EXCLUSIVE

The NSW government will allow chaplains to continue working in public schools even without government funding, provided the school or church organisation can raise enough money to support them.

The state’s main provider of school chaplains, Genr8 Ministries, is already appealing for tax-deductible donations in preparation for federal government funding to expire at the end of the year.

In an email newsletter this week, the Genr8 Ministries chief executive, Peter Robinson, said the organisation would seek to continue partnering schools with chaplains whether government funding was available or not.

“While we wait for the details of the funding arrangements for 2015-18 we are helping our current chaplaincies develop local support to guarantee they continue beyond the end of the year, whether they are successful in applying for a grant or not,” he wrote.