Volunteering with the RSPCA QLD

What to expect

This rewarding volunteer role would suit applicants who are passionate about Australia’s native wildlife and are committed to improving their welfare; people who wish to experience hands-on work with native animals and want to learn about the care and health requirements for future work in the industry.  This is a great opportunity for people who want to help the RSPCA rehabilitate animals and send them back to their natural habitat. You will be outside in winter and summer weather and sometimes driving in the challenging conditions Queensland can offer, but the reward is knowing you are making a difference to the quality of life of all the native animals in our care. Applicants must be over 25 years old.

What are the benefits?

• Opportunity to gain new skills and learn about our Australian wildlife
• Increased awareness of our native wildlife and the issues they face
• Native animal handling and identification skills
• Becoming part of a friendly new community

What are the tasks?

The position involves transporting wildlife patients as required and includes:

• Significant driving around the greater Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine coast area, using an RSPCA vehicle.
• Collecting and transporting animals from vet clinics back to the Wacol wildlife hospital, or delivering animals to vet clinics for collection by carers.
• Releasing wildlife 
• Liaising with registered wildlife carers and delivering animals along with the relevant paperwork and medications to them.
• Educating members of the public about wildlife species when releasing them or when generally interacting with the public at the wildlife hospital.
• In between driving jobs if required, assist with sweeping and mopping floors, removing rubbish, washing animals’ water and food bowls, replacing food and water.
• Transferring animals between Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, Australia Zoo and the RSPCA Wildlife Hospital
• Communication with RSPCA Wildlife Hospital Staff
• Taking bins full of soiled linen/towels/bedding to the laundry and collecting clean bedding/towels etc to take back to the hospital.
• Undertake general laundry duties as part of each shift, including loading dirty laundry into the machines, loading and/or taking clean washing out of the dryers, and folding all clean items.

What skills and characteristics do I need?

• Confidence in working with a variety of animals, including reptiles
• Willingness to learn, wildlife knowledge or experience an advantage
• A clean driver’s licence is required, and the ability to use GPS to navigate to unfamiliar places
• Be physically fit (able to lift 10kg) and comfortable in a wide variety of outdoor situations
• Attention to detail and able to accurately follow instructions
• Enjoy working in a team environment
• Able to be flexible and adaptable
• Excellent communication skills

When can I volunteer?

We currently have the below vacancies:

• Friday: 12pm-4pm or 1pm-5pm
• Saturday:4pm-8pm
• Sunday: 8am-12pm or 1pm-5pm

Please be aware that due to the nature of this role we ask you to be flexible to an extent with your shift time – it can be difficult to judge the length of a particular trip due to changeable traffic or weather conditions. We request a minimum commitment of 1 x four hour shift per week for a minimum of 3 months.  Orientation and animal training will be provided.

PLEASE NOTE: It is a requirement that before handling animals at the RSPCA you have an up-to-date Tetanus vaccination.

If you are ready to join the RSPCA Qld team, please click "Fill in an application" above. For further information, please contact us at volunteering@rspcaqld.org.au

What to expect

This rewarding role would suit applicants who are passionate about Australian wildlife and dedicated to improving their welfare, who are outgoing and enjoy meeting new people, and have great computer and administration skills.  In this role you will provide vital help to all creatures great and small by being the ‘face’ of the RSPCA Wildlife Hospital, greeting people as they bring animals in, entering critical data onto the RSPCA systems, answering telephone calls from wildlife carers, local vet surgeries and other RSPCA departments, and other general administrative tasks as required.

Please note: In this role, you will be the first point of call for members of the public, staff and volunteers bringing in injured or deceased wildlife.  As such you will need to possess a certain level of resilience when handling these situations.

What are the benefits?

• Opportunity to gain skills and experience with various administration responsibilities and further develop your customer service skills
• Experience in the day to day operations of a busy Wildlife veterinary clinic, including the opportunity to get an up-close look at a wide range of species from common animals to endangered species
• Learning more about Australian wildlife, including learning species ID techniques and natural behaviours
• Being part of a team of enthusiastic, hardworking individuals who will support you in learning new skills

What are the tasks?

