Volunteering

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Ardoch.

Volunteering with Ardoch is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young people, contribute to your community, build social connections, and develop your skills.

Ardoch has a variety of volunteering roles, so there is something to match almost all combinations of availability and skills.

We look forward to welcoming you as part of our community, working towards a shared vision of every child’s potential being realised through full participation in education.

Why volunteer?

Each person has their own motivations for volunteering. To help you see if Ardoch is a good fit for you, below are some of the reasons volunteers say they enjoy volunteering with Ardoch:

Feeling that they are making a positive impact in their roles
Seeing positive changes in children
Feeling valued and valuable
Experience practically applying skills in a real-world setting
Feeling supported by the Ardoch team
Training and support to help you feel confident in the role
Benefits for their professional career from their volunteering
Continuous learning and development, including through Ardoch’s professional development sessions
Professional and efficient application and training process
Connection and support in our vibrant volunteer community

Watch this video to hear from some volunteers about why they volunteer with Ardoch and what they get out of it.

Volunteering with Ardoch

Ardoch is highly committed to volunteering and has a team of employees and volunteers who help support all volunteers to maximise their involvement. Volunteers are involved throughout our organisation, including direct program delivery with young people, program administration, operational support, and advisory support (including the board).

To become a volunteer please call, send an email or complete the enquiry form below. We have a number of different ways you can volunteer, check the section below to see current opportunities and the types of roles available.

Child Safety is vital. All volunteers who work with children will be required to have Working with Children checks. For many volunteering roles, Police Checks are also needed. You can read more about these requirements in the FAQs below.

The Ardoch office is based in CBD Melbourne and we run programs across Australia.

We are currently seeking volunteers for programs in schools in the following locations:

South East Melbourne (including Casey, Greater Dandenong, Mornington Peninsula, Frankston, Cardinia LGAs)
North West Melbourne (including Hume, Melton, Brimbank, Darebin, Wyndham, Whittlesea, Maribyrnong LGAs)
Geelong (including Greater Geelong and Golden Plains LGAs)
Western Sydney (including Cumberland, Fairfield, Auburn and Canterbury-Bankstown LGAs)
Regional Victoria (including cities such as Mildura, Shepparton, Wodonga, Horsham, Ballarat and Colac)

To see the list of schools we work in please see Where we work

We also run some volunteer programs in the central business districts of Melbourne and Sydney and have remote and online opportunities as well. Read below for more information.

Volunteering roles

Ardoch has a variety of volunteering roles, so there is something to match almost all combinations of availability and skills.

Occasional volunteering

Even if you only have a few hours, a single day, or a few days throughout the year to contribute, you can still make a difference through volunteering with Ardoch’s Pathways Programs and sharing your knowledge and experience to help build aspiration and confidence in children and young people.

You can volunteer to help students practice interview techniques and build confidence in the Mock Interviews program, share valuable information about your job and career journey in our Speed Careers program, or discuss pathways and further study opportunities with students over a meal in our Learning Through Lunch program.

To see upcoming dates and locations for these events, please see our Volunteering Events Calendar.

Mock Interviews Position Description | Speed Careers Position Description | Learning Through Lunch Position Description

Regular volunteering

If you’re looking for a regular volunteer role, then Ardoch has options for you.

Education Volunteers

As an Education Volunteer you will be partnered with a school to provide valuable in-classroom support for children, helping them to improve their confidence, social skills and engagement in learning. By committing two hours at the same time each week for at least six months you will be having a positive impact on children’s educational outcomes.

These roles are available in Western Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong. You can see potential locations on our interactive map here.

Education Volunteers Position Description

Providing operational or program administration support to Ardoch

Ardoch also offers ongoing roles providing program support and operational support to support our small team of dedicated employees. These roles can vary based on Ardoch’s needs and your skills and is another way to make a positive impact.

Letter Screening Volunteer Position Description | Communications Volunteer Position Description | Ardoch’s Great Auction Support Volunteer

Workplace volunteering

Ardoch offers a variety of volunteering opportunities suitable for most workplaces. If you are an individual looking for volunteering opportunities for yourself, our occasional volunteering opportunities are a great place to start.

If you are looking to partner with Ardoch to provide workplace volunteering opportunities for your employees, Ardoch has two main types of workplace volunteering.

Buddies Programs (year-long)

Through the Literacy Buddies and Numeracy Buddies programs, a group of volunteers from a workplace are paired with a class of students and over the course of the year correspond, with the volunteers visiting the school and the students visiting the workplace.

