Volunteering Organisations Australia

Are you interested in volunteering? Want to be involved in your community? Here are some of the many organisations that can offer satisfying opportunities for people willing to give some of their time.

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Online Volunteering

Friends in Deed Organisation
The Friends in Deed Organisation aims to make a dramatic difference to the capacity of Non-Profit Organisations and to provide meaningful and interesting volunteering opportunities for those with professional or other skills to offer.

World Volunteer Web
The WorldVolunteerWeb.org supports the volunteer community by providing a global one-stop-shop for information, resources, and organizations linked to volunteerism.

Australian Volunteers International
Provides opportunities for Australians to volunteer to live, work and learn in partnership with people of other cultures.

Volunteering Australia
National peak body working to advance volunteering in the Australian community. Its role is to represent the diverse needs of the volunteer movement while promoting the activity of volunteering as one of enduring social, cultural and economic value.

Volunteering NSW
The Centre for Volunteering is the peak body in NSW promoting and supporting volunteering and community participation.

Environment, Conservation and Animal Welfare

Animal Liberation
Animal Liberation is an animal rights charity founded in 1976, based on the philosophies of Prof. Peter Singer, as set out in his book Animal Liberation.

RSPCA
The RSPCA's mission is: 'To prevent cruelty to animals by actively promoting their care and protection'. It has shelters and veterinary clinics across Australia.

Animal Welfare League NSW
Animal Welfare League NSW is the second largest animal welfare organisation state-wide and nationally, comprising of two animal centres and fourteen volunteer-operated branches.

Wildlife and Information Rescue Service
The NSW Wildlife Information and Rescue Service (WIRES) is the largest wildlife organisation in Australia. Over the last 20 years it has established a network of over 1500 volunteers who rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured or orphaned native wildlife.

Greening Australia
Specialists in native vegetation management and nature conservation and committed to on-ground implementation, training, education and contributing to the development of skills and knowledge in the community. Volunteer activities include planting, nursery work or seed collection.

The Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society is a community-based environmental advocacy organisation whose mission is to protect, promote and restore wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth.

Australian Conservation Foundation: Volunteer Green
Volunteer Green is the Australian Conservation Foundation's volunteer website. Enter your location and volunteer activity preferences to be matched with an appropriate conservation group in your area.

Landcare NSW
Landcare groups are formed by people with a common concern about the quality of the land and water in their local area. Landcare groups undertake a wide range of activities, including on-ground projects, research, education and community awareness raising.

Conservation Volunteers Australia
Conservation Volunteers Australia offers a number of different volunteer opportunities from one day local environmental projects through to two week expeditions to remote outback locations that provide and amazing working holiday experience.

Keep Australia Beautiful Council
Through interaction with local governments, businesses, community groups and committed individuals, Keep Australia Beautiful encourages a statewide network of grassroots volunteers who work to deliver a cleaner environment, better resource management and community beautification.

Greenpeace Australia
Greenpeace is an independent organisation campaigning to ensure a just, peaceful, sustainable environment for future generations. Volunteers work with local or fundraising community groups, are involved in campaign actions or help out in one of the Greenpeace offices.

Humane Society International
Seeking to create a humane and sustainable world for all animals through education, advocacy and empowerment. Volunteers assist with administration and research.

Nature Conservation Council of NSW
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is the State's peak environmental organisation. Opportunities for voluntary work consist of helping both administrative and project staff with office support, campaign assistance or environmental research.

Clean Up Australia
Clean up Australia's mission is "To inspire and work with communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment".

NSW Fisheries (Fishcare Program)
Fishcare volunteers talk to anglers about fishing rules and responsible fishing and help in a range of activities, such as fishing clinics, catch surveys and community fishing events.

Community

Aunties and Uncles Co-Op Family Project
Aunties & Uncles Co-operative Family Project Ltd is an "extended" family, non-judgmental friendship and mentoring network. The volunteers, known as Aunts and Uncles spend quality time with their "linked" child (aged from six months to early teens), providing ongoing freindship and time out from stressful situations.

Baptist Community Services
The driving mission behind Baptist Community Services is excellence in Christian care to individuals, family and the community. BCS seeks to offer people assistance to live independently and comfortably within their own home and community, and to give them the peace of mind and reassurance that they are being looked after. Volunteers support and extend the work of paid staff for the benefit of BCS clients.

