Key points
- Every state and territory has its own Emergency Service
- Volunteers get trained once they joined the SES
- It's a great way to give back to your local community
Every jurisdiction in Australia has its own State or Territory Emergency Service.
However, the State Emergency Service (SES) is the name used by a number of organisations across Australia that provide assistance during and after major incidents.
Specifically, the service deals with natural disasters such as floods, storms and tsunamis, but can also assist in other emergencies, such as vertical rescue, road crash rescues, missing persons searches, and medical evacuations.
The SES may also provide support to other agencies, particularly to the police and fire agencies.
Preparing and responding to disasters
Priscilla Grimme is the Volunteer Support Officer at the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES).
She says VICSES helps prepare communities for disasters and then respond when a disaster occurs.
We are the control agency for floods, storm, earthquake, landslide, and tsunami, but our everyday jobs are storm damage jobs: trees on houses, on cars, on roads.
Mrs Grimms says often VICSES members undertake emergency temporary repairs.
"For example, if a tree goes through a roof, we'll top it up and put some sand bags and things like that on the roof to make the property safe," she said.
"It's really a temporary fix until the homeowner can organise a roofer or a plumber to come and do the final fixes as such to get it back into working order".
Manager Volunteer Strategy at NSW SES Andrew McCullough says volunteers are the lifeblood of the state’s Emergency Service.
SES workers try to remove an enormous tree out of the top storey of a house in Wahroonga in Sydney, on December 4, 2001. Source: AAP Image/Laura Friezer
The SES is 99% made up of volunteers. So we have close to 10,000 volunteers across New South Wales that are ready to respond to help their communities 24/7.
"We have a small contingent of staff — around 250 staff. The majority of our people are unpaid volunteers. [Without them] we wouldn't have the agency we do, and in Australia we really rely on volunteers to do a lot of this emergency management type of work. It’s really important".
Operational and non-operational roles
Volunteers do a wide range of activities across the emergency management spectrum.
Mrs Grimme says there are operational and non-operational members.
"Our country units are always looking for new volunteers. Even if you think that maybe it's not for you getting on a roof and cutting up a tree, there are always roles back at the unit," said Mrs Grimme,
"We always need a finance person, we always need administrative staff. We need people who are happy to go and engage with the community and talk to local schools about making a property safe for storms and floods," she added.
Training and skills
Volunteers get trained once they joined the SES, but it’s really important that they can work as part of a team to solve problems, says Mrs Grimme.
"You need to be community-minded; that's really important," she said.
The common theme with all our volunteers is they want to help people in a time of need and you do have to be fit and healthy.
"Some of the jobs that we do can be a bit vigorous, like walking into bush lands, looking for missing people, beach walks, things like that, but you'll receive all the training that you require before we send you out in the field".
For example, to volunteer for VICSES, all applicants will first go through a to ensure they understand the role and can meet the time commitments required for training and performing volunteer duties.
Mr McCullough says when he joined the SES to volunteer about 11 years ago he was studying at university at the time and really had no specific skills that the SES required.
A supplied photo of a Brisbane SES team practicing car crash rescue operations at the state road rescue challenge in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008. Source: AAP Image/SES, Allan Briggs
"I’ve learned how to operate a chainsaw and how to use the jaws of life or those tools that you see it at major road crashes," he said.
"The key skills we can teach around first aid and basic rescue training. And we also teach the fundamentals of using storm water equipment."
Who can join?
According to NSW SES, non-Australian citizens who hold a temporary visa can volunteer depending on the type of visa held.
In general, if a person's visa allows them to do paid work, then they can volunteer. Visa holders can check their visa details and conditions online at the .
Volunteers can join the NSW SES at ages 16 and 17 but must complete a at the time of joining.
Volunteers aged under 18 can still participate in most NSW SES activities but cannot attend incidents which may involve trauma, such as .
has a list of prerequisites for applicant which ranges from being "enthusiastic, adventurous, and willing to give back to your community," to "applicants over the age of 18 must undergo a Criminal History Check"
You will need to check with the SES in your State or Territory about specific requirements (see the website list below).
People from CALD background encouraged to join
Mr McCullough says the NSW SES values having volunteers from an ethnic background who can speak a language other than English.
"Our communities in New South Wales are really diverse and we aim that our SES units reflect that, so we make sure that we have campaigns to target [and] recruit people from different backgrounds and different levels of skills and experience.
"And you really want people to come and bring their own sort of cultural backgrounds to the SES. That really helps us to engage with communities," he added.
SES volunteers search for bodies in the fields surrounding the township of Grantham, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011. Source: AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Giving back to the community
Mrs Grimme says joining the SES is "a great way to give back to your local community."
Zulfi Hydari is from Afghanistan. He came to Australia 20 years ago and now lives in regional Victoria.
He says he has done a lot of missing persons searches, animal rescues and helped the police with searches at crime scenes.
When I arrived here, the way this country welcomed me made me feel like, ‘Okay, I have to do something for this community’. So that was the main reason that I actually joined the SES.
Mr Hydari says he has made many friends through his volunteer role at the SES.
Telesia Loloa is a member of the Lismore unit. She says joining the NSW SES in 2015 was one of the best choices she has ever made.
"I’ve been with the SES almost eight years now and it's been one of the best experiences of my life. We have approximately 80 members at Lismore city SES unit.
If you asked me years ago if I'd be doing this, I would've laughed. There is a big range of different roles within the SES.
"I've made a lot of great mates, and pretty much my ‘SES family’ — yeah, it’s exactly like that: they are family".
A supplied photo of a Brisbane SES team practicing car crash rescue operations at the state road rescue challenge in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008. Source: AAP Image/SES, Allan Briggs
How to apply
For those who’d like to join, a good starting point is the website of the SES in their state or territory, says Mr McCullough.
"The SES takes on volunteers from a range of different community groups and we are really keen to talk to people who've got different skills and different backgrounds, and they can go to the SES website and fill out an application form."
"They can also go to their local unit in their community and talk to the current volunteers about what volunteering is like and different opportunities that might exist in their community," he added.
Here is a list of each Emergency Service in every Australian state and territory if you're keen to find out more information about volunteering at your nearest SES.