Kooyoora provides independent professional standards services to seven Anglican Dioceses in Australia and thirteen Dioceses and Amorangi in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Originating with the Anglican Dioceses of Melbourne and Bendigo, the service model has evolved over six years to meet the needs of each diocese.

Based on a continuum of independence, services range from fully managed end-to-end delivery to specific components such as investigations, clearances, and redress, depending on each diocese’s requirements.

This article provides a detailed explanation of the roles of the Anglican Dioceses and Kooyoora in Professional Standards and explains how dioceses retain ownership of their frameworks, while Kooyoora delivers services within a structure designed to ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability, upholding a clear commitment to truth telling and independence.

The Kooyoora Board Directors have the function of recruitment and appointment (for some diocese to recommend appointment) to the decision making bodies of Office of Professional Standards; Professional Standards Committee, Professional Standards Board, Professional Standards Review Board and in some diocese the Professional Standards Ombudsman.

These decision making bodies, in conjunction with the Director of Professional Standards, have an independent statutory role in the handling of complaints, screening, redress, and training the Anglican Diocese Kooyoora works with.

In 2025, we welcome several new appointments across the Professional Standards Committee, Board, and the appointment of a new Ombudsman. Our new appointees bring extensive experience across legal, academic, and community sectors.

Since its beginnings in 2017, Kooyoora has grown from a purpose built stand alone, professional standards body for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and Bendigo, into a trusted, independent safeguarding service provider supporting 23 organisations across Australia and New Zealand. Its journey reflects an ongoing commitment to integrity, adaptability, and independence in the field of organisational safeguarding.

Kooyoora is now entering a new chapter, defining its own voice and identity as a leader in safeguarding, with a focus on clear communication, adaptability, and ongoing impact. Central to this is the development of its own language, including terminology, frameworks, and narratives that reflect its values and vision.

At Kooyoora, communication is central to everything we do, not only in how we support the client organisations and communities we work with, but in how we work together as a team. In April we had the opportunity to deepen this capability through a full day workshop on Effective Communication for Personal and Team Success with communication specialist Leah Mether.

As a small, flexible team working across Australia and New Zealand, we know that trust, transparency, and clarity are essential to how we operate. Leah’s training helped us take a closer look at how we communicate with each other, and how we can strengthen those behaviours in service of our shared purpose: to help organisations remain safe, fair, and free from abuse. From that session, we committed to three core communication behaviours that we’ll continue to embed in how we work.

Psychological safety is a core component of Kooyoora’s Abuse Prevention Framework. It supports an organisational culture where people feel safe to take interpersonal risks. This might include sharing ideas, admitting mistakes, asking difficult questions, challenging decisions, speaking up about wrongdoing, questioning authority or raising concerns, all without fear of punishment, embarrassment or retaliation.

Drawing on insights from Amy Edmondson and Michaela Kerrissey’s work, this article explores common misconceptions about psychological safety and why getting clear on what it is and what it isn’t matters for those working to prevent harm and foster trust.

How can we rebuild trust in our organisations when people feel let down, unheard, or uncertain about their place and value, and what role does an ethics of care play in restoring that connection? When people no longer feel seen, safe, or fairly treated, formal policies and procedural fairness alone may not be enough to repair the damage. This article explores how an ethics of care, a perspective that centres relationships, context, and emotional attentiveness, can offer a deeper, more human approach to rebuilding trust and fairness.

Kooyoora Team Spotlight – Get to know the people behind our work as they share insights into their roles, interests, and some fun facts. Meet our new investigator Kim Porter.

12 August 2025 | 5:30pm - 7.00pm AEST | Online

We have had a wonderful response to this event so far. As spaces are limited, this is your reminder to register if you haven’t already! The workshop explores how we can work through conflict, repair harm and restore relationships using approaches grounded in Indigenous cultures, Christian theology and contemporary Restorative Practices.

REGISTER TO ATTEND