Volunteers in NSW Government agencies

Information about volunteer programs and activities within NSW Government agencies.

Vast numbers of volunteers are engaged in the community sector but volunteers also play a vital role in bringing government agencies and the general public closer together. Volunteers can help agencies become more responsive to community needs by acting as sources of public feedback about the many activities in which government agencies are involved and the services they provide. Many volunteers relish the opportunity to be involved in areas in which they have a special interest. Here are some examples of the types of activities that volunteers may be involved with. You can obtain further information about the programs directly from the government agencies concerned.

State Library Volunteers perform a variety of tasks including conducting guided introductory, exhibition and architectural tours for school groups and general public, sorting ephemera and photographs, and assisting paid staff with public programs and school activities.
Volunteering at the State Library of NSW

Art Gallery of NSW Volunteer Guides at the Gallery not only serve the general public, but also guide corporate clients and Art Gallery Society members, and cover the permanent collection as well as special exhibitions.
Volunteering at the Art Gallery of NSW

Powerhouse Museum The Museum has Visitor Service volunteers and Behind the Scenes volunteers. Visitor Service volunteers include Powerhouse Partners, Observatory volunteers and Special Program volunteers. Behind the Scenes volunteers support staff in work that happens away from the museum's public areas in departments such as Education and Visitor Services, Curatorial, Library, Registration, Conservation, Photography, Design, Print Media, Audio Visual and Information Technology.
Volunteering at the Powerhouse Museum

Australian Museum Volunteers meet and greet visitors, conduct orientation tours, interact with visitors on the Activity Stations in the various galleries and are involved in general public relations work.
Volunteering at the Australian Museum

Royal Botanic Gardens: Volunteers at the Royal Botanic Gardens provide an important link to the community. The Gardens currently has volunteers working in the Domain, Mt Tomah and Mt Annan Gardens. Depending on the location, volunteers conduct guided walks, work as Green Guides, provide on - site interpretation of plants, work in the nurseries, or in the mounting section.
Volunteering at the Royal Botanic Gardens

Rural Fire Service: The Service relies extensively on committed, well-trained volunteers to deliver essential services to the community in times of disaster. The Service's area of responsibility covers almost 90% of NSW. Active volunteers are involved in the prevention and suppression of rural bush fires, pre-incident planning, incident management and support in the areas of communications and catering and assisting other emergency services and agencies such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service, State Forests and NSW Fire Brigades.
Volunteering for the Rural Fire Service

State Emergency Service: Volunteers are the lifeblood of the State Emergency Service and the Service prides itself in being able to accommodate both the young and the not so young. The SES can invariably find a rewarding position for anyone who is willing to give up their time to assist their community. Volunteers provide an essential, frontline and often life-saving, service to the community, whether it be in times of bushfire, flooding, and severe, sudden storms or in mounting dangerous search and rescue operations.
Volunteering for the State Emergency Service

NSW Police Service - Volunteers in Policing: The VIP Program provides valuable, practical, supplementary support to police officers and civilian staff in Local Area Commands throughout the State. VIPs could be involved in community policing initiatives such as safety audits, Open Days and Blue light discos, providing victim support (excluding counselling) at police stations, assisting local police at Neighbourhood Watch and Business Watch meetings.
Volunteers in Policing

NSW Fisheries - Fishcare Volunteer Program: Fishcare aims to establish a community based awareness program across regional NSW that involves the community, anglers and clubs in collecting valuable catch data and ensuring the sustainability of recreational fishing. The program trains community members to carry out face-to-face education of the general angling community, establishes an extensive volunteer network, and bridges the gap between the community and governing agencies in regional areas. Volunteers could also be involved in Fishing Clinics and rehabilitation of fish habitats.
Fishcare Volunteer Program

Taronga and Western Plains Zoos - Zoo Friends: Zoo Friends volunteers could be involved in public education, customer relations or assisting in carrying out behavioural studies on animals. They may take guided tours, handle animals and discuss them with visitors, hold pre-school classes, run school holiday activities, provide information and maps.
How to become a Zoo Friend

Department of Land and Water Conservation - Landcare: Landcare groups learn to play an active role in managing their local environments by attempting to deal with land management issues such as soil erosion, habitat destruction, vegetation decline and declining water quality. Local Landcare groups work in partnership with other Commonwealth and State Government agencies, local government, community organisations, universities and local businesses.
Information about Landcare

National Parks and Wildlife Service: For many years the NPWS has had many volunteers around the State participating in its various programs including bush regeneration, guided tours, constructing bush tracks, flora and fauna surveys, restoring historic buildings, managing and culling pests and weeds and working as information centre staff.
How you can help the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

Adult Migrant English Service (AMES): The Home Tutor Scheme, part of the Adult Migrant English Program, helps eligible adult migrants and refugees who cannot attend English classes. Volunteers usually visit the homes of students to assist them to learn English in an informal atmosphere. However, if they prefer, volunteers can assist in conversation practice in Adult Migrant English Program classes.  The Home Tutor Scheme is run by The Smith Family in partnership with the AMES.
More information on becoming a volunteer tutor with the Adult Migrant English Program

Department of Health It is estimated that around 8000 people are involved in voluntary work for hospital auxiliaries in NSW, contributing around 1 million hours in fund raising activities, working in hospital food and gift shops and participating in other activities.
Contact your local Health Service

The Centre for Volunteering is the peak body in NSW promoting and supporting volunteering and community participation.  We connect people and organisations in order to enrich our community. We achieve this through referral, training, resource development, information and education services to help people get involved in their communities, and enhance the capacity and skills of not-for-profit organisations, corporations and government to become involved in the community.
The Centre for Volunteering website