Depending on vacancies, at any given time we seek candidates for:
- Op Shop Retail Assistants
- Data Entry Operators
- Administrative Support Officers
- Short-Term Project Managers
- Single-day volunteers to support Walk for Epilepsy
- Occasional photographers and/or videographers
Because you become a valued representative of our organisation. You help us extend the reach of our services to people living with epilepsy and to increase epilepsy awareness in the community. You share our
Vision: that people with epilepsy have equitable access to education and employment, feel safe and connected in their community and no longer die from their epilepsy; and Mission: to reduce the impact of epilepsy on people’s lives.
In accepting a volunteer role with the Epilepsy Foundation, it is implied that you agree to abide by the values of the organisation.
Values include but are not limited to:
o acceptable behaviour – towards manager, colleagues, clients
o abiding by the values and policies/procedures of the organisation, recognising and practising responsibility for ensuring EF’s workplaces are OHS compliant, people’s wellbeing is upheld, free from discrimination, respectful etc.
o that volunteers recognise they are representatives of the Epilepsy Foundation and must behave in a way that presents the Foundation in the best possible light
o protect the reputation of the Epilepsy Foundation.
*Definition: the total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions (The Disability Act 1992). Describes a person’s impairment of body or function, a limitation in activities or a restriction in participation when interacting with their environment.
1. If you answer “yes” to the question about identifying as someone with a disability*, we are committed to providing you with the support or assistance to undertake your role as a volunteer with the Epilepsy Foundation, including making sure we are familiar with your Emergency Management Plan or other information we may need in an emergency (eg. Anaphylaxis, diabetes, allergies).
2. The Epilepsy Foundation is an NDIS registered organisation. As the recipient of NDIS funding, Project Grants and financial assistance through other means, when making a funding application the Epilepsy Foundation may be required to provide de-identified* statistical information about our engagement with individuals who identify as someone with a disability.
*What we mean by the term de-identified information is that you will remain anonymous and anything that identifies you (such as name, address, phone number, appearance etc) will not be shared with any external organisations seeking these statistics.
Most volunteer roles at the Epilepsy Foundation require you to obtain a National Police Certificate before you begin volunteering. This is important for volunteer roles involving direct contact with vulnerable people, is at your own expense and yours to keep. We can guide you to National Police Certificate providers. If you are experiencing financial hardship we may be able to assist you with this cost.
Our volunteer workforce is well over 230 people and we are unable to cover costs such as public transport, petrol or food. However! Volunteers donating their time at single day events such as our annual Walk for Epilepsy receive a food voucher, snacks and water.
No, volunteers can help out with a project for a few days, come in every week at the same time or provide support on a one-off basis. When you apply for a role using our online application form, we ask you about your availability for volunteering.
Your commitment to a particular role depends entirely upon the length of time that the volunteer role is available and your own circumstances, interests, and the length of time you can donate. Some roles we advertise specify the estimated length of time a volunteer is needed (eg. a 3 month project); for Op Shop Retail Assistant roles, we especially welcome long-term availability. Some of our Op Shop volunteers have reached milestones such as 10 and even 30 years’ service to the Epilepsy Foundation.
The beautiful thing about this is that it’s up to you. You can apply for volunteer roles that we advertise that can be anything from a four-hour shift once per fortnight to two/three days per week. Volunteer roles at our Surrey Hills office take place during office hours; our Op Shops offer shifts Monday to Saturday. Virtual volunteering provides flexible opportunities to volunteer online to which you might devote two hours; two evenings per week.
Some of the volunteer roles involve working with other volunteers. Others involve working with people living with epilepsy and/or paid staff.
We believe your volunteer experience is enhanced by providing you with a buddy volunteer, especially in the first few weeks. However, if you’re hoping for a role that’s autonomous, we understand that preference, but you will always be required to interact with others.
