The Salvation Army Australia is an international Christian movement, united by faith and giving hope where it’s needed most. Across Australia – in cities, country towns and rural communities – our work touches every demographic and age group. We’re involved in national issues while also bringing hope to people who may be experiencing hardship or injustice.
Since our foundations in nineteenth century London, we express our faith in charitable work to provide both the spiritual and the social support. We believe that with one hand we reach out to God and with the other we reach out to the world.
As both a church and charity, we can preach and speak about justice, compassion, and other issues that support the welfare of others and see them as a whole person – body, mind and spirit.
Read more about our faith here
Commitment to Reconciliation
The Salvation Army recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Australia. Our vision for reconciliation is to be a faith movement committed to equity, freedom and the righting of injustice.
We respect, value and acknowledge the traditions, spiritualities and languages of the oldest living cultural historyin the world. We’re intentional about engaging in unified and positive relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities.
The Salvation Army in Australia has launched its first national Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) on Thursday 3 December 2020. Find out more about our commitment to respectful relationships and the mutual flourishing of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in our Reconciliation Action Plan.
Find out more
Read our Reconciliation Action Plan
Commitment to inclusion
The Salvation Army Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and work and pay our respect to Elders past, present and future.
We value and include people of all cultures, languages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and intersex status. We are committed to providing programs that are fully inclusive. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of people of all ages, particularly children.
Our Salvation Army values are:
- Integrity
- Compassion
- Respect
- Diversity
- Collaboration
Learn more about our commitment to inclusion
The Salvation Army Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and work and pay our respect to Elders past, present and future.
We value and include people of all cultures, languages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and intersex status. We are committed to providing programs that are fully inclusive. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of people of all ages, particularly children.
The Salvation Army is an international movement. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name with love and without discrimination.
Hope where it's needed most
Keep Christmas alive for a struggling family
Keep Christmas alive for a struggling family
Donate now to give struggling Aussies urgent help, and a wonderful Christmas.
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FIND THE SALVOS NEAR YOU
The Salvation Army Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and work and pay our respect to Elders past, present and future.
We value and include people of all cultures, languages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and intersex status. We are committed to providing programs that are fully inclusive. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of people of all ages, particularly children.
The Salvation Army is an international movement. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name with love and without discrimination.
Hope where it's needed most
On the 5th September 1880, Edward Saunders and John Gore led the first Salvation Army meeting in Australia from the back of a greengrocer's cart in Adelaide's Botanic Park. Nevertheless, he was expressing the ethos of an organisation which, from its earliest days, was concerned for a person's physical as well as spiritual needs. In a climate where religion had failed to really gain acceptance, Saunders, a railway worker, and Gore, a builder, presented themselves as ordinary men. Without
theological training or the status of ordination, they invited their small audience to attend a meeting of The Salvation Army that evening.
A number agreed to attend, and Saunders and Gore formed themselves into a corps (church) under Gore's temporary leadership. After an appeal to London for officers to be sent, Captain and Mrs Thomas Sutherland arrived in 1881.
An Australian journalist described the rapid spread of The Salvation Army in its early days as ‘like a bushfire’. What started under a gum tree grew deep roots and now The Salvation Army has over 350 established corps (churches) across Australia that work hand-in-hand with our social services whilst drawing on the values of our heritage, fixing our vision on a better future and working towards transforming the lives of those in need.
Learn more about our rich history and heritage
The Salvation Army Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and work and pay our respect to Elders past, present and future.
We value and include people of all cultures, languages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and intersex status. We are committed to providing programs that are fully inclusive. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of people of all ages, particularly children.
The Salvation Army is an international movement. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name with love and without discrimination.
Hope where it's needed most