Become a volunteer
Become a Volunteer Tutor and help a new arrival feel at home.
Settling into a new country isn’t easy and unfamiliarity with our language and customs can be isolating. As a Volunteer Tutor you can completely change a new migrant or refugee’s experience, helping them to become more independent and comfortable with the Australian way of life.
There are benefits for you too. You’ll make new friends and learn about other cultures and traditions. Best of all, you’ll know that you’ve made a lasting contribution.
The AMEP helps new migrants and refugees to learn English and settle in.
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), funded by the Australian Government, provides English language tuition to help new migrants and refugees learn basic English language and settlement skills so that they can participate socially and economically in our community.
Being a Volunteer Tutor isn’t complicated.
As a Volunteer Tutor, you’ll meet with your student for at least an hour a week, at their home or somewhere like a local library or community centre. These regular meetings are informal, friendly and at a pace you’re both comfortable with.
You can be a volunteer without previous tutoring experience.
You don’t need teaching experience to be a Volunteer Tutor. We’ll provide free training that gives you all the skills you need to assist someone to learn English on a one-to-one basis. If you can share your written and spoken English skills, have empathy and a willingness to help people from other cultures, you can be a Volunteer Tutor.
Our students are new arrivals from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Our students are new to Australia and their English skills differ. They choose Volunteer Tutoring because they can’t attend formal classes due to family or work commitments, geographical isolation, age or other barriers. We assess their English levels and goals before you meet, to make sure that your learning sessions suit the student’s needs.
We provide the training; it becomes second nature in no time.
We provide flexible training that you can complete at your own pace, giving you all the skills you need. Completing every component of the course will allow you to respond to your student’s requirements.
You can be a volunteer even if you work full time.
We’re flexible with times. You just need to let us know when you’re available – weekdays or weekends, mornings, afternoons or evenings. Then we’ll match you with a student who has the same availability. We’ll also try to match you with students in the same area so you don’t have to travel far. You don’t need to have a car.
“The enjoyable part of doing this work is the fact that you are appreciated”
– John
We find you the perfect match.
We contact students to do a language and learning needs assessment before your first meeting. Then we match volunteers with students by locality so that you don’t have to travel far.
Your commitment can be as little as six months.
Let’s talk about what suits.
While we’d like you to commit to at least six months so that our students have continuity in their learning, we’re happy to chat about what works for you.
With our support, you’re never alone.
Our experienced professionals are on hand to answer every question you might have – over the phone, by email or in person. We send out regular emails, hold morning and afternoon teas and organise tutor support workshops. Each year we host a social event so that you and your student can meet and enjoy the company of other tutors and students.