The NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards are an annual program aimed at recognising the incredible dedication, effort and community service of our state's volunteers, volunteer leaders and volunteer teams.

Award Categories:

There are seven categories for the Awards, these include:

• Young Volunteer: 24 years and under
• Adult Volunteer:  25 to 64 years
• Senior Volunteer:  65 years and over
• Volunteer Team:  Two individuals or over
• Emergency Volunteer:  An individual or teams volunteering in emergency prevention, preparation, response, or recovery efforts.
• Volunteer Leader:  A designated volunteer manager, a team of volunteer managers or a registered not-for-profit organisation
• Not-for-Profit Voluntary Governance Award:  An unpaid board of directors or individual board member, who exemplifies excellence in governance.

There are two types of recognition for the volunteers of NSW.

Nomination for Recognition:  This is the simplest way to acknowledge volunteers. These nominations will not be judged; however, the nominee will be invited to their local regional ceremony (if their personal email address is provided, not the organisation's or nominator's email address). The nominee will be presented with a certificate to acknowledge their contribution to the community. This nomination requires you to complete four parts of the nomination form only.

Nomination for Judging:  These nominees will be judged for the NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards in their appropriate category. This nomination requires nominators to complete six parts (parts 1 to 6), all of which must be completed to be accepted by the judging committee. To be included in Judging, the nominee's personal email address MUST be provided (ie. not the organisation's or nominator's email address). If this is not provided, the nomination will be moved into the Recognition section of the Awards.

All nominees must:

• have given their time willingly for the common good and without financial gain,
• Reside in NSW,
• Have given their time during the previous 11 months (July 2025 - May 2026) for a community group, legitimate not-for-profit organisation, or other entity which engages volunteers in a safe and legal manner such as schools or government agencies

Volunteers and Volunteer Managers are not permitted to nominate themselves.

• Phone: 02 9261 3600
• Email: award@volunteering.com.au