Advocacy in Action

Advocacy in Action: Parks Victoria Volunteer Manual

Behind the scenes, VEFN committee members have been working on your behalf to address key issues in the Parks Victoria Volunteer Manual which was released in April 2021.

Many Friend groups raised concerns about the additional administrative burden placed on volunteers with the requirement to register all volunteers on Parks Connect irrespective of their relationship or involvement with the Group’s activities, the timeliness and functionality of Parks Connect and the requirement for all volunteers to have a Working with Children’s Check, irrespective of their role or involvement of children in activities.

There have been many meetings, letters and discussions since April 2021 which you can read about it here. The VEFN has requested Parks Victoria to arrange regional workshops for consultation led by an independent facilitator to address the practical implementation of the manual and to find ways to reduce the administrative burden with processes and resources for implementing solutions in a timely and effective manner.

We encourage your group if not already a member, to join the VEFN ($20 annual fee) to support our work addressing this issue as well as supporting, promoting and advocating for Friend Groups across Victoria. For more information, contact the Parks Victoria Subcommittee via Paul Strickland paul_strickland@hotmail.com.