The 2026 Victorian Volunteering Awards recognise and celebrate the impact and importance of volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations in building resilient communities, services and connections across Victoria.

Showcasing excellence by individuals and organisations, the Awards are run by Volunteering Victoria with the support of the Victorian State Government.

Award categories:

• Individual Awards
  • Young Volunteer Award
  • Volunteer Commitment Award
  • Volunteer Leadership Award
  • Volunteer Impact Award
• Organisations Awards
  • Inclusive Volunteering Award
  • Volunteering Partnerships Award
  • Volunteering Innovation Award
  • Grassroots Volunteering Award

Eligibility

• Members of the judging panel, employees and contractors of Volunteering Victoria or the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing as well as their immediate families, are ineligible to be a nominator or a nominee. 
• Completed nominations must be received before 4.00pm Wednesday 27 May 2026. Nominations received outside these times will not be considered for the Awards and no responsibility will be accepted by Volunteering Victoria for early, lost, late, incomplete or incorrectly submitted nominations.
• A separate online nomination form must be completed for each nominee. A nominator may only submit one entry per nominee.
• All nominations and materials submitted to Volunteering Victoria in connection with the Awards will become the property of Volunteering Victoria and will not be returned.

Individual volunteers 

• Individual nominees must be living Australian residents (temporary or permanent) and currently residing in Victoria who, during the period 17 March 2025 to 16 March 2026 (inclusive), have undertaken, or are currently undertaking, voluntary work or activities in Victoria.
• The individual nominee’s work or activity must satisfy Volunteering Australia’s definition of volunteering, being “time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain”
• An individual nominee cannot nominate themselves.

Volunteering organisations 

• Organisation nominees must be an incorporated not-for-profit entity that delivers volunteer-involving programs in Victoria and, during the period 17 March 2025 to 16 March 2026 (inclusive), have delivered, or are currently delivering, the program, service or activity identified in the nomination. 
• A member of the organisation may submit the nomination. The nominator and the organisation’s primary contact cannot be the same person.

• Phone: 03 9052 4524
• Email: awards@volunteeringvictoria.org.au