National Volunteer Week 2024

Bail justices and justices of the peace (collectively known as ‘honorary justices’ or HJs) are volunteers who perform a range of specialised services that are vital to the Victorian community.

In honour of National Volunteer Week, we would like to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work undertaken by more than 3600 HJs, and the valuable service they provide to the Victorian community.

Included below are snapshots of recent interviews with several HJs as they share insight into their volunteering experiences and how their volunteering relates to this year’s theme of ‘Something for Everyone’.

Dean Hope

Dean Hope has been a bail justice and justice of the peace for over 10 years and is currently supporting newly appointed bail justices as a buddy.

How has volunteering enriched your life personally?

Volunteering has given me exposure to projects and other areas of the community that I normally wouldn’t have come across. Volunteering has widened my horizons by providing me with the opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds and from all walks of life.

How do you think volunteering can help foster a sense of belonging and community?

Volunteering helped me to understand and better appreciate other people in my community. Being exposed to other cultures, views and practices that the average person may not usually experience, helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the people I volunteer with, and it strengthened my ties to the communities that I serve.

In what ways do you think the theme ‘Something for Everyone’ reflects the diversity of volunteer opportunities available?

Communities offer all types of volunteering opportunities and there are different ways you can get involved and give back. If you’re interested in doing something different, or getting involved in opportunities to help others in ways you would not normally be exposed to, volunteering could be for you.

Irene Lia

Irene Lia has been serving the Victorian community as a bail justice and a justice of peace for over 20 years.

How has volunteering enriched your life personally?

Volunteering has enriched my life by allowing me to leave a legacy. I am a very community minded person and I love to help others in anyway way I can. Volunteering helps me to give back to the community I serve.

How do you think volunteering can help foster a sense of belonging and community?

When you volunteer you give back to the community and you also become a part of the community. Volunteering helps you build a network within the community, almost like a small village. As volunteers, we strengthen community connections by helping and being involved with others.

In what ways do you think the theme ‘Something for Everyone’ reflects the diversity of volunteer opportunities available?

Volunteering is so diverse! There are different opportunities for everyone no matter your background. You can volunteer across a range of different organisations, such as hospitals, churches or schools. There is so much out there. I’m 64 and I plan to be a volunteer for a long as I can.

Andrea Delaforce

Andrea Delaforce has been a bail justice for over 8 years and a justice of the peace for over a year. She is currently supporting newly appointed bail justices as a buddy.

How has volunteering enriched your life personally?

I used to be quite a black-and-white person before I started volunteering. Volunteering, especially within justice, teaches you about tolerance and understanding people from a range different backgrounds and life experiences that you can then apply to rest of your life.

While volunteering in the bail justice space, you learn how to leave your personal thoughts about the accused behind, and how to make the best decision within the legal framework. Volunteering teaches you how to watch and actively listen, which is a skillset that is constantly evolving.

How do you think volunteering can help foster a sense of belonging and community?

I live regionally, and I frequently meet with local councils and MP members. This helps me to understand and get a grasp of the local issues faced in the community. Volunteering allows me to build those local ties within the community and gain a deeper understanding of the community you’re serving.

Volunteering helps me to know about and learn what local support services are available. I get to work with a range of diverse communities and groups for example, younger people in the bail justice space and older people in the justices of the peace space. These connections help me to build working relationships within my community.

In what ways do you think the theme ‘Something for Everyone’ reflects the diversity of volunteer opportunities available?

Outside of justice volunteering, I also work as a volunteer with memorabilia and weapons. Volunteering allows you to explore other passions or interests and to find different ways of helping the community and yourself. For example, my volunteer work with the RSL allows me to honour and provide support to the older generations.
In volunteering there really is something for everyone.

More Information

Are you interested in being a Justice of the Peace? Learn more about the process of Becoming a Justice of the Peace.

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