Hindu Chaplaincy Training Scholarships by Hindu Council of Australia

Hindu council of Australia is a federation of Hindu organizations with about 40 members and has presence in
each state of Australia. With an objective to increase the number of Hindu chaplains available to serve Hindus in
Australia where needed, a Hindu Chaplaincy Scholarship has been instituted by Hindu Council of Australia
(HCA).
Chaplaincy is a spiritual counselling support service that is offered by trained religious chaplains in hospitals,
jails, schools etc., as permitted and encouraged by the Australian government. Many chaplaincy places are also
funded by the federal government and are paid positions.
Chaplains should be qualified and accredited. In NSW, the initial course is “Introductory Clinical Pastoral
Education” and is conducted through Westmead Hospital Pastoral Education. Similarly, Victoria has a
credentialing process for Chaplains working in Hospitals (called Spiritual Health Workers). Similar courses are
also offered in other states.
Becoming an accredited chaplain requires an individual to complete an initial training course costing around
$250. Anyone who has completed the initial level training and approved by HCA can work as a Hindu chaplain.
There is an advanced training lasting one year and it costs around $2,000. While most religious faiths have
trained chaplains, there are very few Hindu chaplains at the initial level and none at the advanced level.
Although some of the Hindu Council member organisations have been doing Hindu chaplaincy work on their
own initiative.
To encourage more people to become Hindu chaplains, HCA is offering scholarships to partly pays towards the
cost of the required training courses. These scholarships are open to all residents of Australia. Two types of
Scholarships are available, an “Initial Training” scholarship with an amount of $200 and an “Advanced Training”
scholarship for $1,000.
For application form, selection criteria or additional information about these scholarships, please send an email
request to chaplaincycommittee@hinducouncil.com.au
There is no closing date for the scholarships. During the year 2018, the scholarships will be awarded on first
come first serve basis as long as selection criteria are being met and as long as money to award scholarships
has not been exhausted. Ranking criteria may be used if multiple applications are pending approval.

Prakash Mehta
President
Hindu Council of Australia
Media Contact : Akhil Verma
akhil@hinducouncil.com.au ; 0402 113393

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