Being a BlazeAid Volunteer

It’s easy!

You don’t need any fencing experience, just a willingness to give it a go and learn on the job. You can volunteer for a day or two, or a week or more. Simply contact the Camp Coordinator a few days before you’re ready to come to the basecamp.
Fencing isn’t only “men’s work” and age is no barrier. Over one third of the previous BlazeAid volunteers – Black Saturday 2009 and Cyclone Yasi and Floods 2011 and 2012 – were ladies. Many of our long-term volunteers are in their 50s and 60s, with other volunteers aged from teens to their 80s.
Not all of the fencing involves heavy work. Many fences need to be cleared of debris before they can be stood up and rebuilt. For new fences, the wires need to be run through the holes in the posts, and posts need to be held in place while the sighting is done.
Volunteers must be aged 12 years and older, as our Volunteer Workers Insurance only covers volunteers aged 12 to 85 years. Any volunteers under the age of 18 years must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult. We are working on rural properties in challenging conditions, so please ensure any young volunteers are suited to this type of work.

Volunteers are working with wire and other debris, so please ensure that your Tetanus injection is up to date. Flies and mosquitoes will also be around, so make sure you bring insect repellent.

Volunteers are strongly advised to have Ambulance Cover when they come to the basecamps. We have Volunteer Insurance (not WorkCover) for incidents that occur while you are working. However, if you need an ambulance for any incident that isn’t covered by insurance, you could face a bill for thousands of dollars.

Please note that Volunteers who work for property owners outside of Blazeaid camps will NOT be covered under Blazeaid volunteer insurance.  You need to organise your own insurance or make sure you are covered under the property owners insurance.