Volunteer & Foster

No matter if you are in Kerikeri, Auckland, Wellington or Invercargill, we are looking for volunteers up and down the country. You can volunteer at one of our 28 centres, 6 vet partnerships, and 81 op shops as well as being based from home.

See all available volunteer positions

From animal centre volunteers to fosterers, op shop volunteers, fundraising and administration support, volunteer drivers and toy makers - we have the right volunteer opportunity for you.

Don't worry if you can't find a suitable vacancy right now. Our website is updated regularly, so keep checking for new vacancies and you are sure to find something that interests you. Or get in touch directly with your local centre to chat about what you can offer.

See all available volunteer positions

Anyone can volunteer in different ways, no matter your age or ability. We value diversity and encourage volunteers from all backgrounds and ethnicities to join us.

While there are limited volunteer opportunities for children under 16 years of age, there are still lots of ways to get involved. If you can't find a volunteering opportunity why not consider doing some fun fundraising for the animals instead?

Volunteering with SPCA is a great way to meet like-minded people who share your enthusiasm for animals and their welfare. There are lots of other benefits too:

• gaining new skills or developing existing ones
• the chance to try out something new
• doing something useful and rewarding
• gaining a sense of achievement
• giving something back to the community
• developing communication skills and confidence.

The opportunities to learn are endless, and the more you put into your volunteer role the more you will get out of it.

See all available volunteer positions

That depends on the role you choose, and we try to state the commitment required on each ad. But no matter how much time you can afford to give, there are many ways to make a difference to animal welfare in New Zealand.

See all available volunteer positions

If you like to work in a hands-on role and interact directly with animals, becoming an Animal Centre Volunteer might be for you. Our centre volunteers help out in all areas around the centre, including working with the cats, dogs, small animals or farmed animals in our care.

Read more about becoming an Animal Centre Volunteer

View our current Animal Centre Volunteer opportunities

Many of the animals that come into our SPCA Centres need extra care, treatment and socialisation before finding their new forever home. That’s where our foster parents come in. They give pets a temporary home to recover, administer medication, play with them and show them what it is like to live in a home.

Read more about fostering animals

View our current Foster Parent opportunities

We have 81 SPCA Op Shops across the country which help us raise valuable funds for animals in need. Our shops are managed by paid staff but the majority of our workforce consists of dedicated volunteers – without them, we could not keep our doors open.

Read more about becoming an Op Shop Volunteer

View our current Op Shop Volunteer opportunities

Throughout the year, Event & Fundraising Volunteers are involved in a number of events, from visits to community groups and schools to manning stands at community days and sporting events.

Read more about becoming an Event & Fundraising Volunteer

View our current Event & Fundraising Volunteer opportunities

Administration volunteers are needed by some of our larger centres, usually for tasks such as basic administration support, calling supporters to update address details, and helping us with odd jobs such as cleaning donation boxes – basically anything that our staff sometimes just don’t find the time to do.

Read more about becoming an Administration Volunteer

View our current Administration Volunteer opportunities

Just like your own home, our animal centres need to be kept in tip-top shape so our animals, staff, volunteers and visitors feel welcome. We need help with regular and odd jobs around the centre.

Read more about becoming a Maintenance & Garden Volunteer

View our current Maintenance Volunteer & Gardener opportunities

Are you mature, used to handling animals and confident dealing with people? Do you have a full driver’s license and some time to spare? If so, becoming a Volunteer Driver could be right for you.

Read more about becoming a Volunteer Driver

View our current Volunteer Driver opportunities

A picture is worth a thousand words – that is definitely true when it comes to SPCA animals waiting for adoption. If you would like to help us capture those soulful eyes or cute playfulness of our adoption animals, our centres up and down the country would love to hear from you. And if you like to take videos as well, even better!

Read more about becoming a Photo & Video Volunteer

View our current Photo & Video Volunteer opportunities

If you would like to help the animals but prefer to help from home, there are lots of ways you can get involved.

Check out how to make enrichment toys and become a Rag Fairy

Contact your local centre about other ways to volunteer from home

No matter how old you are, everyone can get involved in supporting animals. While volunteers have to be at least 16 years old to help at our centres or op shops (in some cases 18, due to Health & Safety), our SPCA Kids Portal has lots of fun ideas for enrichment toys to keep our animals entertained.

Get started