Commenting on the plenary council’s preparatory document, Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart said that “the sharp edge of the call to conversion and faith is lacking … The Church is in serious decline, yet no real recognition of this reality is given in the document. Because the crisis of faith is not acknowledged, the document makes no effort to propose a way forward for the Church.”

In 2018, Pope Francis approved the Australian bishops’ request to convoke their first plenary council (definition) since 1937.