Thank you for joining us!
The 2025 Volunteering Conference was held during National Volunteer Week on Thursday, 22 May at the Denman Village Community Centre. The theme for this year was ‘Connecting Communities’. Volunteering creates lasting relationships that enrich lives and strengthen communities. We explored how giving to others promotes community engagement, connection and a sense of belonging.
Our annual Volunteering Conference is a full day of professional development for leaders in the volunteering sector. It aims to build capability, foster collaboration, and spark inspiration within the volunteering ecosystem.
We know Canberrans volunteer in huge numbers, as shown in the State of Volunteering in the ACT Report 2024: 75% of the ACT residents (279,000) aged over 15 years volunteered in 2023, contributing over 63 million hours and generating more than $14 billion of value for the Canberra Region. The Conference equips volunteer leaders with practical tips, tools and resources to keep their volunteering programs engaging, improve volunteer retention and continue growing volunteer participation in the Canberra community.
Photographs from the event
Photographer: Jessica Wright
Testimonies from the attendees
“It was engaging, well presented and relevant. I came away with tips to implement immediately in our organisation.”
“The best part of the Conference was listening to the inspiration that is out there. Very informative, speakers were awesome!”
“I am new to the ACT, it was so good to learn and network. I was quite impressed with the execution of the event and the friendliness of all there.”
Resources
Scan the QR code to download some of the resources shared during the 2025 Volunteering Conference.
The resources include:
- Volunteer Management Guide for Non-profits by Not-For-Profit Law
- Navigating background checks
- Youth volunteering toolkits
- ACT Volunteering Strategy 2024 – 2034
- Inclusion checklist by VolunteeringACT
- ProBono Legal Assistance form for VolunteeringACT members
- The ACT Child Safe Standards Scheme
- Conflict Resolution Service
- Volunteering Strategic Advisory Group by VolunteeringACT
- Upcoming training and events by VolunteeringACT
- 2025 Volunteering Conference feedback form
Youth Volunteering Toolkits
VolunteeringACT has designed three toolkits, all of which aim to support and
enhance youth volunteering. In each toolkit you’ll find information, links,
resources and templates aimed at that audience. The design of these toolkits was supported by VolunteeringACT’s Youth Volunteering Working Group. This group is made up of young people, volunteer managers, parents and youth support workers.
The Youth Volunteering Toolkit for young people and support people are coming soon!
Youth Volunteering Toolkit for Volunteer Managers
This toolkit is to provide advice, information and resources for volunteer involving organisations and volunteer managers looking to engage young people in volunteering. We know that young people may face additional barriers to engaging in volunteering, and require additional support, coaching, and guidance.
This toolkit is to help you to understand everything you need to know about managing young volunteers including:
- Definition of children and young people
- National Standards for Volunteer Management
- ACT Child Safe Standards
- Inclusive and safe communication and engagement
- Support available through VolunteeringACT
Support and lead our next generation of volunteers!
We’d love your feedback
Thank you for attending the 2025 Volunteering Conference – we hope you enjoyed it! Your participation and support are valuable to us, so please consider completing a Conference feedback form, which will assist us in future event planning. You can also email us your feedback at events@volunteeringact.org.au or call us on 02 6251 4060.