Royal Blind Society
Royal Blind Society is supported by over 1,500 volunteers working throughout NSW and ACT. Volunteers work in a diverse range of roles in areas such as office assistance, library, service support and communications.

Anglicare
Anglicare is the urban mission and welfare arm of the Sydney Anglican Church. Volunteer roles include administration, retail and volunteer visitors.

NSW Cancer CouncilEach year the Cancer Council's volunteers give $1 million in time and raise over $5 million for cancer research and support programs.

Benevolent Society of NSW
The Benevolent Society aims to provide a range of community supports and networks for the children, families, older people and women it is in contact with. Volunteering is seen as central to creating caring and inclusive communities and involving volunteers across all areas of its work is an important part of the Society's community engagement approach.

Spastic Centre of NSWThe Spastic Centre's volunteers are a highly esteemed group of individuals who support special events and/or major appeals. Volunteers can become involved in a variety of activities at various levels of the organisation.

CanTeen
CanTeen is the Australian organisation for young people living with cancer. CanTeen especially needs volunteers to help out on Bandanna Day, held around October each year.

Country Women's AssociationThe CWA of Australia is the largest women's organisation in Australia. It aims to improve the conditions for country women and children and tries to make life better for women and their families, especially those women living in rural and remote Australia.

Guide Dogs NSW & ACT
Guide Dog volunteers can get involved in a number of ways, including raising a puppy and fundraising.

Lifeline Australia
Lifeline provides telephone and face-to-face counselling for people who are distressed, depressed or suicidal. As well as telephone counselling, Lifeline volunteers underatke roles in fundraising, marketing, retail, training and communications.

AIDS Council of NSW
ACON relies on the support of volunteers to help provide services to people living with HIV/AIDS, gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people. As well as assisting with administration, volunteers may help provide home care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, or assist with special events such as helping to sell red ribbons.

Ankali
The Ankali Project (‘Ankali’ is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘friend’) was established in 1985 to train volunteers to provide one-to-one emotional support for people living with HIV/AIDS, their partners, family members and friends.

Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels provides services for older and disabled residents who are unable to provide or prepare a nutritious meal for themselves. For many residents who receive the service, volunteers provide important regular social contact that they otherwise may not have. 

Salvation Army
Salvation Army volunteer services include telephone counselling via the Salvo Care Line, the Oasis Youth Support Network and working in Salvos Stores.

Mission Australia
Mission Australia relies on volunteers to help provide services and support to more than 200,000 disadvantaged Australians each year.

The Smith Family
The Smith Family offers a range of volunteering opportunities, from innovative on-line tutoring to traditional activities such as packing Christmas hampers. Volunteers perform a variety of roles including mentoring, supervising homework clubs and covering books for the student2student program.

Starlight Children's Foundation
The Starlight Children's Foundation's mission is to brighten the lives of all seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families. Volunteers work to help make children's wishes come true and to brighten the days of children in hospital.

St Vincent de Paul SocietyThe St Vincent de Paul Society relies on volunteers to help carry out its work in the community. In NSW, volunteers are also needed for Compeer, a Special Work of the St Vincent de Paul Society State Council of NSW/ACT. Compeer matches volunteers with people living with a mental illness.

Multiple Sclerosis Society of NSW
The MS Society aims to offer volunteer support to people with MS either in their own homes, in recreational activities or in accommodation facilities within the community.

The Deaf Society of NSWThe Deaf Society of NSW provides a range of services to Deaf people who use Auslan. Volunteers must be competant in Auslan.

Wesley Mission
Wesley Mission welcomes volunteers as individuals, and in small or large groups from community, youth, and sport organisations, as well as corporate groups.

Community Aid Abroad Oxfam Australia
Oxfam relies on the support of more than 1200 volunteers throughout Australia who help to change the lives of people living with poverty and injustice around the world. Oxfam has opportunities for volunteers with a whole range of different skills, knowledge and experience in areas such as events, communications, campaigns, administration, fundraising or program support.

UNICEF
Volunteers are called upon on a needs basis to assist UNICEF's Sydney office with fundraising work. UNICEF Australia volunteers do a variety of tasks, mainly basic administrative and reception work in the office, as well as working in its shop from October to December to sell UNICEF’s Christmas cards and gifts.

