That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 2.5.2 to read:

"STIPENDS
2.5.2 (a) A Minister called to serve full-time in an approved placement under the jurisdiction of the Church shall be paid a stipend not less than the minimum rate determined by the Synod.

(b) A Minister called to serve part-time in an approved placement under the jurisdiction of the Church shall be paid a stipend on a proportionate basis in relation to the minimum rate determined by the Synod, subject to the Minister and the Presbytery or other appointing body agreeing that the amount of stipend is just and fair.

(c) In exceptional circumstances, notwithstanding (a) and (b) above, a Minister may be paid a stipend less than the minimum rate determined by the Synod when serving full-time in an approved placement under the jurisdiction of the Church or less than a proportionate amount when serving part-time in an approved placement under the jurisdiction of the Church, or may be paid no stipend when serving in an approved placement under the jurisdiction of the Church, subject to:
(i) the approval of the Minister;
(ii) the approval of the Presbytery (or other appointing body) and the Placements Committee, taking into account the fairness of the arrangements in the circumstances;
(iii) a review at any time at the request of the Minister;
(iv) a review initiated by the Presbytery or other appointing body no less frequently than every two years, requiring fresh approvals to be given by the Minister, the Presbytery or other appointing body and the Placements Committee.
Any such arrangements shall not transfer to another Minister called to serve in the placement."

Rationale:
For some time the Synod Secretaries have been concerned at the lack of flexibility in the current Regulation 2.5.2, the lack of clarity in some of the current wording and the different ways the Regulation is applied across synods. This proposal has the support of the Synod and Assembly Secretaries.

This proposal maintains the Church's requirements in relation to full-time service in approved placements under the jurisdiction of the Church [in the proposed part (a)], clarifies the Church's requirements in relation to part-time service by replacing the variously interpreted phrase "such equitable portion of that rate as is agreed to by the Minister" [in the proposed part (b)], and allows flexibility to move from these requirements in exceptional circumstances [in the proposed part(c)].

The exceptional circumstances may involve a Minister with independent means who wishes to serve part-time or full-time in an approved placement with a reduced or no stipend. A few older candidates for ministry are in receipt of superannuation from previous employment and may offer themselves for service at reduced stipend. A few ministers may be in a position to offer to serve in a part-time placement with less than a proportionate stipend.

However, it is crucial that the flexibility built into the amended regulation protects ministers from pressure for their acceptance of less than a full or proportionate stipend. Accordingly the proposed part (c) ensures that the minister, the Presbytery and the Advisory Committee on Ministerial Placements must all approve the arrangements, that the minister can request a review at any time, and that regular reviews must be held at least every two years.

66. STATEMENT ON THE BASIS OF UNION (Synod of Victoria)

That the Assembly approve the following Statement on the Basis of Union prepared by the Synod of Victoria and offer it to congregations and agencies as suitable for a public notice recalling some major emphases of the Basis of Union.

"The Uniting Church in Australia (according to its Basis of Union) is a Christian community who:
§ worships the one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
§ trusts in Jesus Christ the divine One who became human, died and rose for the world (paragraphs 1 and 3),
§ shares God's love with all people across barriers of race, gender and class (paragraphs 1 and 2),
§ seeks unity within the whole church that the world may believe in Christ (paragraph 2),
§ hears Christ through the Scriptures in which he meets, feeds and guides us (paragraph 5),
§ celebrates Baptism and the Lord's Supper in which Christ embraces and feeds God's people (paragraphs 6 and 8),
§ affirms the faith of the whole church in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds (paragraph 9),
§ engages with issues of our time confessing Christ in fresh words and deeds (paragraph 11),
§ believes God's Spirit gives gifts to all members and calls them to serve God in the world (paragraph 13),
§ prays that God will be praised and glorified in the Church's worship, witness and service (paragraph 18)."

Rationale:
The Synod of Victoria offers this statement as a notice pointing to the Basis of Union, not an interpretation of it. The Synod has already resolved to encourage its congregations and agencies to display this notice as a reminder of some major emphases in the Basis of Union.

The purpose of the invitation into the Basis of Union is to provide a clear, simple statement of the main points of the Basis of Union, which we believe most members of the Uniting Church could agree on. It is not meant to be a comprehensive statement but an indicator of what are the main beliefs of the Uniting Church as laid out in the Basis of Union to place on notice boards and such like.

The invitation into the Basis of Union is not meant to replace or supersede the Basis of Union. Rather it is to invite people to consider more deeply what the Basis of Union says about the faith we hold in common as members of the Uniting Church.

67. AMENDMENTS TO COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES (Legal Reference Committee)

That the Assembly:

67.1 request the Standing Committee to consult with Synods and the Church Polity and Legal reference committees with a view to amending Regulations 7.5.1-7.7.3 to provide for:
§ the Pastoral Relations Committee to have authority to determine that a complaint against a minister warrants no further action;
§ an appeal mechanism against such a decision by a Pastoral Relations Committee;
§ the Pastoral Relations Committee to refer a complaint for mediation or conciliation;
§ a Presbytery Chairperson to refer a complaint directly to the Committee for Counselling;
§ the Committee for Counselling to refer a complaint for mediation or conciliation;
§ any related matters which emerge from Standing Committee's consideration and consultation.

67.2 authorise the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulations 7.5.1 - 7.7.3 and make consequential amendments to Regulations as it determines, in light of its consideration and consultation on these matters.

Rationale:
In March 1998 the Synod of New South Wales requested the Assembly Standing Committee to "consider the matter of adequate grievance procedures in the Church which would provide guidelines for Chairpersons of presbyteries and Pastoral Relations Committees in dealing with grievances and complaints". Following the preparation of a paper outlining the concerns the issues have been considered by Church Polity, by the Standing Committee again and by the Legal Reference Committee. The Legal Reference Committee brings this proposal in response to a request from the Standing Committee.

The concerns which have emerged from these various discussions include:
§ the church's procedures for dealing with formal complaints against ministers are inflexible; for instance, there is no alternative to involving the Synod Committee for Counselling when either the complainant or the minister asks, even where the complaint may be of a trivial nature; or when a chairperson recognises that a complaint is of a very serious nature and appears to have substance to it, there is no capacity for a direct referral to the Committee for Counselling;
§ there is no provision for dealing with a "low-level" grievance against a minister, once it has been formalised by a member as a complaint, other than by the time-consuming procedures involving the Presbytery chairperson, the PRC, and the Committee for Counselling,
§ the inability of the church to act quickly on what might be construed as "vexatious" complaints or on complaints where it is soon established there is with no substance to them whatsoever;
§ the lack of guidance in the Regulations for Presbytery chairpersons and Pastoral Relations Committees as to how they might deal with a complaint;
§ the Regulations allow for the Synod Sexual Misconduct Complaints Committee to refer a complaint for conciliation, but there's no similar provision for the Committee for Counselling;
§ no reference is made in the Regulations to the processes of mediation.

The Legal Reference Committee recognises that the church needs to act carefully in response to these concerns, in order to safeguard the discipline of the church. Accordingly it recommends a process of consultation before decisions are made.

Note that this proposal does not relate to complaints made against ministers of sexual misconduct, which are the subject of Regulations 7.7.4-7.7.20.

Mediation is the confidential process whereby a third party seeks to facilitate discussion and solution in a dispute between two or more persons. The mediator is a neutral and impartial person who imposes no solutions and makes no decisions other than seeking to help the disputants find their own solution. In a conciliation process, the conciliator takes a more active role in seeking to find a solution and the outcome does not necessarily have to be mutually agreed between the disputants.