Our fourteenth woman bishop!

By Muriel Porter

23 March 2026

Australia’s fourteenth woman bishop was consecrated in Christ Church Cathedral, Grafton on 12 March 2026.

 Tiffany Sparks, originally a Brisbane priest, has been Diocesan Archdeacon in Grafton since 2019. She becomes the first assistant bishop in the northern New South Wales diocese, working closely with the diocese’s bishop, the Right Revd Murray Harvey.

Five women bishops from around the country – half the number of bishops who were present – took part in the laying on of hands at the crucial moment of consecration. The assistant bishop in Newcastle Diocese, the Right Revd Sonia Roulston, preached. Clearly, women bishops are now a firmly established entity in the Anglican Church of Australia, in ministry across seven dioceses.   

The newly consecrated Rt Rev’d Tiffany Sparks surrounded by other woman bishops. Image credit: supplied.

The Grafton service was a particularly joyous occasion, despite the extreme heat on the day. The liturgy added a refreshingly contemporary touch to the formal consecration rite. Six young girls performed liturgical dance, ‘bearing witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit’, at various points, and the local St Columba Anglican School’s chamber choir joined the cathedral choir in a range of traditional and modern anthems and hymns.

Tiffany, who is married with a blended family and one grandchild, has a range of responsibilities in the diocese. She oversees vocation and formation, chairing diocesan presentation panels, and coordinating clergy and lay training. She has degrees in the social sciences and theology, including an honours thesis in Pauline literature