Youth workers and counsellors can replace school chaplains under Labor government changes

 “Public schools are no place for religious proselytising and instruction.” Teachers have hailed the end of a religion-based student counselling scheme.

The teachers’ union is demanding chaplains be banned from schools.

Youth workers will be able to apply for chaplaincy roles in schools, in a change lauded on Friday by teacher unions.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the 3000 chaplaincy positions reserved for religious organisations would now be open to “student welfare officers”. These could include counsellors, teachers, youth workers and psychologists.

“We believe that principals and school communities are best placed to understand their students’ needs, so we will give schools a choice about the services they need and the staff they hire,’’ Mr Clare said on Friday.

“The government will open up the program to give schools the option to choose either a chaplain or a professionally qualified student welfare officer.”

The Australian Education Union hailed the change but demanded abolition of the federally funded chaplaincy scheme, introduced by former Liberal prime minister John Howard in 2006.

“Public schools are no place for religious proselytising and instruction,” AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said.

“The AEU has always said that students and families who need support should be able to access evidence-based mental health, social and wellbeing assistance from qualified professionals.

“We welcome this initial step from Education Minister Jason Clare and urge the federal government to go further.”

Ms Haythorpe said the chaplaincy program had been a “stalking horse for an ideological push to get Christianity into public schools’’.

She said the chaplains were almost exclusively Christian, despite the diversity of religions in Australia.

Under the program, chaplains have been allowed to provide pastoral care, run programs such as breakfast clubs and workshops, and co-ordinate volunteer work in school communities.

They were banned from religious instruction or counselling, or preaching to students.