Volunteers make invaluable contributions to the Environment Defenders Office. Volunteering at the EDO offers people an opportunity to gain experience in public interest environment law.

Our volunteer programs are made up of solicitors, barristers, law students, other students concerned about environmental issues, secondary school students and retirees.

Professional volunteers

The EDO relies on lawyers and other professionals to assist in the areas of casework and advice, policy and law reform, and educational publishing. If you are interested in finding out more about the work of the EDO and how you could contribute, please contact us on (03) 8341 3100 or via email at edovic (at) edo (dot) org (dot) au.

Other volunteers

Volunteers answer the phones, undertake legal research, assist on casework and projects and carry out administrative tasks.

We run a number of volunteer programs for law students:

b) Volunteer Day Placement Program (March-November)
a) Internship Program (November-February; June-July)
c) Work Experience Program (school students)

a) Volunteer Placement Program

The Volunteer Placement Program begins in March. Volunteers work one full day per week.

Rosters are organised each semester. This program is very competitive so potential volunteers for each semester should submit their applications as soon as possible then update us with their availability once timetables are out. If a casual vacancy arises during semester, applications on file will be reviewed.

If you wish to apply for this program, print and complete the form below and send it to the address on the form together with your CV:
Day (Semester) Volunteer Application

b) Internship Program (Summer and Winter)

Volunteers work full-time for 2 consecutive weeks over the summer (between November and February) or over the winter break between semesters (June/July). Applications are accepted at any time for consideration in the next program. NB Applications for winter 2008 close 5pm Monday 19 May 2008.

Intern work includes assisting staff with casework, law reform and policy projects, and research and updating publications. An example of recent internship project work is the "Land and Biodiversity - a Call for Action" report, the outcome of a research project of the July 2007 interns (see Publications).

For more information about the 2008 Winter Internship program click here (PDF, 45KB).

If you wish to apply for this program, complete the form below (either by hand or electoronically in Word) and send it to the address on the form together with your CV:
Internship Application - paper (PDF; print and complete by hand)

Internship Application - electronic (Word form; download and save on your computer to complete electronically)

c) Work Experience

The EDO may accept a work experience secondary student. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Contact Mandy Johnson on 8341 3100 to discuss.

Don't get discouraged if our programs are full. Opportunities to volunteer do come up from time to time for different programs and projects, and if we have your CV on file, we can contact you to see if you are still available.