Reverend Dr Sarah Macneil, is to be sanctified as the 11th bishop of the Anglican diocese of Grafton come 2014. With this consecration, she will become Australia's very first woman to lead a diocese.

In an interview with ABC, Ms Macneil admitted that she expects some people to resist her new role as it poses distraction against inquiry of sex abuse happening at the Lismore children's home.

"There'll be lots of people for whom it's unexpected that a woman has been elected. For some people for whom it will be unwelcome, I think there'll be some scrutiny but there'll also be, for a lot of people, a lot of excitement and joy."

Ms Macneil's designation came in time when there had been controversy over her predecessor's mishandling of sex abuse allegations at a children's home in Lismore. The announcement was made on the very day when the royal commission probed on the Lismore children's home.

However, Ms Macneil was quick to deny the issue.

"It is in fact coincidental and we had a number of conversations about whether we should do this," she said.

"But... there wasn't really much choice in terms of when the process is finished for announcing my appointment, my election, and the royal commission itself. I'm hoping that this won't be a distraction from the Royal Commission. It's a very important thing in the life of the nation, not just of the Anglican Church or any of the other institutions who will be appearing before the royal commission."

She said that the diocese had already come up with a process to act on the sex abuse allegations it is facing at present and will be facing in the future.

"There is now in place, in the diocese, a process which meets the criteria that have been set out in the best practice. And we will be ensuring that every complaint that comes to us is handled in that way and of course we'll be looking at all the recommendations that come out of the Royal Commission very closely."

Dr Macneil worked previously as an Australian diplomat, former dean of Adelaide and archdeacon in the diocese of Canberra-Goulburn.

For her new role as the 11th bishop of the Anglican diocese, she will be leaving her role as associate priest at Holy Covenant Church in Jamison. With her new role, she will be leading the major centres of Lismore, ballina, Coffs harbor and Port Macquarie.