Just like for a paid role, it’s natural to feel nervous on the day before or during your first few days of volunteering. Don’t let that stop you from turning up for your informal interview; or on your first day. Together you and the Epilepsy Foundation have put in a joint effort to get you to this stage and all we want is for your volunteering experience to be enjoyable and rewarding. It’s not scary, it's something different.
We advertise the volunteer roles that best support our business goals at any given time. We do have a waitlist but are unable to create roles for individuals and our capacity to “job match” to your skills and experience is very limited.
If you are making a spontaneous enquiry about volunteering; unrelated to any advertised roles, it’s really helpful to be specific about your volunteering aspirations. For example, telling us that you wish to offer your experience with computers; or financial management skills is better than expressing an interest in “office work”.
The Epilepsy Foundation is unable to offer the following roles:
- One on one Mentoring
- Speaking engagements
- Group mentoring
- Work Experience
- Tertiary student placements (unless by direct negotiation with the tertiary institution)
- Folding and enveloping
- Corporate volunteering
We advertise the volunteer roles that best support our business goals at any given time. Advertised roles may have specific requirement such as “accurate data entry skills” or “advanced level knowledge of Microsoft Excel”. Having epilepsy poses no barrier to being offered a volunteer role if you are the best candidate.
Our office is located in Surrey Hills, Victoria. We have Op Shops across metropolitan Melbourne from Port Melbourne to Berwick and many in-between. All locations are well serviced by public transport and local Council managed car parking.
If none of our locations are convenient to where you live, we recommend you contact your local council Volunteer Resource Centre to find a volunteer role close to home.
We all want to be part of something bigger. We all want to contribute to making the world a better place. But between work, family and health, maybe a regular shift at an Epilepsy Foundation Op Shop or our office in Surrey Hills, Victoria just isn’t an option.
You can still change the lives of people living with epilepsy from home by following the links below to find ways that you may never have considered to be volunteering:
https://epilepsyfoundation.org.au/fundraising/
https://epilepsyfoundation.org.au/share-your-story/
View and contribute to our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/epilepsyfoundation/
Sponsor a team/individual participating in the annual Walk for Epilepsy in Melbourne, Victoria
http://www.supportepilepsy.com.au/event/WalkForEpilepsy-2019/sponsor_a_friend
Or volunteer to support the annual Walk for Epilepsy in Melbourne, Victoria. Contact: events@epilepsyfoundation.org.au
Online volunteering that the Epilepsy Foundation advertises include:
- Helping with social media
- Researching on the web
- Giving specialist advice
- Designing a newsletter
Of course! We advertise the volunteer roles that best support our business goals at any given time. Just apply for a role that is located at our Surrey Hills, Victoria head office or Op Shops across metropolitan Melbourne from Port Melbourne to Berwick and many in-between.
The list is endless and only limited by your own skills, experience and abilities! We advertise the volunteer roles that best support our business goals at any given time. It might be office administration; event assistance; or sorting donated items.
Yes, there are many support organisations that can find people to support your volunteering aspirations. You may have a case manager, an NDIS plan or access to other support services which can assist you to find a paid or unpaid (volunteer) support person to help you carry out your volunteer role.
Volunteering with the Epilepsy Foundation – on Centrelink? 55 years or older?
If you receive a Centrelink payment, you may be able to use volunteer work as one of your mutual obligation activities.
To find out if you are eligible, go to humanservices.gov.au/mutualobligation
Anyone 18 years or over can volunteer with the Epilepsy Foundation. We unable to guarantee that someone under the age of 18 will be supervised by a Working With Children Card holder at all times during a shift and often have to reluctantly decline approaches from community-minded young people. We are always willing to explore how to accommodate under-18s’ volunteering ambitions as we value every member of our volunteer workforce.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has updated its website information on people on visas volunteering. Generally speaking, if a person’s visa allows them to do paid work they are able to volunteer, however everyone’s circumstances and visa conditions are different. Please check the Department of Immigration website for the latest information.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has updated its website information on people on visas volunteering. Some restrictions apply. But everyone’s circumstances and visa conditions are different. Please check the Department of Immigration website for the latest information.
