Wildlife Emergency Helpline: (03) 8400 7300

VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

Volunteer application process

  1. Please read the mission statement, vision statement and special conditions of the shelter (below)
  2. Fill out and submit the application form
  3. The shelter manager will contact you for a volunteer interview (by phone). Please note, it may take a few days for us to contact you.
  4. New workers will be emailed a welcome pack and links to our online induction training.

Mission Statement

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter was established to provide a safe haven for wildlife placed in danger or distress due to human activity within the Hepburn Shire and its surrounding areas.Our mission is to provide care and a voice for all wildlife, and to promote education and advocacy so humans under-stand their impact on the natural world, and how they can live harmoniously with wildlife.

Vision Statement

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter seeks to be an integral, if not central member of a healthy, durable and effective network of rescuers, shelters, vets and volunteers that rescue and care for wildlife in the greater Hepburn and Central Victoria regions.

Values

Compassion – We treat all wildlife with careful consideration of the fear and pain they endure when they are injured and/or orphaned. We work hard to provide comfortable recovery facilities for those who can recover from their injuries. Decisions to euthanise an animal, due to painful and unrecoverable injury, are informed by compassion and knowledge.

Knowledge – Assessing, treating and rehabilitating wildlife is multi-faceted and requires the expertise of different professions. We believe science, together with the well -considered experience of others, is key to building better treatments and providing the best outcomes for the rehabilitation of wildlife.

Support – The task of rescuing, caring for and rehabilitating wildlife is a very difficult one. We recognise the adverse mental health impacts on all wildlife care practitioners and believe in building healthy and durable regional networks.

Education – The future and safety of wildlife depends on a larger community and is integral to the care and successful rehabilitation outcomes for wildlife. We actively support the recognition of wildlife as our neighbours within this larger community. The successful integration of their needs, and that of the human community, requires promotion and education of the broader community and planning authorities.

Integrity – We strive to act with honesty, respect and accountability to the wildlife we seek to help, to the volunteers that help us every day, and to the community that supports us.

Special Conditions

Despite our residents being dependent on human carers for food and shelter, it is preferred that volunteers do not touch, pet or befriend the wildlife. Our residents are wild animals, not pets, and will benefit most from minimal human contact and conditioning prior to the release back into the wild.

Under the Pandemic Orders, volunteers aged 18 years and above are required to show evidence that they have received three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or have a valid proof of medical exemption, in order to work for the shelter. Volunteers aged between 12 years and 2 months and 18, will need to show evidence of two doses.

Kookaburra

Application Form

Covid vaccine

Agreement

2 + 4 =

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter
PO Box 133,
Daylesford,
Victoria, 3460
AUSTRALIA

info@hepburnwildlifeshelter.org

0409 380 327

Wildlife Emergency?

You can call the Wildlife Victoria emergency response line on (03) 8400 7300 between 6.40am and 7.30pm, 7 days a week.

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter is on Dja Dja Wurrung country