Becoming a Chaplain

Chaplains in the Australian Defence Force serve in one of the three Services - Navy, Army or Air Force, either as fulltime or part-time members.

As a Chaplain is both a deacon/priest and a commissioned officer, there are, obviously, two elements of preparation to be considered - the Church element and the Service element.

Catholic Chaplains are ordained deacons or priests with some pastoral experience. Ideally this experience is a four year minimum. As the Military Ordinariate has a limited capacity to provide this training, we depend upon the generosity of the other Bishops and of Religious Superiors (and of course their dedicated clergy). A prospective Chaplain must have the permission of his Bishop/Religious Superior and this should be sought after some preliminary discussion with local ADF Chaplains and/or the Military Bishop.

Once the ecclesiastical procedures have been completed, the recruiting processes for entry follows. Chaplains have to meet the same standards of education and mental and physical fitness as anyone else. Completion of the recruiting process will herald the beginning of the initial officer entry training which is tailored for qualified entry officers - e.g. lawyers, doctors, nurses, etc.

This process may seem long and complicated - it is not that bad really but it is an essential one. Apart from the ecclesiastical element, it is the same process that everyone has to endure.

Conditions of Service, including pay scales, etc. can be found by accessing the ADF's recruiting web site.

Please note that we are short of allocated positions of Catholic Chaplains both in full-time and part-time positions. Talk to a serving Chaplain today to find out more about this important apostolate - or talk directly to the Bishop or his Chancery staff. Remember that the first point of contact should be with a Chaplain or the Bishop's Chancery.