What Buddhist Chaplaincy and School SRE Involve at the Buddhist Council of NSW

The Buddhist Council of NSW runs two community-facing programs beyond its directory of temples and centres: Buddhist chaplaincy, where the Council trains and appoints chaplains to work in multi-faith teams in NSW hospitals and prisons, and Special Religious Education (SRE), where it manages a program supporting volunteer teachers of Buddhism in NSW public schools. Both are services the Council administers for the wider community rather than activities confined to its member organisations, and both depend on trained or volunteer people to deliver them.

Buddhist chaplaincy: what the program does

According to the Council, it "train[s] and appoint[s] Buddhist chaplains to work in multi-faith teams in NSW hospitals and prisons." Three things follow from that description:

• The setting is institutional, not a temple. Chaplains serve inside hospitals and correctional facilities, alongside chaplains of other faiths.
• The work is team-based and multi-faith. A Buddhist chaplain is one member of a broader chaplaincy team, so the role involves representing Buddhist practice within a shared, pluralistic structure.
• The Council is the gatekeeping body. It both trains and appoints, meaning it controls preparation and placement rather than simply referring people to outside employers.

The page does not publish eligibility criteria, training duration, or whether chaplaincy is paid or voluntary. If you are considering this path, treat those as questions to put to the Council directly rather than assumptions.

Who chaplaincy serves

The people served are patients, residents, and inmates in NSW public institutions — not the Council's member organisations. This is the clearest distinction between the two programs: chaplaincy is outward-facing care in secular institutions, while the Council's member directory covers temples, retreat centres, educational institutions, and professional organisations.

School SRE: what the program does

The Council states it "manage[s] a Special Religious Education program which supports volunteer teachers of Buddhism in NSW public schools." The key words are manage and volunteer:

• SRE is delivered by volunteers, not by Council staff or monastics employed by the Council.
• The Council's role is program management and support for those volunteer teachers, within the NSW public school system.
• The audience is school students whose families opt into SRE, which places the program inside a regulated educational framework rather than a religious setting.

The page does not specify training requirements for volunteer teachers, the curriculum used, or how schools request the program. Those details would need to come from the Council or the relevant school.

How the two programs relate to members and volunteers

The Council's own framing places chaplaincy, SRE, and volunteering as separate but parallel ways to participate:

The "Volunteer" entry on the site is framed broadly — "use your skills to help us build a strong and vibrant Buddhist community" — so SRE teaching is one specific volunteer route, while chaplaincy is a more formal, appointed role. Member organisations are a separate category: they are the places of worship, retreat centres, and institutions the Council connects, not the delivery channel for chaplaincy or SRE.

Practical next steps

If your interest is chaplaincy, contact the Council about training and appointment, and ask specifically about the hospital and prison placements and any prerequisites. If your interest is SRE, ask about volunteering as a teacher and what support the Council provides. If you are simply looking for a place to practise, the member directory — searchable by location, tradition, or culture — is the right entry point instead.