The Chaplaincy team at the University of Melbourne is itself a culturally diverse unit or team. This means that the Chaplaincy is able to offer students a variety of different religious and social perspectives. Each tradition gathers a group of students around its chaplain, which means that there a variety of Christian groups. As a Christian community, the Chaplaincy offers a service of listening and counselling, and sees itself as being available to those from any religious or non-religious tradition who are in need of spiritual, or indeed any kind of support. The Chaplaincy attempts to be a place where the meaning of life, the values one lives by, the search for truth, beauty and goodness as well as social justice can be explored.
Chaplains are also able to facilitate linking students into their ethnic communities.
The Chaplaincy hopes that Jewish and Islamic communities will appoint chaplains in the near future, in the meantime, it makes the appropriate referrals. A chaplain is available especially for international students. The classes not only give the spouses the opportunity to improve their English skills but to learn more about Australian culture and history too. Another major objective of the program is to facilitate friendships across cultures which in turn leads to mutual support amongst participants. Learning English with friends is a supportive and enjoyable way to gain the confidence to access a new community.