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 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

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.

Maddie, COTA Advocate

A professional financial counsellor and one of our more recent volunteers, Maddie is passionate about protecting the rights of older folk and ensuring that they are supported when they get into financial difficulty. Maddie volunteers two days a week at our Melbourne office.

A typical day for Maddie involves helping people get the correct concessions on all their bills, negotiating with creditors on behalf of clients who are having trouble paying their bill, giving budgeting advice and reviewing aged care facility’s fees. Maddie is also interested in the issues associated with reverse mortgages and increasing body corporate fees. In her role as a COTA Advocate, Maddie sits on several committees on energy market reforms.

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 Karen at kivanka@cotavic.org.au or call us on (03) 9655 2100.

Karen will talk you through current roles available and invite you to a Volunteer Information Session. Due to the COVID-19 situation, we have postponed future information sessions. However, if you would like to register your interest in volunteering with COTA Victoria when our office re-opens, please fill out our online form.

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.