Kay Goldsworthy named Australia’s first female Anglican archbishop

Australia has its first female Anglican archbishop with Kay Goldsworthy to lead the church in WA.

The Archbishop-elect replaces Roger Herft, who stood down from the top job after admitting he let down survivors of child sexual abuse during Royal Commission hearings last year.

Archbishop-elect Goldsworthy is currently Bishop of Gippsland in Victoria, and was previously an Assistant Bishop of Perth.

She was among the first women in Australia to be ordained as a priest and the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop.

Raised in Melbourne, Archbishop-elect Goldsworthy is married and has twin adult sons.

She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia this year for her service to religion through the Anglican Church. She is a former chaplain of Perth girls’ school Perth College.

The Anglican church in Perth has effectively been without a leader since December when Archbishop Herft announced his retirement a year ahead of schedule amid pressure over his handling of historic abuse cases in the Newcastle diocese, where he was Bishop between 1993 and 2005.

At the time, Archbishop Herft was the highest-ranking casualty of the Royal Commission into institutional abuse.

In July The West Australian revealed how Anglican priests were left demanding answers after it was revealed the church spent almost $500,000 defending Archbishop Herft after it was realised insurance policies would not cover legal fees as had been thought.