“Pay for the Sins of the Past”: A Queensland Diocese Sells Churches and Rectories to Fund Abuse Redress

• The Supreme Court approved the sale of 11 properties by the Anglican Diocese of North Queensland
• Churches and rectories at Mount Isa, Magnetic Island and Townsville are included
• Redress obligations could reach $11 million by 2028
• A judge warned the diocese could be insolvent by May without the sales

An Anglican diocese covering a third of Queensland is selling churches and rectories to pay survivors of historical child sexual abuse. ABC News reported in February 2026 that the Anglican Diocese of North Queensland, which has 75 congregations, had won Supreme Court approval to sell its first 11 properties.

The properties include rectories and churches at Mount Isa, Magnetic Island, Belgian Gardens and South Townsville. The diocese faces obligations of up to $11 million by 2028 under the National Redress Scheme and has already settled $1.2 million. Receivers Michael Brennan and David Stimpson of SV Partners are handling its affairs.

Justice Christopher Johnstone, sitting in Townsville, did not mince words. “The financial position of the diocese is perilous and the evidence suggests that without the sale of the assets to meet ongoing financial obligations, the diocese will be insolvent by May of this year,” he said.

The receiver pointed to a deeper problem. “There were basically too many churches, not enough priests, and probably not enough parishioners,” Brennan said. Bishop Keith Joseph accepted the outcome: “We need to pay for the sins of the past and if this is the way it’s got to be done, then so be it.” A local priest, Reverend Akoai, described the effect on the wider church: “Like a human body, if one part of the body is affected, it will affect the whole body.”

The case shows that church property is not a permanent refuge from liability. When a denomination faces debts it cannot meet from income, courts can order land and buildings sold, and congregations can lose the places where they have worshipped for generations.

Jamaica’s churches hold large amounts of land, and the North Queensland sales are a reminder that stewardship includes protecting it. Sound governance, safeguarding, adequate insurance and honest finances protect the vulnerable first, and they also protect the buildings that members at home and in the diaspora have paid for over many years.

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