• Greeting members of the public and registered wildlife carers as they bring animals into the hospital
• Recording the details of incoming and outgoing animals
• Assisting staff with animal handling as required
• Ensuring the reception waiting area and consult rooms are kept clean and tidy at all times
• Liaising with wildlife carers regarding the placement of injured/juvenile animals, birds and reptiles
• Answering general telephone enquiries from wildlife carers
• Other data entry tasks and general duties as required
• Assisting in other areas of the hospital if reception tasks are up to date

What skills and characteristics do I need?

• Reception volunteers must be over 18 years of age
• Excellent communication and customer service skills
  Confident, friendly nature and positive in meeting new people and making them feel welcome
• Prepared to be involved in some delicate and sometimes challenging situations
  Reliable, with the ability to work independently, take initiative and multitask
• Computer literate with a good knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
  Willingness to learn handling techniques and housing requirements for incoming animals

When can I volunteer?

We currently have the below shifts available only:

• Thursday: 4pm-8pm or 5pm-10pm
• Friday: 4pm-8pm or 5pm-10pm
• Saturday: 12:30pm-5pm
• Sunday: 4pm-8pm or 5pm-10pm

Orientation and animal training will be required.

PLEASE NOTE: It is a requirement that before handling animals at the RSPCA you have an up to date Tetanus vaccination.

If you are ready to join the RSPCA Qld team, please click "Fill in an application" above. For further information, please contact us at volunteering@rspcaqld.org.au

What to expect

There are a number of vacancies available in our busy Wildlife Hospital with various shifts across week days and weekends.  This position would suit applicants that have an interest in our native wildlife and a commitment to learn about the daily care required for them; are dedicated to improving their welfare and would like to gain exposure to a native animal hospital environment. Applicants will be involved with cleaning and the daily care of native wildlife (eg birds, possums, lizards and turtles) that are currently in care. In line with wild animal rehabilitation practices, please note that handling of wildlife will be minimal.

These can be challenging roles as you may be faced with situations where animals are sick, uncomfortable or in pain.  You might feel emotional about the animals you’re working with and may find this difficult, but ultimately the reward is that you’re making a huge, positive difference to their lives – and yours!

Please note: we are unable to offer placements for Vet nursing students; please contact your course provider.

What are the benefits?

• Close encounters with native Australian wildlife!
• Learning about native wildlife and domestic bird care and husbandry
• Opportunity to gain new skills and learn about the vet care industry
• Becoming part of a friendly new community

What are the tasks?

• Providing enrichment for domestic birds
• The daily cleaning of animal enclosures which involves removing used leaf and food, plus soiled newspaper and towels, and replacing with fresh supplies
• Assist with stock control and re-stocking of supplies where appropriate.
• Sweeping and mopping floors, removing rubbish, washing animals’ water and food bowls, replacing food and water.
• Hygiene control – this is critical as a shelter environment is a high-risk area for diseases, some of which are communicable to humans or your own pets.  This means ensuring appropriate sanitisation and hand-washing after handling animals or enclosures, use of appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) such as gloves, gowns, etc, to prevent disease and avoid cross contamination.  
• Assistance with ensuring the hosptial environment and reception area is presentable, and general tidying up.
• Taking bins of soiled towels to the laundry and collecting clean towels etc to take back to your area.
• Undertake general laundry duties as part of each shift, including loading dirty laundry into the machines, loading and/or taking clean washing out of the dryers, and folding all clean items.
• Occasional minimal animal handling involved 

What skills and characteristics do I need?

• Confidence in working with animals
• Resilience – you will see and be required to care for animals with various illnesses or injuries and this can be confronting and upsetting
• Be able to work independently
• Be physically fit (able to lift 10kg) and able to stand for long periods
• Attention to detail and able to accurately follow instructions
• Enjoy working in a team environment
• Excellent communication skills
• Hard working and committed to the RSPCA

When can I volunteer?

• We currently have the following vacancies:
  • Tuesday - 12pm-4pm
  • Friday - 12pm-4pm
  • Saturday - 12pm-4pm
  • Sunday - 12pm-4pm
• Orientation and animal training will be provided.

If you could please specify in your application which shift you would ideally like to have, that would be much appreciated. 

PLEASE NOTE: It is a requirement that before handling animals at the RSPCA you have an up to date Tetanus vaccination.

If you are ready to join the RSPCA Qld team, please click "Fill in an application" above. For further information, please contact us at volunteering@rspcaqld.org.au