[4] During his tenure as archbishop, Faulkner declined to live in the bishop's quarters, instead choosing to reside in a plain house in the Adelaide suburb of Netley.
[6] While the dioceses of most other capital cities in the country abandoned the practice, Faulkner refused, allowing communal confession during Lent of 1999.
[5][7] In June 1999, Faulkner sent a pastoral message to all parishes in the Archdiocese of Adelaide allowing communal confession, but requiring prior approval from the Archbishop.
[8] In November 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed the bishop of Wollongong, Philip Wilson, to the position of coadjutor Archbishop of Adelaide, in doing so naming him as Faulkner's successor.
[9] On 3 December 2001, two days before his seventy-fifth birthday, Faulkner retired as archbishop, and Wilson was installed as his successor.