In 2013, Macneil was elected unanimously as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of Grafton, located in northern New South Wales. Her election made history, as Macneil became the first woman in the Anglican Church of Australia to be selected as a diocesan bishop. This meant she had direct responsibility for overseeing the affairs of the churches in her area. Five years earlier,
Kay Goldsworthy had been elected as the first woman bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia; she served as the assistant bishop of Perth in her first assignment and did not become a diocesan bishop until 2017, when she was elected Bishop of Gippsland. Macneil was consecrated at Christ Church Cathedral in Grafton on 2 March 2014. Hundreds of people attended the service. His resignation came just prior to the commencement of an investigation by a royal commission into sexual abuse at the North Coast Children's home, which was run by the diocese and under Slater's jurisdiction. == See also ==