Spontaneous volunteering: Disaster response and recovery

Volunteering

After a disaster or emergency event, it is very common for people, both from within the impacted community, and the surrounding areas, to want to volunteer their time to assist with response efforts, such as clean-up.

If you would like to volunteer during an event, there are a few simple things that you can do to make the process easier and ensure that your assistance goes where it is needed most:

Help family, friends and neighbours first

By far the best thing you can do to help is to offer assistance directly to people within your community. Contact family and friends in the vicinity and offer to assist them with the clean-up on their properties. Check on your neighbours and see if they could use a hand. Local groups may organise working bees for larger jobs and these are a great way to help the people in your immediate area. One key thing to keep in mind is to try to engage in assisting people that are in close proximity to your home. In the event of a large-scale disaster, fewer private cars travelling through the affected area means that the way is kept clear for emergency services.

Register to volunteer prior to an event

The best way to ensure that you are able to assist in a coordinated agency response within the impacted area is to sign up as a volunteer with a registered agency during a time when there is not an event occurring.

Register your interest as a volunteer

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