Volunteering Australia Staff Made Redundant in Major Restructure

The country’s peak volunteering body, Volunteering Australia, will close the doors of its Melbourne office at the end of June with all staff including the CEO Cary Pedicini being made redundant.

The closure is part of a major structuring of Volunteering Australia by its Board which will see its operations move to Canberra with a new and smaller tream.

A communique from the Board says it has now made transition arrangements following the recent decision to re-locate the administrative headquarters for the organisation from Melbourne to Canberra, ACT.

The Board has confirmed that the decision means that all seven current staff members (and volunteers) of Volunteering Australia including its CEO Cary Pedicini will be leaving the organisation at the end of June.

Board President Paul Lynch says the transition to Canberra will allow VA to work more closely with the Australian Government as they jointly introduce initiatives to support the recently released National Volunteering Strategy.

“The strategy has re-affirmed the importance of having a strong national body to represent the interests of volunteers and volunteer involving organisations at a time of significant change in the sector,” Lynch said.

The transition will commence with the closure of the Melbourne office on Friday 29 June.

The Board has formally acknowledged the contribution of Cary Pedicini and his team to the advancement of volunteering issues and volunteering infrastructure with some team members having over 10 years experience.

Lynch says Volunteering Australia has received and accepted an offer of accommodation from one of its Foundation Members in Volunteering ACT.

Recruitment of a new executive officer and administrative staff in Canberra will commence within the next month with a view to being fully operational by the end of August.

A spokesperson for the staff says they were all given the opportunity to move to Canberra but they did not take up the offer due to their strong Melbourne ties.

This move comes at a time when Volunteering Australia is undertaking a major review of its governance and institutional arrangements as well as major funding changes for State volunteering bodies.

The Federal Government undertook a series of consultations during the development of the National Volunteering Strategy and a review in late 2011 of the Volunteer Management Program (VMP).

In February 2012, an updated funding model was proposed for the VMP to support the implementation of the Strategy. Under the funding arrangements, funding for Volunteering Australia and State and Territory peak bodies were to be amalgamated into a new National Project Fund.

After the release of the proposed funding model, stakeholders raised a number of concerns about the impact of the changes.

In response, the Minister for Social Inclusion, Mark Butler, decided to defer the implementation of a new funding model, while the Government consulted further with the volunteering sector and State and Territory governments on new program arrangements.

The Government has agreed that while consultations are underway, organisations currently funded under the Volunteer Management Program will be offered new funding agreements.

• Regional Volunteer Resource Centres will be offered three-year funding agreements, from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2015.
• Metropolitan Volunteer Resource Centres will be offered two-year funding agreements, from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014.
• Volunteering Australia, and state and territory volunteering peak bodies will be offered two-year funding agreements, from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014.
• New funding agreements will seek to support the implementation of the National Volunteering Strategy by aligning the outcomes and performance indicators with the Strategy’s priority areas.