Mission Australia is seeking a chef or a group that has an enthusiasm for cooking to host a breakfast once weekly for up to 7 residents at the Fairlight Centre, which offers crisis accommodation for men in Northern Sydney. All of our clients have made conscious decision to make changes to get their life back on track. The majority of these residences have come directly from detoxification units and are adjusting to significant lifestyle changes.
Volunteer role: Cooking breakfast for 7 men. In addition to cooking breakfast, you will have the opportunity to chat and share a meal with the residents. Volunteers will need to provide food to cook for the breakfast – basic provisions such as bacon, eggs and bread would be great appreciated. Cooking utensils provided.
Minimum Commitment: 4 hours a fortnight
Volunteer Criteria: Cooking experience would be beneficial, as well as the ability to interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds. All volunteers receive training and support
How to apply: To apply for this role, please email Fiona Ivits, National Volunteer Coordinator, at
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or call 02 9288 0070 for more information.
Administrative Assistant
We are looking for an administrative volunteer to join the Fairfax House team, located at St Marys. Fairfax House is an innovative service for families in crisis. The service provides ongoing holistic case management and support. Families receive assistance with basic living, money management and parenting skills, securing education, English classes, employment opportunities, childcare and permanent housing
We need a volunteer with strong admin skills, who is able to provide invaluable support to the Fairfax House team by assisting with various administration duties including accounts and petty cash duties, reception duties and other administrative tasks. Ideally, we are looking for somebody that is a confident administrator with strong organisational skills, excellent communication skills and attention to detail.
Where: St Marys
When: 1-2 days a week, 9am- 4pm. This role will commence from September onwards.
Essential Criteria: You must be computer literate with medium/high level skills in Word, Excel and Access; have excellent communication skills; and previous administrative experience. It is important that your work be accurate, and that you demonstrate initiative in identifying and completing work tasks.
For more information, or to apply, please send an expression of interest and resume through to Fiona Ivits, Volunteer Coordinator at
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or call 02 9288 0070
Young Person Mentor
Located at Mission Australia’s Creative Youth Initiatives, Surry Hills NSW
1 hour per week for 6 months (Training and special events additional) Mentor a Young person to achieve Individual Goals
If you have a desire to help people rise above the challenges life has thrown their way, then you already have something in common with Mission Australia, who’s work helps disadvantaged Australians everyday.
The Think Big mentoring program at Creative Youth Initiatives aims to more wholly address the needs of disadvantaged young people and to assist in their transition into the community (e.g. into further education, employment or training).
Think Big Lakemba
This outreach arm of the program is for young people living in the Canterbury region who have an Arabic-speaking Muslim background. It is designed to engage people in Lakemba in a culturally and contextually sensitive manner and to promote social harmony and cohesion. The mentoring program encourages participation from the whole community and promotes activities that occur within the program to the wider community.
Minimum Commitment: Mentors are required to commit at least 1 hour per week throughout the 6 month program
Volunteer Criteria: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, cultural awareness or a desire to attain cultural awareness of specific group a strong understanding of self-development processes to help others achieve personal growth, an ability to relate to young people, and an ongoing commitment for the entire 6 months of the program. All volunteers will receive training and support throughout the 6 month program.
Please note volunteer appointments will be subject to a satisfactory Criminal History Check
Mission Australia has 2 intakes of Think Big volunteers a year:
1st intake is January/February
2nd intake is July/August
For further information and a copy of the selection criteria please contact the National Volunteering Unit at
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or call 02 9288 0070 for more information.
Keyboard Teacher
• Teach keyboard at the Mission Australia Centre
• Help homeless men develop musical skills
• 1.5 hours per week, instruments provided
The Mission Australia Centre Surry Hills aims to break the cycle of homelessness by empowering individuals, providing varying levels of intervention through flexible, innovative, responsive services and support options.
Volunteer Role: We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic keyboard teacher to teach keyboard skills to Mission Australia Centre clients once a week. The clients, all homeless or disadvantaged men, have varying levels of keyboard skill, so we require an experienced teacher who is comfortable teaching students at all levels.
Classes are conducted in a supervised environment, and ongoing support is provided for our volunteers.
A clear police record check is a requirement of this role.
If you would like to apply for this role, please email your CV to
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. For further information please call Fiona Ivits, National Volunteer Coordinator, on 02 9288 0070.
Links to Learning Classroom Facilitator
• Assist young people to re-engage with education
• Western Sydney or Illawarra locations
• Suitable for Education student
Are you an experienced teacher or an education student who is looking for a diverse volunteering position assisting youth who are at risk of leaving school early? Mission Australia has challenging volunteer opportunities for people who would like to be a positive role model for disadvantaged youth and to help empower these young people to make significant difference in their lives.
Location: Mission Australia operates Links to Learning programs in Campbelltown, Miller, Wollongong, Robertson, Mt Druitt, Brookvale and Fairfield, Charlestown. We are looking for volunteers who can assist our staff with tutoring and activities to motivate young people to learn and re-engage in mainstream education.