If you are a current volunteer in either of these programs, click here to access the program resources.

If you are interested to learn more about Workplace Volunteering (including Literacy Buddies and Numeracy Buddies) through corporate partnerships, please see our Corporate Hub.

Pathways Programs (occasional)

Through partnering with Ardoch to help deliver practice interviews (through the Mock Interviews Program), share about different careers (through Speed Careers) and foster aspiration and thinking about pathways (through Learning Through Lunch) workplaces can also make an impact through single-day interactions as well.

If you are interested to learn more about Workplace Volunteering (including Mock Interviews, Speed Careers and Learning through Lunch) through corporate partnerships, please see our Corporate Hub.

Online volunteering

The majority of Ardoch’s program delivery is delivered in person, however there are some program support and administrative roles that can be completed remotely.

Letter Screening Volunteer Position Description | Communications Volunteer Position Description | Ardoch’s Great Auction Support Volunteer Position Description

Ardoch has a variety of volunteering roles, so there is something to match almost all interests and preferences.

I want to work in a local school supporting children

Education Volunteers

These roles are available in Western Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong. You can see potential locations on our interactive map here.

Education Volunteers Position Description

I want to share my knowledge and experiences with students

Pathways Programs

You can make a difference through volunteering with Ardoch’s Pathways Programs and sharing your knowledge and experience to help build aspiration and confidence in children and young people.

To see upcoming dates and locations for these events, please see our Volunteering Events Calendar.

Mock Interviews Position Description | Speed Careers Position Description | Learning Through Lunch Position Description

Buddies Programs (year-long)

If you are a current volunteer in either of these programs, click here to access the program resources.

This program is not available for individuals. If you are interested to learn more about Workplace Volunteering (including Literacy Buddies and Numeracy Buddies) through corporate partnerships, please see our Corporate Hub.

I want to provide operational or program administration support

As a Program Support Volunteer or Operational Support Volunteer you will be supporting Ardoch’s operation and program coordination. Roles here vary from shorter-term projects to ongoing opportunities.

Typically these roles can be completed in Ardoch’s Melbourne CBD office or remotely.

Letter Screening Volunteer Position Description | Communications Volunteer Position Description | Ardoch’s Great Auction Support Volunteer Position Description

I want to provide advice or share my technical skills with Ardoch

Ardoch occasionally has opportunities for roles around providing guidance or advice to our team. These may be for a specific project or be more ongoing, such as members of the Ardoch board.

If you have specialised skills that you think would support Ardoch’s work, but that are not listed above please contact us to further discuss.

Current Opportunities

Below is a list of volunteering opportunities that Ardoch is currently seeking applications for.

Regular roles

Education Volunteer – Directly support students through weekly in-school volunteering, such as supporting reading groups or individual students. Read More Here

Letter Screening Volunteer – Support Ardoch’s Buddies programs by reading through letters to and from students and volunteers, to screen for any potential issues or content. Read More Here

Communications Volunteer – Help Ardoch tell the stories of our impact by working closely with our Engagement Team to to collect and collate photos and/or write exciting content. Read More Here

Occasional roles

Mock Interviews volunteer – Contribute to student confidence and interview skills, by delivering a practice interview experience and providing encouraging and constructive feedback to secondary students. Read More Here

Speed Careers volunteer – Share your career experiences and journey with groups of students to help expand their understanding of potential pathways. Read more here

Learning through Lunch volunteer – Over lunch, discuss study and career pathways with a table of students to help broaden their thinking on potential opportunities. Read More Here

Project-based roles

Ardoch’s Great Auction Support Volunteer – Play an important role in Ardoch’s fundraising, by helping to organise the 2023 Ardoch’s Great Auction, including securing prizes and setting up the website. Read more here

If you have specialised skills that you think would support Ardoch’s work, but that are not listed please contact us to further discuss.

Meet our Volunteers

Hear below from a few of our volunteers about their experience with Ardoch.

Watch the video below to hear about our enquiry process

Enquire now

Submit an enquiry below and we will get in contact to share more information about the volunteering you are interested in and explain the next steps on how to apply.

Volunteering FAQs

How can I apply to volunteer for Ardoch?

The first step for applying to become a volunteer is to complete the enquiry form above. Our friendly Volunteer Coordinators will then be in contact to provide you further information about the roles you’re interested in and an application form for the appropriate role.

