Pastoral Care

New College and New College Postgraduate Village are unique communities that provide connectedness and a sense of belonging.

The strong pastoral support systems that both Colleges offer reflect our vision for the core of College life to be the welfare and growth of our residents. Residents enjoy the privilege of membership of our communities, and with it, the responsibility to contribute in positive ways to the lives of other people. We are committed to ensuring that harassment is not part of College life. “College life” encompasses activities on College property as well as those organised and run by residents and staff outside the buildings.

Pastoral care within the New College Communities is under the leadership of the Master, who has ultimate responsibility for all students and staff across both our Colleges.

The Master continues to be active in developing new strategies in college pastoral care. His recent contributions include a perspective on pastoral care in Christian organisations and counselling strategies in university residential colleges.

Meet the Master

Each College has its own Dean Of Residents who leads their respective day-to-day pastoral care and academic support programs. The Deans interview and review the applications of all prospective new residents. They are responsible for maintaining a culture that is fun, safe and in alignment with the mission of the College. The Deans live in the Colleges and are responsible for welfare of the residents.

Meet the Deans

Each of the Deans works with an Assistant Dean, and a team of Resident Advisers/Senior Residents who are appointed to maintain healthy community practices and provide support to the individual residents assigned to them. They live throughout the buildings and help the residents on their floor to settle in and make friends.

The pastoral care teams undergo training in Senior First Aid, CPR, formal mental health training, provision of pastoral care, discipline & leadership strategies, and referral procedures when residents require a higher level of professional support. Resident Advisers and Senior Residents act as wardens and assist the Dean in the unlikely event of an emergency. There is always a Resident Adviser (RA) or Senior Resident (SR) on duty outside of business hours. They are responsible for access to our buildings, and are on call in case of an emergency.

The Colleges expect residents to accept personal responsibility for their behaviour and we anticipate that residents will consider others' needs at all times. It may sometimes be necessary, however, for the Pastoral Care team to point out to residents where their behaviour is upsetting others or inappropriate. Residents are asked to comply with all requests as quickly as possible.

Residents living at the New College Communities have access to an Anglicare counsellor, who visits the College each week. Consultations with the Anglicare counsellor are confidential and are professionally managed by Anglicare, independently from our Colleges.

2023 Pastoral Care Teams