extreme. We were blessed with our legal team who captured the essence of what church is about " our business is people, not processes."
Mr Dredge added that the regulatory environment "is affecting all forms of parish life', from their relationship with St Andrew's House through to Occupational Health and Safely requirements.
The decision rewarded the hard work of Secretariat workers David Cannings, Robert Wicks, Carmen Titterton and 13 witnesses from parishes and organisations within and outside the Diocese.
Legal Services Manager Robert Wicks says the restrictive nature of this decision on the Secretariat's operations with parishes, Diocesan organisations and trustees of church property meant it was important to contest.
"What is important about this result is that it establishes the important principle that internal dealings within the Diocese do not warrant the same level of regulatory intervention as external dealings," said Mr Wicks.
During the hearing, David Cannings gave evidence outlining the nature of GIA's operations, witnesses explained how their accounts worked and the Bishop of South Sydney Robert Forsyth explained the complex structure of the Diocese.
This was a stressful time for the witnesses, as most had never been in that situation before and had initially hoped their signed affidavits would be sufficient evidence.
Rex Garbutt, Churchwarden at St Paul's. Emu Plains, is one of them.
"Although I knew I was speaking truthfully, I was quite anxious about the process," he recalls.
Mr Garbutt says he was willing to endure cross-examination to support a facility his parish finds useful.
"I felt it was a positive way to help the Mission," he says.
Mr Wicks said the input of witnesses was invaluable.
"We're grateful to clients who were prepared to come and support Glebe. ASIC was tough on them but the outcome indicates that the evidence they gave was sufficient enough to the Tribunal."
Carmen Titterton agrees: "It's a relief to know we can continue to provide our chequebook facility. We can take away the hassle of dealing with banks who don't understand the life and livelihood of parishes the way we do."
The tribunal ruled that Sydney will no longer be able to provide chequebook facilities to churches outside the Diocese.