Amnesty International
An independent, politically impartial worldwide movement, Amnesty International works to both promote and to defend human rights around the world. Volunteers are needed to assist with administrative work, but may move on to help with campaigning, fundraising and promotion.

Family Drug Support
Family Drug Support provides assistance for Australian families to deal with drug issues. It offers a seven day, 24-hour telephone line Australia-wide, manned by volunteers offering help to diffuse crisis, strategies for coping and giving any information required.

Australian Red Cross
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world's largest voluntary organisation. Much of the work done by the organisation both in Australia and overseas is carried out by volunteers, whose contribution to the multitude of Red Cross services is invaluable.

Cultural Institutions

State Library of New South Wales
Many of the State Library's services are delivered with the assistance of our large pool of skilled and enthusiastic volunteers. Projects that volunteers assist with range from quality control checking of digitised heritage items such as Sir Joseph Banks' papers, delivering guided tours of the Library and Exhibitions, and helping with mailouts.

Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum utilises the services of over 250 volunteers in both Visitor Services and Behind the Scenes roles. Applications are processed twice yearly.

Australian Museum
The Australian Museum has an international reputation in the fields of natural history and indigenous studies research, community programs and exhibitions. Public Programs volunteers are recruited in set intakes, usually every 12 - 18 months. Behind the scenes volunteers are interviewed and then skills-matched as appropriate tasks arise.

Art Gallery Society Volunteer Task Force
The Volunteer Task Force is a multi-function support group for the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Art Gallery Society. Task Force is part of the public face of the Gallery and its members play a key role in making visitors and members welcome. To join, you must be a financial member of the Art Gallery Society.

Taronga and Western Plains Zoo Friends
Zoo Friends financial members may volunteer at either Taronga or Western Plains Zoo. Volunteers work in public education, as animal watchers, and in the office.

Royal Botanic Gardens
Financial members of Friends of the Gardens may apply to volunteer in a number of roles, including propagating seeds and cuttings and running the information booth.

Emergency Services and Public Safety

NSW Rural Fire Service
Approximately 69,000 volunteer firefighters are formed into about 2,400 brigades in 143 rural fire districts. They fight fires in about 90 per cent of the State and are responsible for property protection in 1,200 towns and villages.

State Emergency Service
The State Emergency Service is an emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting the community. It is made up almost entirely of volunteers, with more than 230 Units located throughout NSW. While its major responsibilities are for flood and storm operations, the SES also provides the majority of general rescue effort in the rural parts of the state.

Volunteers in Policing (NSW Police Service)
Volunteers in Policing (VIPs) help police officers and civilian staff in the station, provide victim support and assist in delivering crime prevention information at schools, to community groups and events.

St John Ambulance (NSW)
St John's 2,500 first aid volunteers treat over 35,000 casualties a year and commit to over 160,000 hours of duty. First aid training is provided to some 75,000 people each year. The Community Care arm of St John has around 750 volunteers who provide companionship to the elderly through the LinkAge program and assist young children with literacy skills through the PALs program.

Sport, Recreation and Youth

Bicycle NSW
Bicycle NSW is a member-funded and -owned, not-for-profit peak community organisation which seeks to promote, advocate, and support cycling in all its forms as an environmentally sustainable and healthy form of transport, recreation and tourism. Its work is supported by many volunteers from across the community.

Scouts Australia NSW Branch
The aim of Scouting is to encourage the physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual development of young people so they may play a constructive role in society as responsible citizens and as members of their local and international communities. 

Guides NSW
Membership of Guides NSW is open to girls from 5 to 18 years of age, and women 18 years and over. Guides try a wide range of activities, appropriate to their age and abilities. Members decide, plan, participate in and evaluate their program, which is facilitated by an accredited trained adult volunteer leader.

YWCA NSW
The YWCA is a voluntary organisation whose volunteer leaders direct and inspire its work. Volunteers of all ages contribute at every level of the YWCA, from the operational and administrative levels of the Organisation through to mentoring, board and advisory roles.

YMCA of Sydney
The YMCA of Sydney is a non-profit community based organisation with over 5000 members. In addition to its full-time and casual staff, it also utilisies the skills of 300 volunteers.