Chaplain
As a Chaplain, you’ll remain a member of your faith group and be commissioned as a Specialist Service Officer. You’ll be responsible for the provision of spiritual, religious and pastoral support to all ADF members and their families in a range of peacetime and operational environments.
What you'll do
You’ll provide religious ministry or support to ADF members and their families. You’ll be required to provide for your own, facilitate for others and care for all. As such, there’s some similarity with civilian religious practitioners in the delivery of spiritual guidance, liturgical and sacramental rites of your particular faith group.
You’ll also provide spiritual support and pastoral care to all members of the Army, regardless of faith or non-faith perspectives held by ADF members. You’ll be part of a unified, multi-faith team providing leadership in the practice of faith, spiritual and religious observance and ceremony.
As an Army Officer, you’ll remain an active member of your endorsing faith group, meaning you’re governed by two disparate yet culturally sympathetic entities.
Your duties as a chaplain can be divided into 5 primary functions.
- Spiritual ministry or support – promote spiritual wellbeing for all Army members through personal contact, guiding and empowering individuals. You’ll also conduct military services and ceremonies.
- Religious ministry or support – facilitate opportunities for Army members to practice and participate in their chosen religion in a manner they’re familiar with, both in peace and war. This support extends beyond Army members to include their recognised spouses and children in peacetime.
- Pastoral care – visit members in their workplace, accompany them on exercises and go with them into operations. You’ll walk with and support Army members through anxiety, fear, stress, moral dilemmas, guilt, fatigue, boredom and loneliness.
- Provision of advice – as a member of the Commander’s personnel support team, you’ll be in a unique position to exercise independent judgement. You’ll provide advice to Commanders on matters relating to spiritual, religious and pastoral wellbeing; personal morality; ethics; character formation; and morale.
- Character formation and development – you’ll share a functional responsibility for the development and delivery of character and pastoral education programs to encourage spiritual formation of individuals and develop interpersonal skills to motivate responsible moral judgements and behaviour.
Opportunities for progression and upskilling continue throughout your career as an officer. As you progress, the Army will provide you with leadership, management, and specialist skills training to develop your ability to effectively manage your teams. You’ll also be provided with training opportunities to further develop your role-related expertise. This world-class training will strengthen your skillset and enable you to become an influential leader in the Army.
The Army recognises 2 chaplain ranks: Chaplain and Principal Chaplain. For the purpose of appointment, salary, entitlements, function and technical chain of control, you’ll be awarded an honorary rank equivalency. The Chaplain Divisions (rank equivalencies) are:
- Chaplain Division 1 – Captain equivalent
- Chaplain Division 2 - Major equivalent
- Chaplain Division 3 - Lieutenant Colonel equivalent
- Chaplain Division 4 – Colonel equivalent
- Principal Chaplain Division 5 - Brigadier equivalent.
Following training, you could be posted to one of the many Army bases across Australia, or to a specialist facility for specific roles. You may also be deployed to temporary facilities on combat, disaster relief, peacekeeping and aid provision operations.
Chaplains are appointed to all levels of the Army structure to ensure appropriate advice and support is available to Commanders. Senior Chaplains are appointed to functional commands and higher headquarters. Coordinating Chaplains are appointed to coordinate the activities of chaplains across a brigade or formation.
The Army will always endeavour to support you and your family needs. If you’re posted away from home, we’ll provide return trips throughout the year.
Discover where the Army operates across Australia on our base locations map.
If we can lift the spirits of someone then we know they’re better able to do their job.
Requirements and training
You must be an Australian citizen to serve in the ADF. However, Australian permanent residents may be eligible. For more details, visit the "Citizenship" tab on the Eligibility Requirements page.
You can apply for a role in the ADF from 16.5 years of age and must be at least 17 to join. The maximum age to join is 57 years.
You don’t need a driver’s licence for this role but if you have one, it can’t be suspended or cancelled.
All ADF members require a security clearance. As an ADF member, you’ll need to obtain the appropriate level of security clearance for your role. You’ll need a collection of relevant information including background checks and/or interviews so the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) can make an informed assessment to ensure the protection of Government resources and information. Your Careers Coach will explain what level of clearance is required for the career you are considering.
For more information or to learn about how security clearance will apply to you, view the eligibility requirements page.
To be appointed to the Royal Australian Army Chaplain Department (RAAChD), you’ll need to meet the following requirements.
