Joe Thorp – Registrar & Secretary of Synod

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The Diocesan Registrar and Secretary of Synod leads a team of people to deliver vision and strategy to parishes and agencies in the Diocese of Adelaide.

Joe Thorp was appointed Registrar and Secretary of Synod on 21 April 2020.

He is also a member of General Synod, a member of the Bishop Nomination Committee, Secretary to the Trusts of The See, a Board member of AFSA and a member of its Investment Committee, Trustee of the Leigh Trust and a member of its Investment Committee and Provincial Secretary.

Joe leads the Synod Office which exists to support the management of the affairs of the Synod and support Anglican communities to flourish by:

  • Providing services and tools to support Anglican parishes and communities
  • Managing the Synod’s real and intellectual property, data and other assets
  • Ensuring safe ministry
  • Facilitating redress for survivors of abuse
  • Providing low cost investment, finance & transactional financial services
  • Promoting awareness of the work of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide.

The function of the Secretary of Synod

The Synod is the governing body responsible for the management of the affairs of the Diocese. The Secretary of Synod is accountable to the Diocesan Council, which is the executive committee of the Synod. The Secretary of Synod ensures appropriate services are provided to Synod and the Diocesan Council and liaises with members of Synod. He or she will fulfill other duties as prescribed by the legislation of the Diocese of Adelaide and is the Public Officer of the Synod of the Diocese of Adelaide of the Anglican Church of Australia (Inc).

The function of the Diocesan Registrar

The Registrar is licensed by the Archbishop of Adelaide. The Registrar maintains a registry of licences and PTO’s and approves applications for Safe Ministry clearance as well as providing high level organisational and strategic support to the ministry of the Archbishop and supports the Archbishop and Diocesan Council in the implementation of the Diocesan Vision and Strategic plan.

The Diocesan Registrar and Secretary of Synod ensures the effective and efficient management of the Diocese’s finance, business and administrative functions, and supports the development, implementation and management of policy and communication frameworks and processes. They will supervise the staff of Diocesan Office, liaise with parishes within the Diocese of Adelaide and work in co-operation with Anglicare SA, Anglican schools and other Anglican agencies in the Diocese. The Diocesan Registrar and Secretary of Synod is the Provincial Secretary and provides an executive function to the Provincial Council of the three Anglican Dioceses in the Province of South Australia and acts as Registrar on behalf of the Province in certain matters as defined under a Memorandum of Understanding.

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