Chaplains are set to replace qualified councillors and student well-being staff in schools as part of Abbott’s increase in funding for religious groups.

The budget allocates $245.3 million for the chaplaincy program, from which schools can spend up to $72,000 to employ a chaplain. The government has also abolished a 2012 amendment that gave schools the option of employing secular student well-being workers.

From 1 January, only religious appointees from “recognised denominations” are eligible for funding. At present, around 98 percent of religious chaplains are Christian.

The chaplaincy program stands out as the biggest single school spending initiative in the budget. In contrast, thousands of students who need specialist disability support were told that no further funding was available.

In Melbourne, Thornbury High has been forced to resort to online crowd funding to raise $50,000 after funding for their Koori support worker was cut.

The decision to extend the chaplaincy program has provoked an angry response from LGBTI groups and those supporting the rights of same sex attracted and gender diverse students in schools. Some of the organisations that will receive increased funding have a history of extreme homophobia.

In Victoria the major provider of chaplains in schools is ACCESS Ministries. Earlier this year, one of the ACCESS team was exposed handing out “Biblezines” to year 6 students at Torquay College, which instructed children to seek counselling if they had any homosexual feelings.

Rob Ward, the previous Victorian state director of the Australian Christian Lobby, is now the general manager of development and communications at ACCESS Ministries. Ward has been active and outspoken against equal marriage and adoption rights for same sex couples. In 2010, in response to calls for schools to attend the annual Pride march in Victoria, Ward said, “[S]o called ‘gay pride’ marches [are] no place for young children.”

In NSW, chaplains are provided by Your Dream Incorporated, whose director, Darren McMahon, has significant ties to Hillsong Church, an organisation that previously provided “ex-gay” and “conversion camps” through a group called Living Waters Australia. In an interview with LGBTI paper MCV, McMahon said he was unaware of the acronym LGBTI and was also unsure if any of his youth workers have had any training in how to deal with young LGBTI and questioning youth.

Research from La Trobe University found that same sex attracted and gender diverse students experience high levels of homophobia and transphobia in schools and are much less likely to access support from a chaplain than from a school counsellor or classroom teacher.

Associate Professor Anne Mitchell, who conducted the research, said, “One of the antidotes to suicidal thoughts for these kids is talking to someone and being accepted. Feeling that there’s somebody at school you can go to is so important.”

Perhaps this is less important for Abbott than making sure his Christian mates get millions of dollars.