Certification questions, answered.

The fee when the programme opens will be $249.99 per person. That covers the eight modules, the live small-group calls, your three supervised practice conversations, assessment, your certificate and your first year on the register. There is nothing to pay while you register your interest.

Then tell us. Hardship places are funded by the people who support this ministry, exactly as they are for our courses, and nobody who is called to this and vouched for by their church will be turned away for lack of money.

Yes. Churches and rehab centres can sponsor one person or a small group, and many will. If your church wants to send several people, it can register its interest and we will talk to them directly about group sponsorship.

No. One fee for the training and your first year. Keeping your registration current each year is a short renewal, not another course fee — see Renewal below.

Most people will complete it in about four to six months alongside normal life. Eight modules at your own pace, one live small-group call per module, then three supervised conversations. There is no deadline that penalises you for going slower.

Plan on two to three hours a week: roughly an hour and a half of reading and reflection, and a live call of around an hour. The supervised conversations are arranged around your availability.

The programme is still being built and tested with partner churches. Register your interest and you will be the first to hear when the founding intake opens — we will not open it until it is ready to be trusted.

No. Everything is online and in English, and you stay in your own church and community throughout. Your supervised practice is arranged by video or, where your church prefers, in person with your own leaders.

Never. Your story is shared only with the people training you and the church leader who gives your reference. The public register shows a reference number, whether it is current, and the level it covers — no name, no photo, no history.

Anyone can type a reference number into the verify page — a church, a rehab centre, a family. But a number is all they need and all they get. Nobody can search the register by name or browse it.

Because peer support is only safe under oversight. The reference is not about perfection; it is a church or ministry saying “we know this person and we have their back.” Your referee sees nothing beyond what you have already told them.

They stay in the room. Confidentiality is taught in the first module and expected from everyone — trainers, supervisors and fellow trainees alike. Where safeguarding law requires something to be reported, we tell you before you start.

Your certificate is yours for life. Your place on the register is renewed each year, so that anyone checking a number knows the supporter is still active, still accountable and still under oversight.

Three things, once a year: a short written reflection on your year of supporting, a refreshed reference from your church or ministry, and the safeguarding declaration. It takes an evening, not a course.

There will be a small annual register fee to keep the verify page and the oversight behind it running. It will be a fraction of the training fee, and hardship help applies to it in the same way.

Life happens. If you do not renew, your number simply stops verifying — nothing is removed and nothing is marked against you. When you are ready to return, a refreshed reference and the declaration bring you back onto the register.