Our volunteers

Between 2012 — 2013, 3,181 volunteers contributed 68,780 hours of service.
1,991 volunteers assisted at events alone and contributed 8,177 hours.
Based on the above figures, our estimated volunteer contribution for 2012 — 2013 represented a dollar equivalent of $2.4 million in productivity or 41 full-time positions.
As part of our corporate volunteering program, 132 employees from Origin Energy, Deloitte, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Goldman Sacks and Partners volunteered 1,819 hours.
In 2014, 71.5% of our volunteers were aged between 18 and 30 years and 28.5% of our volunteers were aged over 30.
In 2014, 31.5% of our volunteers come from a non-English speaking background and 79% are female.

Roles

Volunteers contribute to all areas of our organisation — in our offices, at events, in our groups and state committees, and in our shops and trading warehouse. They help raise funds, campaign for change, provide administrative support, stage events and offer their skills, time and experience to help us carry out our work.

The types of roles we have on offer throughout the year include:

working at events such as the Comedy Gala, National Close the Gap Day and Oxfam Trailwalker
assisting the HR department with improvements to Oxfam Australia’s policies and procedures to ensure the agency meets its compliance obligations
promote Oxfam Australia’s various campaigning activities on climate change, food security, poverty and Aboriginal health
researching information for and writing, editing and proofreading articles for Oxfam News

There are plenty more opportunities. Check out our general volunteer interests for more information.

We also host internships at Oxfam Australia. These are taken up by tertiary students who are required to undertake formal volunteering positions to complete their studies. Some previous internship roles have included:

Oxfam International Youth Partnerships interns in Sydney
support for our East Asia Regional program as part of the AusAID Australian Leadership Awards Development program

Corporate volunteering program

Corporate volunteering is defined as any volunteering conducted under the banner of a company. Our corporate partners provide extensive volunteer support to our events, shops and offices sharing their time and skills.

Volunteer opportunities exist across a range of Oxfam activities and include office support roles, skilled volunteering projects, events and support for Oxfam Trading. Oxfam works closely with its existing corporate partners to develop these opportunities. In addition to this corporate volunteers are always needed for the Oxfam Trailwalker events. Trailwalker volunteer placements provide an opportunity to volunteer as a group and are a great team building exercise.

Contact the corporate partnerships team today to discuss potential volunteer placements for your organisation.

Monash partnership

Our partnership with Monash University continues to create opportunities for students and staff to engage with our work. We continue to foster the annual South Africa Summer Placement Program which helps students explore their future career and academic options by experiencing community development work with some of our South Africa partners.

The annual South Africa Summer Placement Program provides Monash students with an amazing opportunity to gain first-hand experience of international and community development work, through placements with Oxfam and its partner organisations in South Africa.

In 2014, five Monash students completed placements at Oxfam in South Africa, Refugee Social Services, Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust and Woza Moya.
the student placed at Oxfam’s office in Durban provided important support to key Oxfam staff working on the transition of Oxfam South Africa to an independent affiliate.
the students placed at Woza Moya participated in rural home-based care visits to people living with HIV, supported after-school care programs, assisted with early childhood education programs, and helped deliver food parcels and maintain the community garden.
the student placed at Refugee Social Services assisted with programs run in the large refugee/asylum-seeker population in Durban and KawZulu-Natal.
the student placed at the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust worked with people living with HIV in the respite care centre, supported healthcare workers with their daily activities and worked alongside retail staff of the craft store. They also helped organise the upcoming “Gogo Olympics,” a community event that encourages older women to participate in sporting events.

The Partnership also offers and facilitates a range of volunteering and internship opportunities with the Oxfam-Monash Partnership and at Oxfam head office. These opportunities provide an avenue through which students can learn first-hand about the work of the development sector, can contribute their own fresh ideas, energy and skills, and can become inspired future leaders of positive global change.

Safety support

Oxfam Trailwalker places the highest emphasis on walker safety for our events in Melbourne Brisbane, Sydney and Perth. Oxfam Trailwalker receives valuable financial, in-kind and pro bono support from a range of loyal sponsors, organisations, businesses and specialist services — who supply everything from logistical and communications support, to food, first aid and voluntary workers.

Oxfam is fortunate to have the support of Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia police and ambulance services; Country fire Authority (Victoria); Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Service (NSW); Department of Environment and Resource Management (Queensland); State Emergency Services; Parks Victoria and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in planning and execution of our Oxfam Trailwalker events — ensuring safe, enjoyable and ultimately rewarding experience for event participants and volunteers.

Learn about how we recruit, train, recognise and safeguard our volunteers.