If you’ve been thinking about becoming a volunteer in your school or preschool community, we’d love to welcome you.

There are lots of different roles and ways to help. It may be helping in the canteen or breakfast club, being on the school committee, coaching sport, or reading to kids, your hard work will help our school communities thrive.

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 schools 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 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.

Who can volunteer

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

There are some 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
• want to help young people feel confident and grow
• 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. No matter who you are or where you’re from, it’s all about wanting to help out.

It’s in this spirit that the department actively encourages Aboriginal people and people from multicultural and diverse backgrounds to get involved.

When you can help

When you help depends on what you want to do. If you’re available:

• on a weekday, you could help children with their reading, or work in the kitchen garden or library
• on weeknights or weekends, you could join a committee or help with a working bee
• only for an hour here and there, every little bit helps – no matter what you’re doing.

How you can help

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

• help children with their 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.

Why volunteer with us

Volunteering benefits everyone involved. Before you talk to a local site about volunteering, you can find out why it's good to volunteer with us.

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
• your responsibilities and tasks
• training if needed
• work health and safety
• privacy and confidentiality
• a 30-minute general online induction and a site induction
• Working with Children Check (WWCC) if needed
• Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect – Education and Care (RRHAN-EC) training.

Other ways to get involved in your school, preschool or children’s centre

You can talk to your local principal or preschool director about joining the governing council or school council.

When you work on a council, you too are a volunteer. You’ll also be working with other volunteers.

Information for site leaders

Templates and other site-leader information about volunteering is on the department’s intranet (staff login required).