Volunteering Australia is creating space to listen and learn from First Nations communities. This is an open invitation to share perspectives on giving, care and cultural responsibility on your terms.
This year, NAIDOC Week marks 50 years of recognising and supporting the strength, culture and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The 2025 theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”, invites all of us to honour the contributions of past and present First Nations leaders, and to reflect on the future being shaped by young people carrying forward this legacy with courage, clarity and cultural strength.
As the national volunteering peak body and as an organisation that is not First Nations-led, Volunteering Australia recognises the importance of listening.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long practised community care through kinship, cultural responsibility and connection to Country.
We acknowledge that words like ‘volunteering’ and ‘community giving’ may not always reflect these deeper cultural realities.
Making space for Listening
In alignment with the National Strategy for Volunteering, Volunteering Australia is making space for listening. This opportunity will centre First Nations voices and perspectives on what it means to give, care, lead, and serve outside of mainstream definitions.
We’re seeking to hear directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples about how these practices are understood in their communities.
An Open Invitation
If you are part of a First Nations-led organisation, community group, or you hold lived experience and knowledge you would like to share, we warmly invite you to connect with us.
There is no fixed format for participation. We are open to conversations, storytelling, language sharing and other expressions — in your time and on your terms.
This is about deepening understanding, not creating content. It’s about building trust and acknowledging that ‘volunteering’ in its Western form is just one way among many.
Expression of Interest
If you’re interested in joining the conversation, please complete the short form below. This is not a public submission or application process; it’s simply a way to let us know you’d like to connect. A member of our team will then reach out to explore what feels right for you. It simply helps us understand how you might want to be involved and how best to connect.
We share this invitation in the spirit of learning and truth-telling. This is one step in our ongoing commitment to reconciliation guided by our Reconciliation Action Plan and the National Strategy for Volunteering, which both call for a broader, more inclusive understanding of giving, care and community.
We’re listening, and we’re here to learn.