What are the steps to becoming a volunteer?

Once you have completed an application, the steps to becoming a volunteer will depend on the role you’re applying for.

All volunteers need to attain a Working with Children Check and almost all need to also complete a National Criminal History Check (which Ardoch facilitates via CrimCheck). All Ardoch volunteers need to complete an online child safety training module too.

Some roles may also require an interview, reference checks, or additional training led by the Ardoch team to be completed.

Note: Having a criminal history does not automatically mean you cannot volunteer at Ardoch. If your police check has a disclosable outcome, Ardoch will assess the situation on a case-by-case basis, considering things like the type, frequency, and recency of the offences in determining whether you are able to take on a role. You can read more about our approach here.

Does Ardoch provide training or support for volunteers?

Ardoch provides training and support for all volunteers. All volunteers will complete Ardoch’s online child safety training module and most will also receive some basic induction training to your role through an online module as well.

Ardoch also provides additional staff-led training sessions for roles that have more specific requirements.

Ardoch runs regular professional development training sessions for volunteers and for those doing ongoing and project roles will also provide check-ins to support you through your time volunteering with us.

What are the benefits of volunteering?

The benefits differ for everyone! Some of the key benefits are:

Connecting to community
Making a difference in a young person’s life
Valuable training and experience to add to your resume
Ongoing professional development

You can hear above in the videos from some of our volunteers and their experience volunteering with Ardoch.

What are Ardoch's values?

Our values are:

Empowerment: We recognise people’s strengths and uniqueness, amplify their voices, and support them to make their own choices.
Learning: We value the power of education to change lives, and continually learn from research, students, partners, communities and each other.
Impactful: We strive to create the most meaningful change for the students we support.
Community: We connect diverse voices and perspectives and collaborate to respond to the unique needs of schools and their communities.
Accountability: We own our actions and take responsibility for creating a fair, respectful and positive environment.

Do you have any strategies or policies around volunteering?

Our vision for volunteering is:

“The connection between students and volunteers builds confidence, increases engagement in learning and inspires students to believe in a future of possibilities. Volunteering with Ardoch is impactful, dynamic, and rewarding and volunteers are central to all areas of our work.”

Ardoch has developed a volunteering strategy (2023-27) which you can read here.

Ardoch also has a Volunteer Management Policy, which you can read here.

I don't have any experience in education, will I have anything to offer?

Across our volunteer roles, although experience in the education sector is valued, it is not mandatory. Most Ardoch volunteers don’t have an existing education background and find they bring tremendous value to their roles.

Even for our in-school Education Volunteers, the primary role is to provide support within a classroom under the direction of the classroom teacher. You are not expected to teach or manage behaviour.

Ardoch provides training and professional development sessions to help set you up for success.

What are Ardoch's expectations of volunteers?

We ask that volunteers are patient, kind, inclusive and uphold Ardoch’s robust child safety standards. All volunteers must also comply with Ardoch’s Code of Conduct.
For some roles, we may also ask for a commitment of time in the role to help provide stability for students or to enable the successful delivery of a project or program. These expectations will be outlined in the position description.

If you have concerns about the expectations for a role, please speak to us and we can discuss it with you.

How old do I have to be to volunteer with Ardoch?

You need to be over 18 years of age to volunteer with Ardoch

Why do I need to do a Police Check?

In addition to a Working with Children (WWC) check, Ardoch requires all employees and most volunteers to undertake a National Criminal History Check, and in some cases International Police Checks (together referred to as “police checks”), as part of our screening process. Police Checks provide an additional layer of screening to WWC checks. They help Ardoch to determine a person’s suitability for a role, as they can identify offences (for example theft, fraud, some drug offenses and driving offenses), that might mean a person is not suitable for a particular role but do not prevent someone from obtaining a WWC check.

I have a criminal history, am I able to volunteer with Ardoch?

Ardoch requires all employees and volunteers to have a Working with Children (WWC) checks. If you are ineligible for a WWC check, then you will not be able to work or volunteer with Ardoch.

Having a criminal history does not automatically mean you cannot work or volunteer at Ardoch. If your police check has a disclosable outcome, Ardoch will assess the situation on a case-by-case basis, considering things like the type, frequency, and recency of the offences in determining whether you are able to take on a role. You can read more about our approach here.

Further questions?

If you have additional questions, please call or send an email and our friendly team will aim to help answer it.