When Samaritan’s Purse responds to a disaster, we rely on volunteers like you to bring hope to hurting families.
Fill out the sign up form below.
By donating to Australian Disaster Relief, you are partnering with all of our relief efforts across the country. Click here to give a gift today.
The local church has an important role to play following a disaster. We work together to bring hope. Click here to find out more.
Search @SP_ANZ on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube to stay up to date with our relief work. Or browse our resources here.
Historic floods have devastated Western Queensland, leaving families, farmers, and entire communities facing immense loss. Homes have been inundated, livestock swept away, and critical infrastructure destroyed. Towns like Thargomindah are still cut off, with widespread damage.
Samaritan’s Purse is partnering directly with local churches and faith-based organisations familiar with the area to provide emergency food, water, and practical support like whitegoods, fencing repairs, and feed for livestock. We’re committed to walking alongside these communities, offering hope and care long after the waters recede.
Samaritan’s Purse Australian Disaster Relief team deployed to Ingham and Townsville in mid-February helping residents after the January floods. As the waters receded, we helped families clean their homes, remove mould, clear debris and begin to rebuild their lives.
After 4 weeks, volunteer teams completed work on Friday 14 March. We are thankful to the 92 volunteers who have given 4,632 hours, competing work on 115 flood-affected homes.
To learn more about our relief projects, how to get help or volunteering, contact us on 1300 884 468 (AUS) or 0800 726 274 (NZ), or email disasterrelief@samaritanspurse.org.au.
Volunteers assist homeowners with tasks such as possession recovery, mud-outs (after flooding), ash sifting (after fires), tree cutting, debris removal, yard cleaning, and more.
No, anyone can volunteer! We provide all the training that you need, then pair you with trained and experienced leaders to facilitate your volunteer experience.
Volunteers may be as young as 14 years, however all youth aged 14-17 require parental permission and must work alongside a parent, responsible group leader or legal guardian. Youth volunteers are also restricted from performing certain tasks due to safety reasons.
If youth-aged volunteers are serving with you, please notify Samaritan’s Purse Head Office in Australia to receive a copy of our policy, special instructions and other paperwork specific for youth.
Yes! We accept both individuals and groups for most of our projects.
If you would like to register a group to volunteer, please indicate this when you sign up and a Volunteer Coordinator will contact you. We welcome church, youth, school, organisation, corporate and other types of groups who wish to volunteer, however group numbers may be limited depending on the size of the project and worksite.
We encourage people to participate for at least one full-day to have the opportunity to get to know homeowners and fellow volunteers, however half-days are possible for local volunteers. Many of our volunteers participate from one to two weeks.
Yes, we typically will provide basic dorm-style accommodations at our host church base for volunteers who have registered through our Sydney office. Space may be limited per disaster site. You may need to bring a pillow, sleeping bag and air mattress or cot (if desired). Everything you need to bring will be outlined in an orientation package that you’ll receive before you depart.
You are responsible for your own transportation to the disaster response location and any incidentals during your stay. We take care of the accommodation, team meals and safety gear for you as you serve.
We cannot typically accommodate parking or hook-ups for caravans, however you are free to book in a caravan park at your own expense. Once you’ve signed up, a Volunteer Coordinator will be able to provide more information regarding accommodation options per site.
No, Samaritan’s Purse will provide all the tools you need. If you have tools you’d like to bring, please enquire beforehand.
We provide personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, safety glasses, etc. You will need to bring your own sturdy, closed-toe footwear or work boots. We also recommend hat, sun protection and long pants/sleeves.
The safety of our volunteers is important to us! All volunteers must complete a site safety induction prior to serving on any Samaritan’s Purse site which will include site safety rules, emergency procedures, and hazard mitigations while working. Volunteers will serve under a group team leader to provide additional safety oversight and instruction on the work site. Volunteers complying with safety requirements are insured for accidental injuries while serving with Samaritan’s Purse.
Most of the disaster clean-up activities require some basic level of physical mobility such as moving and lifting. However, there are non-physical support tasks that volunteers can also provide to serve disaster survivors and our team. If you have concerns about physical constraints limiting your ability to work, please share that with our team when you apply.
No, Australian Disaster Relief volunteer teams are only engaged directly following a major disaster event, or during the recovery and clean-up process for 1-3 months following a disaster.
Current volunteer opportunities will be displayed on this site when available. We recommend signing up for our Volunteer Alerts to be notified by Samaritan’s Purse when disaster relief opportunities become available.
Notifications
