ABSTRACT
Technically, Australia is 'a deliberately secular nation' with no official state church or religion. In fact the only mention of religion in Australia's constitution is that: The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any public office or public trust under the Commonwealth. As in many other countries, prospective social workers in Australia may be drawn to a profession they perceive provides a way of working congruent with their own religious beliefs. The expansion of British settlement in the early nineteenth century saw religious groups seeking to respond to the needs of their members and established welfare organisations similar to those operating in Britain at the time. Tensions about the relationship between religion and welfare have arguably been most apparent concerning issues of sexual abuse in religious contexts.
