Information and contact details of the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme
General Information
The Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) supports volunteers through a range of community volunteering organisations to form friendships with senior Australians, providing company and conversation to people who may not get many visitors. The ACVVS is a national scheme, with visits available to anyone receiving government-subsidised residential aged care or Home Care Packages who are socially isolated or lonely. This includes care recipients approved or on the National Priority System for residential or home care packages. The ACVVS has supported volunteer visits to older people for over 30 years.
Should you require further information about the Scheme, or wish to request a visit, please visit the Department of Health and Aged Care website. It is located at www.health.gov.au/our-work/aged-care-volunteer-visitors-scheme-acvvs. In addition, a webinar for aged care providers outlining the scheme and frequently asked questions can be found at: www.health.gov.au/our-work/aged-care-volunteer-visitors-scheme-acvvs/resources
You may also contact your ACVVS state or territory network member. Network members assist with managing referrals and matching volunteers to people receiving aged care services who have been nominated to receive a visit. Should you require any further assistance, please contact the ACVVS inbox at ACVVS@Health.gov.au
Matching Process, Language Spoken and Nature of Visits
Under the ACVVS, a compatible volunteer can be found depending on a number of care recipient preferences, including preferred language spoken. Volunteers are expected to act with integrity, honesty and transparency, and may receive training around the aged care system and service delivery to elderly people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.
Once matched, the care recipient will continue to receive visits from the same volunteer, provided both parties are willing for the relationship to continue. Visits to the care recipient will generally be approximately an hour’s duration at least once a fortnight, with the minimum requirement of 20 ACVVS visits per year. This time may be spent together in a variety of ways, dependent on the care recipient’s interest and capacity, such as to sit and chat, work on a hobby together, discuss the news, read a book or listen to music together. If the care recipient is able, they might take a walk or go on an outing.
Group Visits
ACVVS visits can take the form of:
- One-on-one in person volunteer visits to recipients of an Australian Government subsidised residential aged care.
- In person group visits from one or more volunteers to two or more consumers of Australian Government subsidised residential aged care at the same time, occurring in the residential aged care home.
Residential aged care providers are responsible for determining which care recipients who are not receiving one-on-one visits could benefit from a group visit. The group visits are an addition to, and must not replace, existing lifestyle programmed or structured activities.
Volunteering
Should you wish to request volunteer visits for a care recipient, you may do so by filling in the form located at Request an Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) visitor | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care