Goal one: Making volunteering inclusive and accessible
- VIOs to use a range of inclusive engagement practices and measures to attract, recruit and support a diverse range of people in volunteering opportunities, including:
- volunteering opportunities advertised through a broad range of networks, in accessible formats and a number of languages
- face-to-face and digital engagement methods use to engage potential volunteers
- providing application, screening and induction processes in inclusive, accessible and culturally safe and appropriate formats.
- VIOs to form partnerships with VSOs and organisations with expertise in engaging with diverse communities to build organisational capability, and pathways to volunteering.
- The Victorian Government, in partnership with local governments, to investigate approaches on how to embed support for inclusive volunteering into place-based, local government area and state government strategies.
- Volunteering Victoria, VSOs and VIOs to showcase how actively engaging in partnerships can assist organisations to attract and support volunteering for a broad range of people.
This includes addressing any barriers to access and participation for Aboriginal Victorians, people from multicultural communities, people with disability and people of all ages, genders, sexualities and localities, and ensuring that volunteering opportunities are culturally safe. - Volunteering Victoria ensures that the regular State of Volunteering report includes data on a broad set of demographic factors.
Goal two: Making volunteering flexible and easier
- Volunteering Victoria, working with VSOs, to build skills and capability in VIOs through training, resources and best practice examples, to re-engage volunteers in COVIDSafe formats and redesign volunteer roles. This will enable a range of opportunities such as formal structured, semi-structured, episodic and informal opportunities.
- VIOs and volunteering community to use available online and community resources to deliver training and support to their volunteers. For example, VSOs, peak bodies, VPSC and Justice Connect.
- The Victorian Government promote the value of using a range of methods including available online platforms to improve access and support for volunteers and streamline the management and leadership of volunteers.
- VIOs to provide access to a variety of volunteering opportunities and service delivery methods. These include face-to-face and online opportunities, as well as other formats based on the needs of volunteers and support available from local organisations including VSOs.
Goal three: Supporting volunteers to be resilient, supported and empowered
- VIOs to make volunteering a strategic priority for their organisations.
- VIOs to apply organisational policies and practices to their volunteer workforce equal to that of their other staff, including:
- recruitment and onboarding processes
- health and wellbeing measures
- professional development, training and other supports
- grievances and complaints processes
- adherence to practice standards and guidelines such as the new Child Safe Standards.
This includes ensuring resources and supports are offered in a range of accessible and culturally safe and responsive formats.
- Managers and leaders of volunteers to be aware of and encourage volunteers to use online platforms to access free support and training. These include psychological first aid training and other relevant supports.
- Volunteering Victoria to promote uptake of the national standards and practice guidelines among VIOs through workshops and other engagement with the volunteering community.
- VIOs to use organisations with expertise in governance including Justice Connect and Victorian Public Sector Commission that provide resources and training to strengthen volunteering leadership.
- The Victorian Government to work with Aboriginal organisations and/or communities to identify and support self-determined actions aimed at recognising and strengthening volunteering within Aboriginal communities.
Goal four: Creating volunteering connections and pathways
- The Victorian Government to encourage innovative approaches to strengthen pathways for a broad range of Victorians including disadvantaged Victorians such as young people leaving care.
- VIOs and VSOs to establish partnerships with the private sector, government and non-government organisations to develop volunteering programs in corporate settings and defined pathways to jobs, education and retirement for volunteers.
- VIOs to investigate ways to strengthen connections with a broad range of community members by creating partnerships with other organisations. These include youth-focused organisations, seniors’ groups, Aboriginal-controlled organisations, and other organisations that provide social connections.
- The Victorian Government to promote and motivate young people to engage in volunteering. Examples are through schools, tertiary institutions, youth-oriented services and social media.
Goal five: Ensuring volunteering is recognised and celebrated
- The Victorian Government to review and reimagine the current volunteering awards. This forms part of developing a comprehensive and coordinated engagement and communication strategy at the statewide and local levels.
- The Victorian Government to raise the profile of informal volunteers and their contributions through promoting and encouraging the celebration of informal volunteering using dynamic engagement platforms such as social media.
- The Victorian Government to investigate approaches for understanding more about informal and community volunteering. This will help capture it in volunteering statistics, grants and awards.
- The Victorian Government, in partnership with Volunteering Victoria, to develop approaches to measuring the cost and impact of volunteering. This will include for the volunteer themselves, the person or organisation they are supporting, the local area and the community more broadly.
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