Year 12 Vocational Major students from Leongatha Secondary College are learning that real education doesn’t always come from textbooks. In partnership with Gippsland Southern Health Service, the students are regenerating a garden attached to the hospital’s maternity wing – transforming it into a space that grows native plants, fresh ideas, and strong community connections.

This is the inaugural year of a partnership designed to continue annually. Each new Vocational Major student cohort will take up the project, ensuring the garden evolves over time and remains a living symbol of collaboration between education, health, and community. The Vocational Major is a two-year applied learning program within the Victorian Certificate of Education system, designed to provide students with hand on experience to develop skills for their life after school.

This is more than a gardening project. It’s an opportunity for young people to develop practical experience, for patients and staff to enjoy a restorative space, and for the community to take pride in creating something meaningful together.

Key outcomes
For students: it has provided a platform to apply classroom learning in a real-world context while developing teamwork, leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. Taking on meaningful responsibilities and presenting their work has boosted confidence, pride, and a sense of purpose. Participating in volunteer activities has fostered social responsibility and given students transferable skills for future study, work, and community engagement.

For Gippsland Southern Health Service: it has shown that taking a risk and working with young people can lead to remarkable outcomes. The partnership has revitalised a garden space while strengthening connections with youth, opening up conversations about future pathways in health and community services. This model highlights how volunteering projects can bridge education and local employment opportunities.

For the community: the garden has become a source of pride – a living example of what can be achieved when schools, young people, health services, and volunteers work together with a shared vision.

Read the full case study below.

Learning from those with lived experience
The sectional Co-Design project (lead by the Volunteer West team) was intended to centre the voices of those who identify as Newly Arrived Migrants. Participants shared their experiences of finding and undertaking volunteer roles after arriving in Australia, helping identify barriers, unmet needs and practical enablers.

The insights gathered are intended to support volunteer-involving organisations to better understand these experiences and create more inclusive, accessible and effective volunteer pathways.

Supporting solutions for VIOs
The lived experiences shared by Newly Arrived Migrants revealed clear barriers across recruitment, onboarding, role clarity, and access to support. Importantly, these insights also point to practical, achievable solutions.

By adopting more inclusive, plain language, and culturally responsive practices, while clearly connecting roles to organisational purpose, volunteer-involving organisations can support Newly Arrived Migrants seeking purpose and opportunity to participate in their new communities.

Read full case study below.

Volunteering Loddon Mallee, part of the Bendigo Volunteer Resource Centre, provides specialist support to Leaders of Volunteers and Volunteer-Involving Organisations across the Loddon Mallee region. They recently assisted Panyang Society for Human Development, a South Sudanese community group, to strengthen their volunteer management practices and build a more sustainable model for the future.

The committee was passionate and driven, but operated informally. Their focus was to ensure their flagship annual event was not only successful, but sustainable, reducing burnout and risk for their volunteers.

The shared goal was to move from an ad-hoc model to a best practice volunteer management approach.

Encouraging adoption of best practice
It was clear that imposing a rigid, Western-style model would not work in this context. Success depended on a respectful, collaborative approach.

• Trusted relationship: An introduction via a multicultural support service provided a strong foundation, making it easier to build rapport and engagement.
• Cultural respect: Volunteering Loddon Mallee were positioned as facilitators rather than experts. Time was taken to listen and understand the group’s cultural context and community dynamics before suggesting changes.
• Practical and relevant support: The focus was on tools that addressed immediate challenges, such as reducing stress and sharing the workload. This made best practice appealing and directly beneficial, rather than imposed.

Outcomes and impact

• Reduced committee burnout: Clear roles and delegated responsibilities meant the workload was shared more evenly.
• Increased volunteer confidence: New volunteers had a clearer understanding of their roles and felt more supported.
• Improved sustainability: Documented processes reduced reliance on key individuals and created a framework to support other community initiatives in the future.
• Stronger external engagement: The group now engages with local council and funders from a position of demonstrated professionalism and good governance, strengthening their advocacy power.

“We knew our community, but we didn’t know the rules. Now we feel safe, and our volunteers feel looked after.” – Committee member

The organisation is now better equipped to manage volunteers through stronger governance, shared ownership and practical systems that will support its community work into the future.

Read full case study below.