We have a few volunteers from different generations of the same family working at the Epilepsy Foundation. Depending on whether they are looking for ways to spend more time with their family members or less: some work together; others choose to work a different shift.
Group volunteering opportunities at the Epilepsy Foundation are available for family or friend groups in a way that you may never have considered to be volunteering: Contact events@epilepsyfoundation.org.au to donate your time in support of our annual Walk for Epilepsy in Melbourne, Victoria.
This depends entirely on the role. Attitude and experience, and your commitment to abiding by the values of the Epilepsy Foundation are generally more important. Some Epilepsy Foundation volunteer roles require specific job skills or qualifications, while others ask only for a willingness to learn. Training is always available to volunteers who need it.
Yes, we have plenty of shifts for Saturday Op Shop work and a few one-off opportunities for supporting weekend events. See also the section on Virtual Volunteering.
Yes! And we’ll contact your referees too. In attending an informal interview (or meet and greet as we prefer to call it), you get the opportunity to assess us and vice-versa. This is a great way to gain experience in the complete recruitment process. It is important to you and the Epilepsy Foundation that you are well-matched to a volunteer role.
A typical interview may include any of the following questions:
• Why you are interested in volunteering for the Epilepsy Foundation?
• How would your friends describe you?
• Are you looking for paid work?
You can ask us anything that you want to know, including:
• Does the organisation cover agreed out-of-pocket expenses?
• Are there any training opportunities?
• What is the scope of the role?
• Am I covered by the organisation’s public liability and personal accident insurance
Yes! We’ll ask you to nominate two people who can speak about their impressions of your skills and work ethic. Don’t worry if you don’t have a referee for paid work – nominate someone who has known you for a long time (eg. your neighbour of 10 years), is your basketball/footy/boot-scootin’/dog club teammate; or someone who has seen you in action on a committee or organising an event.
Op Shop Retail Assistant Volunteers must provide 100 points of ID. Volunteers working in all other Epilepsy Foundation roles must obtain a National Police Certificate. We will tell you what checks are required and where to get them.
Yes, you can but each case is assessed individually. The Epilepsy Foundation has the flexibility to consider the nature of your criminal record and how long ago it occurred. Some volunteer roles may be unavailable to you because of a criminal record but others may be suitable. It’s best to be open with us and discuss your options.
Epilepsy Foundation Volunteers who are in regular, unsupervised contact with children must obtain A Working With Children Check. It is free for volunteers to apply and the record, kept by the Department of Justice is maintained by you through a password-protected process.
That would be a shame but yes, of course, you are under no obligation to keep volunteering for the Epilepsy Foundation as circumstances can change very quickly. If you secure paid employment, don’t like the role, or find the volunteering job of your dreams at a different organisation, we understand. But it is always worth talking to somebody before stopping. That could be the Retail Operations or Op Shop Manager, Volunteer Program Advisor or Direct Line Manager. You can discuss openly with them why you wish to leave and what we could do to improve your volunteer experience. If you feel strongly that something should be done, you are welcome to access an appropriate HR-related process to reach a resolution.
Even negative feedback is very important for us to receive.
If you still want to leave, try to give us some advance notice. Even if you can’t give us advance notice, please let us know you won’t be back or we will always wonder what happened to you
The Epilepsy Foundation is unable to offer you a qualification for volunteering.
However, by volunteering you will gain valuable experience, develop your skills and a verbal reference. We would be honoured to provide you with a certificate confirming your length of service.
The skills and experiences that you gain while volunteering are often very useful for careers and life generally. The skills and experiences may enhance your resume and we will happily provide a verbal reference.
If this Q & A series hasn’t answered your question, email our team with the question you want answered and we’ll get back to you.