RSPCA QLD

As an animal welfare organisation, RSPCA Qld have a variety of different volunteer roles involving hands-on animal interaction.

These roles are incredibly rewarding, but be warned - keeping animals happy and healthy requires a lot of cleaning! It can be physically demanding, and we need assistance every day of the year - whether it's sunshine or rain, a public holiday or a weekday. Of course, it's not just cleaning; there's plenty of opportunities for enrichment activities too. 

Volunteer roles can involve working with:

• Domestic animals (dogs, cats, pocket pets, or farmyard) at one of our Animal Care Centres
• Domestic animals recovering from illness or medical procedures at the Domestic Hospital or clinic
• Wildlife animals recovering or rehabilitating in preparation for release to the wild, or to a wildlife carer for further rehabilitation

If you're keen to volunteer in an animal care role, please have a look at our current vacancies and submit an application.

There are many areas within the RSPCA where you can volunteer to make a difference in the lives of animals. RSPCA believes that education is the key to changing hearts, minds and behaviours across the community.

Community and Education roles include a variety of volunteer opportunities such as, assisting at community action days or delivering presentations to schools and community groups about responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.

Through these events, RSPCA aims to engage and inspire local communities to become socially conscious animal communities.

Examples of activities that you can get involved with are:

• Proactive People & Pets community activations, aiming to support animal welfare within communities
• Education visits (Schools and community)
• Community Fundraising events, from large events such as Million Paws Walk or Give to Get Them Home, or smaller events like bake sales or sausage sizzles

If you are interested in becoming a part of a team of passionate people making a proactive and positive difference in your community, please click one of the available roles below to join the team.

Together we change lives!

Foster carers provide temporary homes for animals in the care of RSPCA who may need respite from the shelter environment, support to recover from an illness or just extra TLC until they are ready to find their forever home.  

How do you become a foster carer?

• Fill in an Application Form so we can get to know you. 
• Complete our NEW 1 Hour online training.
• Take part in a quick 20 minute virtual property check.

What type of animals are available to foster?
Please review foster regions below for specific priority needs across the state

• Puppies and kittens that are too young for rehoming.
• Animals recovering from illness or injury before being available for adoption.
• Animals requiring behaviour support work.
• Animals that need a safe haven due to a Domestic Violence.
• Animals that have to be evacuated from an emergency situation e.g. floods, bushfires, cyclone.
• Home Ever After animals that are waiting for their owner to return from hospital or whose owner has passed away and are waiting to be rehomed.

Important things to think about when considering Fostering:

• The RSPCA will work hard to ensure they make the best foster matches for you, based on your current situation and the animals needs. Placing the right animal, with the right carer, in the right situation is our priority. 
• Being flexible with what animals you can open your home to, opens you to the most potential for placement.
• The Foster length greatly varies from animal to animal depending on their situation, in general most foster lengths are between 2 weeks and 6 months. 
• Foster carers must be over 18 and have access to a reliable vehicle/transport. 
• Landlord and Body Corporate approvals are required, which can take time to source.
• Current pets in your home must be up to date with vaccinations. 

To begin your application process, review the foster regions below. 

While there are a lot of volunteer roles at RSPCA Qld are focused on caring for the animals in our animal care centres, we have many other roles that help support us in the other areas of our organisation!

There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to help keep RSPCA Qld moving like a well-oiled machine, so that we can continue to care for the animals and provide vital services to the community. Some volunteer roles require specialised skill sets or interests, so if this sounds like you, please have a look at our current vacancies. 

Volunteers help us in areas such as the following:

• Marketing (e.g. graphic design, copywriting, photography)
• Call Centre and Customer Service
• Administration
• Fundraising

If you're keen to volunteer in a support volunteer role, please have a look at our current vacancies and submit an application.

Looking for an administrative volunteer role, and also passionate about Education? You might be interested in our Education Administration Assistant | Wacol role. Click here for more information!

Our Inspectorate & Rescue team provides critical support to RSPCA Qld in a variety of roles.

In 2022, there were 28,177 animals that were attended to by one of our Rescue Units. Around 77% of these involved our beautiful Australian wildlife, including native birds, possums, koalas, kangaroos and wallabies. 

If being out on the road and rescuing animals is appealing to you, the Rescue Unit Driver or Rescue Unit Assistant volunteer roles might suit you! These roles are also perfectly suited to people who want to volunteer together, such as teaming up with a friend or partner. 

If you're looking for an opportunity to volunteer from home, and you have great listening and typing skills, the Administration Assistant (Transcriber) role could be perfect for you. 

For all our current volunteering opportunities, please see the vacancies below.

As a not for profit organisation, we rely on the support of the community to be sustainable. Our Op Shops and World For Pets stores play an important role in contributing to the success of RSPCA Qld, helping us to raise 20% of our annual income.

Volunteer

If you have a passion for op shopping, fashion, retail, customer service, being an environmental warrior or helping animals in need, the RSPCA Op Shop team want you! 

Op Shop Assistants help with with customer service, point of sales operations, merchandising, sorting, and undertaking general op shop duties. In some of our shops we have cats and kittens that are available for adoption, so you may be able to help out caring for them while they wait for their furever home.

We also have Op Shop Driver Assistants who with with driving the RSPCA Op Shop truck, collecting donated items from the local area and delivering furniture to the customer once purchased. 

We may also have volunteers assisting in our World For Pets store, which can be a great way to learn new skills and gain work experience. 

Please see the current vacancies below!

Donate & Shop

Shopping at the range of Op Shops located around Queensland is a great way to find a bargain on clothing, household items, bric a brac, accessories and furniture,  while helping to raise much needed funds to help over 50,000 animals RSPCA Qld cares for each year. Click here to see our Op Shop locations. 

We happily accept most items provided they are suitable for resale in our Op Shops, in good working order, not broken, damaged, stained or torn.  

• New or pre-loved clothing, handbags, shoes, accessories, jewellery
• Good quality bric-a-brac and homewares
• Saleable quality books and pre-loved toys
• Dvds, Cds and vinyl records
• Saleable quality sporting goods
• Furniture (please note that only selected RSPCA Op shops can accept furniture items)

Due to health and safety reasons there are certain items we are unable to accept including: 

• Pillows and mattresses
• Opened toiletries and consumables
• Motorcycle and bicycle helmets
• High chairs, cots, baby capsules and prams without the Australian Standard.
• Any items that are broken or incomplete.

Due to our limited transferring resources we kindly request all animal goods be donated directly to your local RSPCA animal centre. 

If you're looking for quality pet supplies, we have our World For Pets stores, including the online shop! If you're looking to shop instore, please click here to view our shop locations.