The Minister for Education, Training and Skills Volunteering Award for Outstanding Service is a way to recognise people in preschool and school communities who make a significant contribution to enhancing and uplifting the lives of others by volunteering.

Each year, preschools and schools can acknowledge their volunteers with a certificate signed by the Minister for Education.

How to request a certificate

The award scheme is optional and is open to government, Catholic and independent schools. Preschools and schools can request the certificate.

When you apply you'll need to include information like:

• the name of your preschool or school
• the volunteer's name
• the name of the governing council member who nominated the volunteer (for government schools only)
• the date the certificate will be awarded
• a short paragraph about why the volunteer has been selected for the award.

Allow up to 2 weeks for the certificate to be sent to you.

Request a certificate.

Ideas for presenting the award

Preschools and schools can select an individual or group of volunteers for the award.

In a department school, the governing council, after consulting with the preschool or school leader, will decide who to give the award to and who should present it.

The presenter could be:

• a student
• principal or director
• council or committee chair
• local member of parliament.

Preschools and schools can decide when in the year the award is presented. Some ideas are during national volunteer week, state volunteers day or an end of year event.