Volunteer Role: Your role will be to support the Links to Learning facilitators. Teaching will take place in a class room environment in Mission Australia centres with a maximum of 10 students per class with a Links to Learning facilitator present at all times. There is also the opportunity for occasional excursions. The age of the students range from 12 to 24.
Volunteer Criteria: In order to undertake this role you need either registered teaching qualification recognised by the Department of Education & Training, Catholic or Independent Schools systems; or you could be a student completing a Bachelor of Education degree or post graduate equivalent. This would be a great opportunity for work experience for students completing their final year.
Commitment: We require a minimum commitment of one 4 hour shift per week from each volunteer for a period of 6 to 10 weeks. When considering this volunteering opportunity it is important to note that the students come from diverse backgrounds and at times may present with behavioural issues and low self-esteem. This will be a challenging role but at the same time extremely rewarding.
The Links to Learning Program runs concurrently with the academic year
If you are interested in becoming a Links to Learning volunteer and would like to find out more about the program, please contact the National Volunteering Team at
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or call 1800 110 578
Volunteer Mentor
• Mission Australia, Mid-Coast Mentoring Program, Taree • 2-3 hours per weeks for 6 months • Be a positive and supportive role model to a trouble young person
Mission Australia volunteers and staff focus on empowering people and building communities.
We are currently seeking Mentors on NSW’s mid-North coast to provide assistance to young people to enable them to overcome existing barriers. You will be required to provide support and encouragement to a specifically matched mentee to enable them to achieve individual goals.
This role requires somebody that is compassionate and non-judgemental in nature, who enjoy working with young people. All volunteers will receive training and support. Please note this volunteer appointment will be subject to a satisfactory criminal history check
For further information or to apply, please contact the National Volunteering Team on: Email:
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Phone: 1800 110 578
Academic Mentor
• Mission Australia Centre, Surry Hills NSW • Once a week, 5.30 -7.00pm for 12 weeks (Training additional) • Assist students with the ‘process of learning’
Mission Australia volunteers and staff focus on empowering people and building communities.
The Catalyst program is a university program run at the Mission Australia Centre. Courses are in the humanities and the program is delivered on site at the Mission Australia Centre by the Australian Catholic University. The idea is to provide marginalised individuals the ability to access university education, an opportunity they would otherwise not be able to take up. Catalyst reintroduces clients to learning, and in the process teaches new skills (e.g. IT, research skills) and promotes self-esteem.
The role of the Learning Partner is to assist the student with the ‘process of learning’. They are not meant to be an expert in the course but rather provide support, encouragement and study skill assistance (eg. help with organisational skills, essay writing, internet searches, library use) to students. All volunteers will receive training and support.
Mission Australia recruits volunteers for Catalyst twice a year • 1st semester intake is January/February • 2nd semester intake is July/August
For further information, including selection criteria or to apply to become a Learning Partner, please contact Fiona Ivits, National Volunteer Coordinator on
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Phone: 1800 110 578
Home Tutor Service – English tutors
• Teach English to newly arrived migrants and refugees • Western Sydney location • Fully accredited training provided
Would you like to make a difference in the community and learn a new skill? Become a Home Tutor and teach English to a newly arrived migrant or refugee in their home for 1 hour a week You don’t need formal training – we’ll provide that, and it’s VETAB accredited. And you don’t need to have English as your first language.
Mission Australia’s Home Tutor Service (HTS) is designed to help newly-arrived migrants and refugees who can’t access formal English classes for a variety of reasons, and need tutoring in their home.
Volunteer tutors attend a 15-hour training course, designed and run by English as a Second Language (ESL) professionals. You’ll also be supplied with worksheets, tapes and other learning resources, and be fully supported by HTS coordinators. The tutors are volunteers from many different walks of life, backgrounds and communities, and are vital to the service. As a volunteer, you will need to commit one to two hours each week to tutoring your student.
Volunteers are needed in the Auburn, Parramatta, Blacktown, Fairfield, Liverpool and Campbelltown areas. To volunteer with the Home Tutor service you must be able to travel to these areas.
Mission Australia runs 18-hour tutor training courses for Home Tutor volunteers. Each course runs for 6 weeks (3 hours a week).
The Home Tutor Service takes on volunteers twice a year • 1st intake is January/February • 2nd intake is July/August
To apply, or to find out more information on the Home Tutor Service, please email
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or call 02 9635 1543
Young men encouraged to end gambling hangoverThursday, 03 July 2008Mission Australia has welcomed today’s announcement by the NSW Government of a new $1.8 million state-wide public awareness campaign aimed at young males, aged 18-24, who are problem gamblers.Mission Australia – which is one of NSW’s leading providers of gambling counselling and support services – said the campaign, organised by the... + Read Full Story
Migrants and refugees give back to AustraliaFriday, 09 May 2008National Volunteers Week 12-18 May 2008One of the country’s largest charities, Mission Australia reports that more than half of volunteers at its Migrant and Refugee Services are from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), conflicting with recent research by Monash University suggesting that migrants from NESBs are less likely to volunteer... + Read Full Story
