Volunteer Recognition Program
The NSW Volunteer Recognition Program celebrates the vital role volunteers play in their local communities and the organisations they support.
About the program
The NSW Volunteer Recognition Program replaces the 'Premier's Volunteer Recognition Program', which ended in 2019. It is now a part of the NSW Volunteering Strategy 2020-2030.
This program aims to acknowledge and celebrate the valuable contributions of volunteers throughout NSW.
Volunteer involving organisations, schools, and the Duke of Edinburgh award can nominate volunteers for a certificate of recognition.
The Centre for Volunteering manages this program on behalf of the NSW Government's Department of Communities and Justice.
Categories and eligibility
Under the NSW volunteer recognition program there are 7 certificate categories:
Award | Years of service |
---|---|
Student volunteering certificate | - |
Volunteering contribution certificate | 5, 10, 15, 20 |
Minister’s Lifetime Achievement certificate | 25+, 40+ |
To be eligible for a certificate the volunteer must work in a voluntary unpaid capacity in NSW.
Student volunteer certificates
To be eligible for the student volunteering certificate, the student must be in high school grades 7 to 12. Students can be nominated by their school or the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Students can be nominated each year, as long as they have volunteered within this calendar year.
Volunteering contribution certificates
To be eligible for the volunteering contribution certificate categories volunteers must have completed at least 5, 10, 15, 20 or 40 years of volunteering contribution.
For example, if a volunteer has contributed 7 years as a volunteer, they would receive the 5-year certificate. They can only receive this certificate once and would not be eligible to receive the 10-year certificate until they have completed a full 10 years of volunteering contribution.
Volunteers in these categories must be nominated by a volunteer involving organisation.
How to nominate
Volunteer involving organisations, schools, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award can nominate volunteers on The Centre for Volunteering website.
If your organisation or school is nominating more than 20 eligible volunteers, you can reach out to The Centre for Volunteering via email at recognition@volunteering.com.au to submit a bulk application.
You can find out more about eligibility, nominations and more in the Volunteer Recognition Program guidelines.