Every community in Australia is built on volunteers. I know that our community has one of the most thriving groups of volunteers in the country.

People in our local area are exceptionally generous with their time and energy. That is evident across the hundreds of local volunteer organisations in our area. Those volunteers show up week in and week out to support the people, causes, and groups that they care about. Through those community organisations, local volunteers help to lift people up and bring people together.

Recently, I attended the North Western Sydney Regional Volunteer of the Year award ceremony, where it was an honour to present the Volunteer Group of the Year and Volunteer of the Year awards. It was wonderful to see so many unsung heroes be recognised for all of their hard work and commitment to their community. I particularly want to acknowledge my constituents, the Young Volunteer of the Year Jade Pinar and the Hills Relay for Life committee, who were awarded Volunteer of the Year.

Applications for the 2023-24 Volunteer Grants are now open. Grants of up to $5000 are available to eligible not-for-profit community organisations. The Grants are designed to support the important work of volunteers in our local community organisations.

I recently visited St John Ambulance Hornsby Division, one the many fantastic organisations that have benefited from a Volunteer Grant. Previously, volunteers had needed to use generic backpacks to store their supplies. The grant has enabled them to upgrade to toughened, compartmentalised, purpose-built response kits. This simple change will help the volunteers to better serve our community and improve their experience in doing so.

If your organisation would like to apply for a grant, please contact my office via Julian.Leeser.MP@aph.gov.au. Applications are open until Friday 8 September