- Be from an endorsed denomination or faith group represented within the current religious diversity of Army personnel. See below for a list of approved faith groups.
- Provide documented evidence of a minimum of 3 years theological, ministry, or faith group endorsed bachelor’s level degree.
- If a faith group (that is not Christian) does not have a training system that includes a faith group specific bachelor’s degree, then a 3-year full-time bachelor’s degree of Australian tertiary standards in a philosophical, ethical or care related field will be required.
- Provide documented evidence that your faith group endorses you as a religious leader and you have invested authority to represent your faith group in Army. Examples include ordination, accreditation or faith group equivalent.
- Following completion of faith group endorsed bachelor’s degree, have at least 2 years of formally supervised pastoral experience immersed within your faith group community as a faith group religious leader.
- Have documented endorsement and approval from your faith group, at the national level, that you are in good standing with your faith group and a suitable representative for Army chaplaincy.
- Be deemed suitable by the Director General Chaplaincy – Army and be endorsed by the appropriate member of the Religious Advisory Committee to the Services (RACS).
Approved denomination groups are currently:
- Anglican Church
- Australian Christian Churches
- Australian Baptist Ministries
- Buddhism
- Catholic Church
- Churches of Christ
- Council of Australian Jewry
- Hindu Council of Australia
- Islamic Council of Australia
- Lutheran Church of Australia
- Presbyterian Church
- Salvation Army
- Seventh-day Adventist Church
- Sikh Council of Australia
- Uniting Church.
To join the ADF, you must be healthy and physically fit. This is partially assessed from the completion of an extensive questionnaire covering your medical history, followed by a physical examination.
You’ll also be required to successfully pass a physical fitness assessment.
Male
- Push-ups: 8
- Sit-ups: 20
- Beep Test: 6.1.
Female
- Push-ups: 4
- Sit-ups: 20
- Beep Test: 6.1.
For further details on medical and physical fitness standards, refer to physical fitness standards for entry into the ADF and medical process for entry into the ADF.
You’ll be appointed for an Initial Minimum Period of Service (IMPS) of 4 years. Subsequent periods of service may be offered subject to the requirements of the ADF and your suitability for further service. You’ll have a Careers Coach who can advise on how IMPS will relate to your chosen occupation and personal situation.
You may request discharge at any time provided you do not have an outstanding IMPS obligation and provide a minimum of 3 months’ notice.
Course: Specialist Service Officer First Appointment Course (SSO FAC)
Duration: 25 days
Location: Royal Military College – Duntroon, Canberra, ACT
You’ll learn fundamental knowledge of:
- leadership and military justice
- weapons handling
- command and control
- unit and personnel administration
- basic military skills
- the ideals of officer behaviour
- attitudes necessary for future employment.
This course is delivered in 2 parts for both full-time and part-time (Reserve) officers.
- Part 1 – 10 days
- Part 2 – 15 days.
All employment training is conducted through the Defence Force Chaplains College (DFCC), the home of ADF chaplaincy training located in Canberra.
The initial employment training for Army Chaplains consists of the following 4 parts and will need to be completed within your first year of commissioning.
Course: ADF Support Chaplain Course: Part 1 – Introduction to Chaplaincy
Duration: 40 hours
Location: Online learning and evaluation in posted location
This module aims to prepare you for your first appointment and deployment. The training will provide an understanding and a contextualisation of ADF and chaplaincy processes.
Course: ADF Support Chaplain Course: Parts 2-4 – Support Chaplain Course
Duration: 4 weeks
Location: Defence Force Chaplains College (DFCC), Canberra, ACT
The below course parts are conducted as a single residential block:
- Part 2 – Pastoral Policy and Advocacy (1 week)
- Part 3 – Character, Ethics and Morality (1 week)
- Part 4 – Mental Health Education, Pastoral Counselling and Professional Issues (2 weeks).
Prior to attending the ADF Support Chaplain Course, chaplains will be required to conduct Notification Officer training and are encouraged to complete other courses when available, including:
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
- Moral Injury Skills Training (MIST)
- Mental Health First Aid.
Intermediate and senior levels of training are provided to you at various stages of your ADF service, to prepare you for the varying responsibilities associated with being an Army Chaplain.
- ADF Coordinating Chaplaincy Course (12 days) – this course will prepare you for employment as a Coordinating Chaplain.
- Senior Chaplains are provided with additional strategic level training opportunities.