Who we are

Australian volunteers play a vital role in the fight against poverty. Volunteering overseas is one way that Australians can make a positive contribution to poverty reduction, sustainable development and cross-cultural understanding.

Australian volunteers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and include men and women aged from 18 to over 80 years.  Australian volunteers have varying professional backgrounds which enable them to work on a raft of activities including setting up medical clinics so that women can give birth safely, building stronger homes to withstand cyclones and helping children with disabilities to get to school.  Volunteers enrich the communities they help.

This financial year the Government has committed $42 million to deliver volunteer programs, allowing over 800 new volunteers to be sent overseas.  In 2011 the volunteers program will operate in around 33 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.  The profile of the program will continue to increase, with expansion into Latin America, the Caribbean and the North Pacific.