Become an emergency volunteer

How does it work?

In times of emergency, VolunteeringACT manages requests for spontaneous volunteers on behalf of the ACT Government.

While there is currently no formal request from the ACT Government to assist with emergency volunteers, VolunteeringACT maintains the Emergency Volunteering website as experience shows us how important it is to have an emergency volunteer database ready for action should the EV Crew need to be stood up to support the Canberra community in a crisis.

If you can volunteer to assist vulnerable and isolated people in the community, we invite you to register as an emergency volunteer so we have a record of your details and your skills.

During emergencies, if a request for volunteers is received, we will email information about the opportunities to people who have registered. We will then compile lists of interested volunteers and refer these to the organisation, who will manage the screening, rosters, inductions and program specifics.

We will only refer volunteers to volunteering programs that:

  • Are run by an organisation that is partnering with the ACT Government, is a member of VolunteeringACT, or is a community organisation in urgent need of volunteers;
  • Are supervised by a volunteer coordinator;
  • Provide appropriate safety equipment and procedures;
  • Provide a program induction/briefing; and,
  • Have volunteer insurance.

If you’re interested in volunteering generally, you can also search for roles on our website, where all of our more than 200 members advertise their volunteering roles.

Already registered? Need to update details?

Things to know about registering with Emergency Volunteering CREW:

  • This service matches volunteers with disaster and emergency management agencies (“Organisations” – including all levels of government, well known charitable organisations and community groups).
  • Responding to an emergency is complex and requires a high level of coordination.
  • By far the biggest need for volunteers occurs in the recovery period – in the weeks, months and years following a disaster. However, volunteers are also needed during the response phase to help people in our communities who are isolated and in need.
  • Emergency Volunteering CREW refers potential volunteers like you to Organisations when they request volunteer support.
  • The Organisation then coordinates the volunteer opportunity, which can require varying levels of skills and experience, and flexibility in terms of location and availability.
  • Organisations provide orientation for each opportunity, and some have the capacity to provide training relevant to emergency response and recovery.
  • Emergency Volunteering CREW is an initiative of Volunteering Queensland, supported by VolunteeringACT.
  • If you do not have an email account and wish to register as a volunteer, please call us at (02) 6251 4060