[The constitution of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia is of common law type and cannot readily be digested into a single document.]

1. The religious denomination known as the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, founded in Sydney on 10 October 1846, holds the same principles and adheres to the same standards of doctrine, worship, discipline and government as did the religious denomination in Scotland known as the Free Church of Scotland in the year 1843 following the event in Scottish history known as the Disruption. The supreme governing body subject to its constitution of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia is known as the Synod of Eastern Australia.

2. The basic doctrinal standard of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia is the Westminster Confession of Faith as explained by the Acts of the Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1647, and of the Synod of Eastern Australia in 1952, together with the Formula and Questions set out by the Synod of Eastern Australia in 1952 and 2008.

3. The other standards of the Church are as follow:

Church Government

Second Book of Discipline 1578

Westminster Form of Presbyterial Church Government 1645

Worship

Directory for Public Worship 1645

Directory for Family Worship 1647

Catechisms

Larger 1648

Shorter 1648

These standards are to be understood in the light of the Acts passed by the Assembly of the Church of Scotland when they were adopted.

4. The by-laws governing procedure in Church courts are set out in the Handbook of Practice and Procedure of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia first published in 1992 and revised from time to time, and accessible by download here.

5. Church property is held by one of three corporate trustee bodies: The Trustees of the Synod of Eastern Australia (pursuant to an Act of NSW Parliament 1918); The Trustees for Victoria of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (pursuant to Act 5691, Victoria 1953; or under the name Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia in terms of the Queensland Religious Educational and Charitable Institutions Act (Register of Patents No. 35 Page 9).

This Statement on the Constitution was approved by the Synod on 8th May 2013