Provide pastoral care, spiritual guidance, and support to inmates, their families, and staff in a correctional centre.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a compassionate, resilient, and faith-driven individual to join our team as a Correctional Centre Catholic Chaplain. This is a unique and deeply rewarding opportunity to provide spiritual leadership and pastoral care within a correctional environment, supporting individuals at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives.

As a Chaplain, you will deliver a ministry of healing, guidance, reconciliation and hope to people in custody, their families, and correctional staff. Through worship, spiritual formation, and pastoral care, you will walk alongside individuals as they navigate crisis, grief, personal reflection, and transformation.

This role offers the rare opportunity to contribute to genuine rehabilitation and reintegration, helping individuals reconnect with their dignity, purpose, and faith. You will bring a grounded and empathetic approach to your ministry, with the spiritual depth and emotional resilience required to work in a complex environment, always upholding the dignity of every person.

Your presence will foster healing and restoration, encourage positive behavioural change, strengthen personal and community connections, and support pathways toward reintegration and hope.

If you are called to serve, support, and walk alongside others in their journey toward healing and hope, we encourage you to apply.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Mission & Evangelisation in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle are an outward looking team who proudly choose to be where people are in sharing the message of the Gospel with the contemporary world. Our purpose is to provide Diocese-wide leadership in accompaniment and resourcing for catholic formation, training, and encounter. The purpose of the Correctional Centre Chaplain is to provide a ministry of healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling to inmates and their families in time of crisis, illness, depression and death, and to staff in often stressful situations. Through worship and religious practice, theological understanding, meditation, devotional activity and discussion of scriptural themes, Chaplains can help inmates to become more at one with themselves, with others and with God. Chaplaincy aims to provide people in custody with the best chance of successfully reintegrating into society once their sentence is complete.

The Chaplain has a ministry, which overlaps and interlocks with most other disciplines within the non-custodial staff area. Chaplains complement other developmental programs in the prison by helping inmates apply spiritual resources that encourage healing and behavior modification.

Chaplains seek to care pastorally to promote spiritual awareness and the wellbeing of all. They recognise the sacredness and vulnerability of human life and the dignity of inmates, their family and staff. They help inmates understand the impact of offending behavior and incarceration upon their spirit, their relationships, and the community.

The incumbent commits to working within Work Health and Safety guidelines and Code of Conduct at all times whilst in the employ of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

Benefits of Working With Us

• Directly contribute to improving the lives of many in the community.
• Receive an attractive salary with salary packaging available.
• Paid parental leave.
• Discounted gym membership through Fitness Passport.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A great friendly environment of dedicated and passionate co-workers.
• Corporate benefits, including EAP, flu shots and more.

Join us today!

EXPERIENCE/CRITERIA

• A capacity to understand, promote and model the Catholic faith.
• Experience in pastoral care and demonstrated competence in pastoral situations, including in a multifaith context
• Capacity to work in an environment that may involve potential exposure to psychosocial hazards related to the range of services provided in a correctional centre
• Self-motivated and able to make use of pastoral support
• Personal awareness and the ability to manage their own emotional reactions
• Completion of a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) course or equivalent or willing to do so in the first 12 months of employment (unless relevant RPL has been recognised).
• Ability to operate in an environment of strict confidentiality and information protection
• Ability to allow support and minister to inmates and correctional services staff
• Ability to work as part of a team

QUALIFICATIONS

• Qualifications in Pastoral Care, Psychology, Social Welfare, or other relevant disciplines or equivalent experience.
• Current Working with Children Check
• Able to fulfil the requirements of the Corrective Services Criminal and Security checks and training
• Current Senior First Aid Certificate (Desirable)

Please provide a current copy of your Resume and a Cover Letter which addresses the two criterion points below:

• Why you want this role and how it aligns with your career goals.
• Your qualifications and experience in a similar position.

Applications close: 11:59pm Friday 17th April 2026

Should a suitable candidate be identified during the advertising process, this position may be filled prior to the identified closing date.

The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable persons and preventing those in our care from suffering abuse or neglect. It is committed to implementing and maintaining compliance with the NSW Child Safe Standards and the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards and takes a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of children or vulnerable persons.

All who work in the name of the Diocese must comply with the Diocesan Safeguarding Framework Policy and act in accordance with the Diocese’s Code of Conduct which includes the Diocese’s Safeguarding Commitment Statement. Employees are required to undergo a National Police Check and retain a valid NSW Working with Children Check where necessary, in accordance with legislation.