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Volunteering 


Our Volunteer Community Ambassadors

Our volunteers are strong advocates for advance care planning and work alongside our other team members to help people achieve positive health outcomes and their preferences for future health care. 

We train and mentor our volunteers to fill a range of roles to support and educate the community and health professionals, and advocate for improved advance care planning in the health and aged care system. 

Our volunteers can become involved in a range of activities including: 

  • Helping to facilitate the National Advance Care Planning Support ServiceTM and Referral Program  

  • Conducting community and conference presentations

  • Assisting in the creation of videos and webinars  

  • Acting as consumer representatives on advisory committees

  • Representing Advance Care Planning Australia at events 

We're currently not accepting applications for the Volunteer Community Ambassador program. If you're interested in volunteering, please subscribe to our newsletter and we'll let you know when our next recruitment period is open. If you have any other questions, please contact us.

 

Meet some of our Volunteer Community Ambassadors 

  • Photo of one of our volunteers Catherine
    Volunteer Community Ambassador,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Catherine

    Before she joined ACPA as a volunteer community ambassador, Catherine enjoyed a distinguished career as an operating theatre nurse. This has provided Catherine with an excellent grounding to help others navigate advance care planning and clarify what matters most to them.

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  • Gloria wearing a pink jumper standing outside with a tree behind her
    Volunteer Community Ambassador,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Gloria

    Gloria feels strongly about a person's right to make informed decisions about their care. Her experience as a clinical neuropsychologist has prepared her to listen carefully to those seeking advance care planning advice and ensure they receive the information and support they need.

    Read more
  • Volunteer Community Ambassador,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Helen

    Helen has been with Advance Care Planning Australia since 2023. Helen worked as a lawyer for more than 25 years before joining the ACPA volunteer team to help people navigate the advance care planning journey.

    Read more
  • Photo of volunteer
    Volunteer Community Ambassador,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Janette

    Janette brings professional experience in education and personal experience caring for both her son and mother to her volunteer role with Advance Care Planning Australia.

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  • Volunteer Community Ambassador,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Jenny M

    Jenny has been with Advance Care Planning Australia since 2012 and now focuses on providing advance care planning education to health care professionals. Her background in loss, grief and pastoral care gives her a unique set of skills to bring to the team. 

    Read more
  • Kate smiles at an advance care planning community event
    Volunteer Community Ambassador ,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Kate

    Kate has a background in health care and is a passionate advocate for patient rights, making her well suited to her volunteer role with Advance Care Planning Australia.

    Read more
  • Volunteer Community Ambassador,
    Advance Care Planning Australia

    Sue

    Sue has been offering her expertise to Advance Care Planning Australia since 2019. She has a background in nursing and midwifery and has also worked in aged care, research, and as a business analyst.

    Read more

Resources for volunteers

 

We've developed a volunteer program resource manual to upskill volunteer groups in advance care planning. The resource is useful for volunteer managers seeking to implement our advance care planning community education model in their existing program.

It equips volunteers with the tools and information required to build their knowledge of advance care planning and in turn help others in their community to better understand the benefits of planning their future care.

The program can be adapted to learning at an introductory level, with the flexibility to take the learner through to an advanced level.

The volunteer resource manual is available on request by getting in touch with us.

We have a range of advance care planning online learning modules that will help you with addressing introductions, conversations, planning legal implications and more. 

Awards

In January 2019, our volunteer team were presented with the Australia Day Award in recognition of their "valued contribution to the community in the Federal Electorate of Jagajaga".
Advance Care Planning Australia volunteers accepting an award from the Victorian Health Minister

Community ambassadors Kate Puls and Catherine Kelly with The Hon David Davis, former Victorian Health Minister, 2014.

In 2019, the volunteer team was a finalist for the Better Care Victoria Innovation Award. In 2014, our volunteers won the Victorian Minister for Health Volunteer award for outstanding achievement by a volunteer. 

A group of volunteers holding up an award certificate.
Community ambassadors Gloria Smith-Tappe, Catherine Kelly, Veronica Spillane, Jenny McGuirk and Kate Puls with Hon. Jenny Macklin, former Federal MP, 2019.