NSW Presbyterians will consider two proposals to give women a voice on church committees, following on from their General Assembly (state church parliament) vote to no longer ordain women elders. Formal membership of three levels of committees or “church courts” throughout the Presbyterian Church of Australia will be exclusively male if the NSW overture (motion) to have male-only elders makes it through the “Barrier Act” method, which sends overtures to regional presbyteries and then back to the next General Assembly. NSW has been the last state to appoint female elders.
Giving women a voice on church and denominational committees, called “courts” in Presbyterian speak, is part of the Presbyterians working out the practical effects of their complementarian theology. It addresses one criticism of the male-only-elders decision, namely that the church needs to hear women’s voices. However, the proposal to give deacons (male and female) “associate” rights to be present and speak at meetings will not give them rights to vote or move motions.
At present, “sessions” (meetings of elders for a local church or charge) can appoint associates who can speak or not vote. The overture (motion) would allow Presbyteries (regional committees) and the statewide General Assembly to appoint deacons as associates. It would be up to each committee to decide whether to allow deacons to be members. Each committee/court could decide which deacons they accept as associates. The Assembly would have one deacon from each local church charge. Presbyteries would have a deacon from each session. Churches with more ministers could have more deacons on each court.
This overture (motion) has been sent to Presbyteries to “consider and report” rather than the formal Barrier Act process. This consider and report option gives presbyteries the ability to modify proposals. It also affects timing, meaning that a ban on women elders could come into effect at least a year before the deacins associate members proposal could come into effect.
Murray Smith, whose “healthy complementarianism” paper kicked off the NSW debate in 2021, told the Assembly that voting rights were an exercise of ruling and teaching authority. The Presbyterian view of complementarian theology meant that matters of the doctrine, teaching, and worship of the church were to be decided by men.
In the Presbyterian church, deacons are both male and female, who uphold the standards of the church and who perform works of mercy. However there is an older group of women called known as deaconesses who must have four years of theological training also exist. There are eight deaconesses throughout NSW. They can already be granted associate status in the Assembly and Presbyteries. Some deaconesses have been present at the General Assembly and spoke to some overtures. An overture to require sessions (meetings of elders) to allow deaconesses to be associate members was sent to presbyteries to be voted on by the Barrier Act method, by a narrow vote of 59 to 56.
Those opposed to sending the proposal to the Presbyteries to vote on unamended argued that the roles of deaconesses and deacons in the Presbyterian Church require a lot more ddiscussion.
Image: The NSW POresbyterian General Assembly 2026