Both groups lack the clearly articulated ideology and numbers of the League. It is in this context that the election of the new archbishop must be considered. It is a mark of the immaturity of the diocese as a whole that no candidate who is not already within the diocese has any chance of being elected. The diocese considers itself the benchmark of the evangelical cause, so no outsider is considered sufficiently pure to qualify as its leader. This excludes anyone from another Australian diocese and from elsewhere in the Anglican Communion.
Most Anglican dioceses choose to elect someone from outside as their bishop.
Sydney's internal preference is so notorious that it would be difficult to persuade a suitably qualified outsider to submit himself to the certain rejection that his candidature would entail. Large metropolitan dioceses such as Sydney also show a preference for persons who are already bishops. The last person to be elected Archbishop of Sydney who was not already a bishop was John Charles Wright in 1909. The last three appointments have been from among Sydney's own assistant bishops. The close of nominations on 30 April yielded seven candidates.