Ted Noffs began his ministry as a pastor in outback Australia, moved to the United States of America to study at Garrett Theological Seminary and Northwestern University and returned to Australia to become Associate at the Central Methodist Mission.
Reverend Ted Noffs is best known for his work with Sydney's homeless youth especially those who were drug dependent. He was co-founder of the Aboriginal Affairs Foundation in 1962, and of Lifeline in 1963. In 1964 he established the Wayside Chapel in Sydney's Kings Cross, Sydney's first 24-hour crisis centre in 1968, and he set up the first Drug Referral Centre in Sydney.
He wrote extensively on drug abuse and on the role of the church in society today. His publications include The Gates of Hell : the story of a christian experiment in Kings Cross (1965), Drugs and People (1976) The Mark of God : towards a new Australian spirituality (1984) and Life Education Centres : first in Australia, first in the world. (1985).