COMMUNITY
God’s Church and its buildings ‌
? n o i s s i M r o f fit
The church, like our local communities, is not the same as it once was. We live in an increasingly regulated society and a commitment to ensuring the church and its communities are safe is both a priority and of critical importance to us all. Over the past two years the Synod of SA Resources Board has been conducting an extensive audit of our properties across the state as part of a wider Property Review Project.
We anticipate that congregation leaders around our state will engage in on-going discussions about how we continue to provide safe spaces ...
Visiting 264 congregations has been no small feat, and we wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all of the volunteers who have hosted visits. Like most organisations we have specific regulatory responsibilities when it comes to people and buildings and during the initial visits we focused on five safety aspects:
10
Building condition
(roofing materials, flashings, gutters, ceiling materials, stormwater systems, movements/cracking in walls, condition of amenities)
Asbestos
(asbestos register, asbestos management plan, necessary signage)
Accessibility
(clearly defined disabled car-parks, wheelchair/threshold ramps, hand-rails, disabled toilets, doorways/walkways of sufficient width)
Electrical safety
(Residual Current Device [RCD or safety switches], Test & Tag, Earthing system, older style switchboards)
Fire Safety
(exit lighting and evacuation plans, fire exit doors, extinguishers, clear fire exit pathways). Most congregations have now received their Building Safety Report, with some remaining congregations (whose visits were delayed due to COVID-19) who will receive their reports in October. The Building Safety Reports are designed as a guide to congregations in helping to highlight maintenance tasks and/or projects to ensure that each property is a safe place for members and guests.
Return to Contents
