Why aged care volunteers are important
Volunteers are a vital, but distinct element of the aged care workforce and are essential to the delivery of person-centred quality care.
Volunteers support older people in residential aged care and those living in their own home.
They are essential to:
- support the mental health and well-being of older people
- help to reduce their social isolation and loneliness
- provide companionship
- boost social and community connections
- improve the quality of life of older people.
Recruiting aged care volunteers
Volunteer programs are most effective when they are well-planned and resourced. Planning will involve:
- being aware of any existing volunteer programs in your region, such as the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme that can complement your internal volunteer program.
- understanding the regulatory requirements that apply to volunteers, including the Aged Care Quality Standards the Code of Conduct for Aged Care, and privacy laws.
- designing volunteer roles with the demographics and needs of your organisation in mind. The Older Person’s Advocacy Network runs Planning for Diversity workshops to help aged care providers make services more inclusive of older people from diverse and marginalised groups.
- resourcing and budgeting for volunteer management and retention activities.
You can access provider guidance for further detail on how to plan for volunteer engagement. This includes high-level information on:
- getting your organisation volunteer-ready
- designing volunteer roles
- recruiting volunteers
- onboarding volunteers
- frequently asked questions.
Expectations and requirements
Aged care providers need to ensure that volunteers are:
- covered by appropriate volunteer insurance
- provided induction and role specific training, including on internal policies and procedures
- provided on-site supervision and access to a Volunteer Manager
- treated with respect and their volunteer involvement valued
- able to provide feedback to the organisation
- are welcomed and encouraged.
Under Standard 7 of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards aged care providers are expected to:
- ensure volunteers have undertaken worker screening
- ensure volunteers have been provided access to training in line with their role
- record evidence of volunteer training
- provide ongoing support to enable volunteers to carry out their role
- regularly evaluate how their volunteers are performing their roles and identify, plan for and support any training and development they need.
This includes, for example, making sure training, policies and procedures are easily accessible and that volunteers understand their obligations to meet the Code of Conduct for Aged Care, and uphold privacy and confidentiality responsibilities in line with the Aged Care Act 1997 and privacy laws.
The Sector Code for Visiting in Aged Care Homes includes volunteers as Essential Visitors; they may be a Named Visitor where an aged care resident does not have a Partner-in-Care.
Residential aged care providers should familiarise themselves with guidance on screening and managing visitors. Both providers and volunteers should familiarise themselves with COVID-19 advice for visitors to residential aged care homes.
Training and support for providers and volunteer managers
Training is available from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission for Volunteer Managers on:
- the Code of Conduct for Aged Care
- the Serious Incident Response Scheme
- the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s complaints handling processes.
You can access the volunteer manager handbook, which includes a collection of free, publicly available resources that you can use for volunteer manager training. The manager handbook covers:
- the aged care volunteering landscape
- recruitment
- onboarding
- retention
- administration.
Case studies and best practice
We want to recognise and showcase the valuable contributions of volunteers and volunteer managers in aged care. We also want to hear from aged care providers who engage volunteers.
We want to hear about:
- the experiences of volunteers and volunteer managers
- the importance of volunteers in aged care
- your use of innovations to overcome challenges or barriers.
Learn how to share your story about volunteering in aged care.
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