Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme

More than just making a difference

Older people deserve every opportunity to socially connect, however ageing can impose barriers that impact an individual’s social connections, opening the door to social isolation and for some, experiences of loneliness.

Here at Council, we are looking to address this disconnection and are looking for volunteers in community to enrich those ageing in community with social connections.

  • Do you feel you might enjoy the satisfaction of making a difference to the wellbeing and happiness of an older person in our community?
  • Could you make time for a regular visit to someone in an Aged Care Facility or their own home?
  • Could companionship make a difference in your life, or do you know of someone in a residential aged care home or on a Home Care Package that could benefit from a visitor?

About Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme (ACVVS)

The ACVVS provides connections and companionship to those feeling isolated or lonely.

It is a free service available for aged care residential or Home Care Package recipients.

Volunteers are matched to a recipient with similar interest and can be:

  • one-on-one or group visits to residential aged care homes 
  • one-on-one visits to people receiving Home Care Packages. 

ACVVS is designed to connect with those who:

  • may feel socially isolated, including if they belong to a diverse, complex vulnerability or cultural group
  • do not have regular and reasonable frequent positive and engaged contact with friends or relatives
  • feel isolated and lonely
  • have frailty, mobility or communication impairment that prevents them from participating in social or leisure opportunities
  • do not participate in social support group services funded by a Commonwealth subsidised aged care program.

The Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Team is responsible for promoting the priorities of PARTICIPATE, Council’s Positive Ageing Plan 2020 – 2025. The ACVVS team works with our volunteers to support, supervise and coordinate the volunteering program.

High-quality social connections are essential to our mental and physical health and our wellbeing. Social isolation and loneliness are important, yet neglected, social determinants of the health of older people.

The Australian Government fund organisations like Macedon Ranges Shire Council to: 

  • recruit, train and support volunteer visitors 
  • conduct police checks for volunteers 
  • match volunteers to older people receiving aged care 
  • support the relationships that form between the volunteers and the people they visit. 

Become a Volunteer Visitor

Becoming an aged care volunteer visitor can be a rewarding and life-changing experience. Not only are you giving back to your community but you are making a positive impact on the lives of those who need it.

You will:

  • make a friend while reducing someone’s lonelyness
  • share ideas and stories with someone who has many of their own.
  • Provide someone with an opportunity to have a chat with a friendly face who has similar interests.

Volunteers usually visit for an hour once a fortnight, at a time that suits both the volunteer and the person receiving aged care services. Volunteers can visit the older person in:

  • their own home
  • their aged care home

People receiving aged care services come from all different social and cultural backgrounds. We encourage volunteers from all social and cultural backgrounds to join the program.

  1. Complete Volunteer Application form(DOCX, 230KB) / Volunteer Application form(PDF, 248KB)
  2. Email the form to Community Connections Unit, Aged Care Volunteer Visiting Scheme Team at VolunteerVisiting@mrsc.vic.gov.au or drop it into a Council customer service centre in Gisborne, Kyneton, Romsey or Woodend.
  3. The ACVVS team will contact you and provide you with the next steps into your volunteering journey with Council.

Request a Visitor

Free visits are available to anyone who receives government-subsidised residential aged care or Home Care Packages, including care recipients approved or on the National Priority System for residential and Home Care Packages (HCP).

Anyone can refer an eligible care recipient. The recipients of ACVVS may referred through the Aged Care Assessment, Aged Care Specialist Officers, Care Finders, by their aged care provider, a family member or friend, or may have self-identified as a person who is socially isolated and would benefit from volunteer visits.  

For more information, email our Community Connections Volunteer Visiting Team at VolunteerVisiting@mrsc.vic.gov.au or call (03) 5422 0333

Funded by the Australian Government.

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