The Australian government has been funding overseas volunteering for more than 60 years. The design of the next phase of Australian Government support for overseas volunteering (2017-2027) is based on lessons learned over the past investment in volunteer programs and will firmly align with Australia's aid policy. A Preliminary Draft Design was released on 6 June 2016 and feedback received from individuals and entities regarding the proposed design was incorporated during the final design processes.

The final Australian Volunteers Design is provided as information for industry. The Australian Volunteers program is part of Australia's people-to-people program portfolio. The Australian Volunteers program uses overseas volunteering, to connect Australians from all walks of life to Australia's Aid program and the region, and to contribute to other Australian government's development objectives.

Specifically, the program aims to achieve and be measured against the following End of Program Outcomes:

1. Partner Organisations (POs) are supported by Australia to achieve their development objectives;
2. Australian volunteers gain professionally and personally; and
3. the public and governments in Australia and overseas better appreciate the value of volunteering.

By successfully achieving these anticipated outcomes, the Australian Volunteers program aims to contribute to the following broader development and diplomacy goals:

• The Australian Government is achieving its development objectives;
• Australians becoming more globally literate and connected; and
• Australian aid being perceived positively in Australia and internationally.

The design proposes a five-year program, with scope for a five-year extension, depending on performance and results. The program will focus on increased partnerships and alignment with Australia's aid program priorities.

For planning purposes, the following should be noted:

• DFAT will be interested in tenderers' approaches to resourcing for effective delivery of the program; and
• DFAT will allow both individual entities and consortia to formulate proposals to deliver the program.

It is likely that DFAT will require a Contractor to provide management services for the new volunteer program. If approved, the proposed procurement will be listed on the AusTender website when it is released to market. This is expected to be in 2016.

• Australian Volunteers Design [PDF 1.55 MB]
• Australian Volunteers Design [Word 719 KB]

This information is provided for planning purposes only and it does not represent solicitation or constitute a request for proposal, nor is it a commitment to purchase or tender for any described services. The scale, scope and focus of any proposed program may change at any time and is subject to formal approval by the Australian Government before any procurement process will commence. Should a procurement commence, we anticipate commencing in 2016. This information is subject to delays, revision or cancellations.

Individuals/organisations submit, and DFAT receives, submissions on the understanding that the individual/organisation, owns the material and any intellectual property (IP) in the material, and grants to DFAT a permanent, irrevocable, royalty free worldwide, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, adapt and otherwise exploit such material or IP in conjunction with this notice. The licence granted includes the right for DFAT to sub-licence any material or IP to any of its employees, agents or contractors to use, reproduce, adapt and otherwise exploit the material or IP incorporated in the submission for the purposes of performing functions, responsibilities, activities or services for, or on behalf of, DFAT. DFAT may in its absolute discretion decide whether to use, reproduce, adapt and otherwise exploit such material or IP. The individual/organisation warrants that the submission of the material, for the purposes permitted by the submission conditions, will not infringe the moral rights of any person.