How and when you can help

Your ability to help depends on your interests and availability. Whether you can assist on weekdays, weeknights, weekends, or just for an hour occasionally, every contribution is valuable.

These are just some of the ways you can help. You could:

• help with reading and numeracy
• mentor students
• help with a working bee
• share your culture
• coach a sports team
• help develop life skills
• help with camps and excursions
• work in the kitchen garden
• be on a committee
• work behind-the-scenes in the office
• help in the library
• help with fundraising.

There are many other ways to help. Before you apply to volunteer, think about what you can do to help.

Who can volunteer

Anyone can apply to volunteer. However, it’s up to a site leader to choose volunteers who will work well with their community.

There are expectations that our department has for our volunteers. Our staff will guide you through what’s involved.

Volunteers can come from all walks of life. You might be just who we need, if you:

• are compassionate and kind
• care about children and young people
• want to help children and young people feel confident and thrive
• enjoy helping others.

You might love and want to share your passion for:

• words – big and small
• your family’s culture
• music and arts
• science, technology, engineering and maths
• books and reading
• sports, health and fitness
• gardening and food.

If you feel you have different skills, expertise and knowledge to offer, get in contact with the site you want to help. It’s never too late to start.

The department actively encourages Aboriginal people and people from multicultural and diverse backgrounds to volunteer.

How to apply to volunteer

To apply you need to contact the site you want to help. Use our find schools, preschools and other services tool to:

• view a list of sites in alphabetical order
• use filters to refine your search
• find out which school zone or preschool catchment area you live in.

When you talk to the site you want to volunteer at, you can ask to speak to the volunteer contact person. The volunteer contact person will make you feel welcome and help you with any questions.

When you apply to be a volunteer, you’ll be asked some questions and be expected to share some information.

Application form

When you apply, our sites will ask you to complete the volunteer application form and agreement (DOCX 526 KB) .

You can download the form and start working on your application to give to the site when they ask for it.

What to expect when you apply

If you decide to volunteer, you can expect an introduction that covers some basic things, like:

• the application and screening process including a Working with Children Check (WWCC)
• Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect – Education and Care (RRHAN-EC) training
• your responsibilities and tasks
• task specific training (if required)
• work health and safety
• privacy and confidentiality
• a site induction
• a 30-minute general online induction for volunteers (plink login required).

Information for site leaders and volunteer contacts at sites

Information about managing volunteers is available on the department’s intranet (staff login required).