Unpaid work experience
Voluntary work:
- is unpaid
- takes place in a not-for-profit organisation
- is freely chosen by the volunteer
- generally provides a service to the community
- is undertaken in designated positions (ie. is not replacing paid workers)
Volunteering Australia provides a clear outline of the definitions and principles of volunteering on their website.
Unpaid and work experience opportunities
Theresa Li |
Volunteer and work experienceTheresa Li outlines how to access volunteer and other work experience opportunities and the benefits of such experience. Click the 'play' button to listen via Quicktime. Duration 9 min 22 sec. Alternatively download the interview (MP3, 17.5 MB) Interview conducted by Kate Abraham, Careers Consultant. Audio transcript (pdf | 20 KB) |
Is all unpaid work voluntary work?
No. Undertaking productive work that does not meet the criteria above creates an employment relationship, and payment of wages is required. There is no such thing as unpaid work experience (in fact, it is illegal under the Department of Workplace Relations Act) unless it is part of an approved program run by an educational institution. An example of an approved program which allows students to undertake unpaid work experience is Student Work Placements (SWP), coordinated by Careers & Employment.
top of pageWhat kinds of work do volunteers do?
Volunteer work is available in almost any area - administration, health and welfare, community service, science and environment, sport, religion, education, and recreation, counselling, teaching and public relations. Listed below are some examples of volunteer placements:
- Women’s Information Referral Exchange - project work, information delivery
- Marine Discovery Centre - education assistant, scientific research
- Arthritis Foundation of Victoria - data processor for their Phonelink Program
- Museum of Victoria - explainer, tour guide, curatorial assistant
- National Trust - collection management, researcher, guide
- Hanover Day Centre - welfare-related positions
- National Parks - surveying and mapping
- Friends of the Zoo - tour guide
- Riding For Disabled Australia
- Lifeline - telephone counselling
Do I get any training?
Many organisations will provide some sort of training related to their organisation and to help you complete your task.
What are the benefits of being a volunteer?
- Valuable work experience which can be included in your resumé
- Experience using specific skills which are useful to demonstrate that you meet selection criteria
- Develop networks to assist you to find paid employment
- Gain confidence
- A sense of satisfaction from giving your time to help others
Where can I find voluntary work?
You will find some voluntary work positions advertised on Careers Online which meet the following criteria:
- The position is not more than 16 hours/week
- The activity is not considered to be of high risk
- The organisation offering the position is a not-for-profit entity; (i.e. any profit or gain cannot be distributed to owners, members or any other individual/s and must be used to further its charitable purposes. See the ATO’s definition of a non-profit organisation)
- The activity is recognised as being beneficial to the community. (i.e. an activity that is not for private financial gain and that is done for a charitable, philanthropic, benevolent, recreational, political, educational or cultural purpose)
- The position is not replacing paid workers, nor constituting a threat to the job security of paid workers
Such voluntary placements, although approved for advertising by C&E, are NOT covered by University of Melbourne insurance.
Voluntary work resources
-
Careers Resource Centre (CRC)
Located on Level 1, Baldwin Spencer Building, the University of Melbourne, Parkville.- See the Industry Experience section for A-Z folders of info about local organisations seeking volunteers and Student Work Placements.
- For overseas organisations, see the orange-labelled resources in the red International Employment section.
- Volunteering Victoria
- Southern Gate House
Former Royal Mint
280 Williams Street
Melbourne 3000
Ph: +61 3 9642 5266
- Southern Gate House
Useful links
- Ampersand Network
- Australian Volunteer Search
- Australian Volunteers International
- Global Vision International
- Global Volunteer Network
- Good Company
- Go Volunteer
- Involvement Volunteers for Peace
- SEEK Volunteer
- Student Ambassador Leadership Program (SALP)
- Student Work Placements
- Victorian Volunteer Resource Centre
- Volunteering Australia