Our volunteering program benefits COTA Victoria, our volunteers and the health and well-being of older Victorians. We draw on the talents, experience and skills of our members and supporters while providing them with opportunities to enhance their existing skills and develop new ones. See some of our volunteers in action.

We welcome volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience. To support their valuable contribution, we provide full insurance cover for volunteer activities and pay out-of-pocket expenses.

You can volunteer in a range of areas including:

Peer Educator – providing community education sessions on a range of topics
Telephone Information – answering calls from the public about a range of topics
Research
Administration
Database work
Supporting events
Consumer representative on committees – representing the interests of Victorians 50+
Policy working groups
Older Men: New Ideas Group facilitators

Information about our current volunteer opportunities can be found below.

Meet some of our volunteers

John, peer educator

John Doutch, COTA Victoria volunteer — *John, COTA Victoria volunteer*

John got involved with COTA Victoria after attending a positive ageing workshop in 2004. Now an experienced peer educator, John has presented on topics from Consumer Directed Care to Beyond Maturity Blues. John freely admits to being a workaholic during his career; now older Victorians are benefiting from this addiction. Not long ago, John facilitated some 18 education sessions in Yarrawonga over just four-and-a-half days. He also mentors new peer educators and is involved with OM:NI (Older Men: New Ideas).

John’s hard work and success has been recognised. In 2011, he received the City of Casey’s Senior of the Year Award, soon followed by a Minister for Health’s Volunteer Award in 2013. In 2016, John received a COTA Senior Achievers Award, which was presented at Government House as a part of the Victorian Senior of the Year Awards.

Edith, peer educator

Edith Chen, COTA Victoria volunteer — *Edith, COTA Victoria volunteer*

Born and raised in Taiwan, Edith began working with us in 2007. At COTA Victoria, Edith discovered her interest in ageing, particularly the issues facing people ageing in a foreign land. Edith is a peer educator and conference speaker, and also conceived and facilitated Challenging Ageing, a bilingual program. She has also been involved in building networks with Chinese community, particularly around Flemington in Melbourne’s inner west.

Current volunteer opportunities

COTA Victoria has many interesting and diverse volunteer opportunities. We currently have volunteer roles available in:

event planning and management
peer education
marketing and communications
information officers
administration
data entry.

All volunteers participate in a comprehensive orientation program and receive ongoing training.

Find out more

For more information or to register your interest, please email Angela Zhou at volunteering@cotavic.org.au or call us on (03) 9655 2100.

Angela will talk you through current roles available. If you decide to volunteer, we will interview you and match you with a role that suits your skills, interests and availability. You will need to complete some paperwork and do a police check before commencing as a volunteer.