Strategy at a glance

A vision for volunteering in Victoria

‘Volunteering transforms our communities, supports and strengthens individuals and organisations and is a foundation for everything Victorians do.’

Volunteering in Victoria provides empowering, flexible, accessible, inclusive, connecting, valued and collaborative experiences.

Goals and priority outcomes

Goal one: Making volunteering inclusive and accessible

Priority outcomes

  • Volunteers and volunteering opportunities represent the breadth of the Victorian community.
  • Socioeconomic and structural factors and discrimination relating to culture, ethnicity, religion, Aboriginality, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation that present barriers to taking part are reduced to support opportunities for a broader range of community members.
  • Volunteer-involving organisations (VIOs) employ inclusive engagement strategies to broaden and diversify the range of people recruited and maintained as volunteers in their organisations.
  • Partnerships between VIOs and organisations with specialist expertise in diverse communities to provide pathways to volunteering and to increase the capacity of VIOs.

Goal two: Making volunteering flexible and easier

Priority outcomes

  • Community groups use a range of strategies to effectively connect with volunteers.
  • Victorians can volunteer in flexible, short-term, informal and virtual ways that make it easy to give back to their community.
  • Recruitment, screening and induction processes match the role and are streamlined where possible.

Goal three: Supporting volunteers to be resilient, supported and empowered

Priority outcomes

  • Volunteers have safe, effective and rewarding experiences. Their rights and responsibilities are understood and protected.
  • Volunteers have the right resources, tools and supports.

Goal four: Creating volunteering connections and pathways

Priority outcomes

  • Victorians can develop skills and experience and explore new interests through volunteering.
  • Volunteering facilitates connections and networks. It offers pathways to education and work and from work to retirement.
  • Victorians can add value to their local communities and beyond through a lifetime journey of volunteering.

Goal five: Ensuring volunteering is recognised and celebrated

Priority outcomes

  • Strong community awareness encourages participation and respect for those who volunteer.
  • The value and impact of volunteering, in all its forms, is celebrated.

Critical enablers

  • people
  • learning and development
  • place-based, local approaches
  • leadership and governance
  • specialist services
  • resources
  • technology
  • collaborations and partnerships
  • evidence and data.

Updated