Volunteer with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
Volunteering for Guide Dogs gives you a strong sense of pride and the satisfaction of making a real difference in the lives of people with low vision or blindness.
Get involved in volunteering for Guide Dogs
There are many meaningful ways to volunteer with Guide Dogs, and every role helps us empower people with low vision or blindness to live the life they choose. From puppy raising a life-changing Guide Dog to providing event or administrative support, volunteering for Guide Dogs gives you the chance to make a real impact in a way that suits your skills, lifestyle and interests.
Get involved in volunteering for Guide Dogs.
Volunteer at the Guide Dogs Centre
There are many ways to get involved at the Guide Dogs Centre, from administrative tasks to keeping our kennels clean and tidy.
Home Boarding
Are you looking for a temporary housemate who’s committed, courteous, a positive influence in the community, and… very well toilet trained? You might be a perfect candidate for the Home Boarding Program!
Puppy Raising Guide Dogs
Being a Puppy Raiser is a vital volunteer role at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. Puppy raising and training a Labrador pup to one day become a life-changing Guide Dog is an amazing experience that is incredibly rewarding for the whole family and helps change the life of a person with low vision or blindness.
Home Whelping
Provide a warm, loving home for specially selected breeding dogs to live in while they help bring the next generation of Guide Dog puppies into the world.
Administrative and event support
This group of volunteers assist teams and departments across the organisation in a variety of roles.
Strategic and skilled
Skilled volunteers provide expertise and guidance to help shape and govern our organisation to ensure we perform at the highest level for our Clients.
"It’s a chance to give back to the community and change someone’s life. Whether the pup becomes a Guide Dog or a Therapy Dog, it’s a special feeling knowing they will be life-changing for their Handler."
— Margaret, volunteer Puppy Raiser.
Check out current volunteer opportunities.
As a Guide Dogs volunteer, you’ll discover new skills and experiences, all while helping to change the lives of people with low vision or blindness. Guide Dogs volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation, and we could not do what we do without your time, care, expertise and selfless support.
Our volunteer program enables us to work towards a world that is inclusive and accessible for everyone with low vision or blindness. Read more about our mission in the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Volunteer Strategy.
Volunteer for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT today
Scroll down to check out our current Guide Dogs volunteering opportunities.
We regularly update this page with new roles, so please visit often. To learn more about each opportunity, click the 'View Role Opportunity' button to read the role details and decide if it’s the right fit for you.
You must be 18 years or older to register and volunteer with Guide Dogs. We also run background checks on all our volunteer applicants.
We use Rosterfy as our Volunteer Management System. If you're already registered, you can sign in to Rosterfy here. If you're new to volunteering for Guide Dogs, no problem, you can easily create an account when you apply for a role.
About Guide Dogs volunteers
We currently have 849 volunteers across our organisation, including:
130 community and fundraising.
20 Strategic and Skilled.
16 Administration and Events.
683 Dog Services and Supports of which:
281 Puppy Raisers.
124 Temporary carers.
119 Home Whelpers.
91 Guide Dogs Centre.
68 NSW and ACT Court programs.
"It is so much fun driving him around. I have an immense feeling of joy when I drive Gulliver and see the smiles on people’s faces when he passes by. Everything about Guide Dogs manifests in Gulliver and I love to educate people about low vision or blindness when they ask me about him."
— Paul, Volunteer.
Guide Dogs volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation.
Guide Dogs volunteers are the lifeblood of our organisation.
Thank you to our incredible volunteers.
At a strategic level, our Board of Directors and members of our Customer Advisory Panel provide expertise and guidance to help shape and govern the organisation.
At an operational level, our volunteers support us with fundraising, marketing, advocacy, administration, transport, gardening, maintenance, events and all things dog-related! They assist us in all facets of our Dog Services, including breeding, kennel cleaning, feeding, walking, grooming, temporary caring and, of course, puppy raising.
To continue ensuring best practice of our volunteer program, we are proud to continue our membership with The Centre for Volunteering. This allows our team to attend upcoming events, professional development workshops and training to provide our volunteers with a seamless experience.
Check out our volunteers in action!
Meet Allysia: A Puppy Raiser’s volunteering story
Allysia never imagined that a simple question from a student would change her life. While working at a boarding school on Sydney’s North Shore in 2005, a student researching a Guide Dogs NSW/ACT project came across puppy raising and asked, “Why can’t we do this here?”
“I didn’t have a good enough excuse to say no,” says Allysia. “I’m a country girl, and I missed my animals more than my family when I was a boarder.”
Allysia’s school became only the second in NSW to have a dog on campus—well before the therapeutic benefits of dogs in schools were widely recognised. Now, 18 life-changing Labrador pups later, Allysia is still volunteering with Guide Dogs as a Puppy Raiser.
Volunteer for Guide Dogs FAQs
Whether you’re thinking about volunteering for Guide Dogs or simply exploring your options, you’ll find quick answers to frequently asked questions below.
Anyone aged 18 years and over who is passionate about making a difference can apply to volunteer with Guide Dogs. We welcome people from all walks of life, with or without prior volunteer experience.
You can view available Guide Dogs volunteer roles and submit your application online through our Volunteer Portal, Rosterfy. Once we receive your application, our Volunteer Team will be in touch about the next steps.
Each role has its own requirements, which will be outlined in the role description. Many roles simply require a positive attitude, reliability, and a willingness to learn.
Commitment levels vary by role. Some opportunities are short-term or event-based, while others (like puppy raising) require daily involvement over a longer period. We’ll discuss what suits you best during the onboarding process.
Absolutely! All volunteers receive appropriate induction and training for their role, along with ongoing support from our Volunteer Team and staff across the organisation.
Yes. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is committed to inclusion and accessibility. We’ll work with you to find a role that matches your skills, interests, and access requirements.
We occasionally offer student and corporate volunteering opportunities with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT depending on capacity and project availability. Please get in touch with our Volunteer Team to discuss current options.
Volunteers play an essential role in helping us support people with blindness or low vision to live independently. Every volunteer contributes to our mission, whether through hands-on dog care, community education, or behind-the-scenes support.
Read more about our Volunteers
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