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Australian Red Cross

Red Cross has been responding to emergencies in Australia and providing humanitarian assistance since 1914. Our long-standing commitment to emergency services, capacity building and diverse experience places us at the forefront of assisting, particularly the most vulnerable people within our communities.

What We Do

Red Cross supports communities, particularly the most vulnerable people, to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

Red Cross has extensive experience and capacity in emergency preparedness, response and recovery in Australia and around the world.

Placing people at the heart of our work, we help to create resilient communities by planning for emergencies, responding when they happen and assisting with longer term recovery.

Our Volunteers

In Tasmania, our Emergency Services team is a group of experienced, committed and passionate people who help create policies, organise resources and deliver training, and take on key roles managing Red Cross services when disaster strikes.

We draw upon the resources of national programs, international programs, and the support services to deliver our emergency services.

Red Cross is well placed to respond quickly to emergencies, using our wide network of trained, skilled volunteers – but don't wait for a disaster to happen before you consider joining us.

Benefits of Volunteering

Expands your skills and experience and increases your employability.

If you are considering further education, volunteering could be a great way to put your chosen career into context and give you some on the job experience.

Volunteering allows you to meet new people and build friendships ... and to give back to the community.

If you are recently retired or no longer working it's a great way to fill in some of your newly found spare time.

Responding to Community Needs

During an emergency response, Red Cross focuses on individuals and ensures people are treated with dignity and that their basic human needs are met.

Red Cross reconnects families and loved ones separated by an emergency through the National Register.Find.Reunite. System.

Our people work in the field at formal support centres and in door to door outreach, to provide one on one personal support while helping people to deal with their immediate shelter, food and information needs.

Our volunteers can also work in the Tasmanian or interstate Incident Management Teams, coordinating the planning, logistics and operations involved in mobilising a large scale volunteer response.

Disaster Response

If you joined up before the recent bushfire disaster, you could have been one of the 150 people helping deal with the aftermath of the Tasmanian bushfires, supporting over 3,000 people who were affected.

You could have been one of the 100 plus Red Cross volunteers and staff registering 1,850 people who were evacuated due to the devastating bushfires on the Tasman Peninsula in January 2013.

You could have provided personal support for bushfire affected people, who need someone to speak to about the enormous impact of the fires.

As a Red Cross volunteer you could have been part of one of the teams that collectively visited 442 homes to provide personal support to those most affected.

Becoming a Red Cross Emergency Services Volunteer

Red Cross Emergency Services cannot deploy people joining at the time of an emergency. As with all skilled volunteering, checks and training have to first occur and there is usually not the time or resources to do this while the emergency is happening.

When vacancies occur in any of the Emergency Services teams, they are advertised on the Australian Red Cross Job Opportunities webpage 

If you, or someone you know, would like more information about the Red Cross Emergency Services program:

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Legal and acknowledgement information

Tasmanian Government Australian Government Volunteering Tasmania - Do what you love Emergency Volunteering

An initiative of Tasmania’s emergency service agencies and Volunteering Tasmania with assistance from the Tasmanian Government and the Australian Government Attorney General’s Department.

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