PACT

Your volunteers show up. But do they stay — and do they feel like they belong?

Connection and belonging are shaping some of the biggest conversations in volunteer leadership right now, and this month's Volunteer Leadership Network session digs right into it.

We're joined by Nicole Ashley, winner of the 2026 Queensland Excellence in Volunteer Management Award, who'll walk us through how her organisation redesigned the entire volunteer journey — from that first "yes" through onboarding, early support, and the kind of retention that actually sticks.

Expect real strategy, real challenges, and ideas you can take straight back to your own team.

📅 Wednesday 26 August
💻 Online via Microsoft Teams
🎟️ Free — register at the link below

It's also a great warm-up for bigger conversations happening at the Queensland Volunteering Conference this November.

Secure your spot today: https://events.humanitix.com/vln

PACT Making Headlines on Cairns TV! 📺

Huge excitement in the PACT family this week, with Tania and Narelle being interviewed on Channel 7 and WIN News, sharing the incredible work our volunteers do to support victims and witnesses of crime across Far North Queensland!

PACT has supported almost 400 victims and witnesses in the Cairns/FNQ region over the past 12 months, but currently has only six active volunteers to meet that need. That's exactly why we're calling on the Cairns community to consider joining our team of Volunteers.

As Tania explained, PACT volunteers walk alongside victims every step of the way, from visiting courts and understanding where they'll give evidence, to sitting beside them through meetings with prosecutors and during giving evidence. Comprehensive training is provided to all volunteers, with ongoing support just a phone call away.

A massive thank you to Tania and Narelle for representing PACT so brilliantly on camera. Speaking to TV media isn't easy, and you both did an amazing job helping Far North Queensland understand the difference PACT volunteers make. 💛

Interested in joining our Cairns team? Head to pact.org.au to find out more.

📸 Photos from the interviews below. We'll share the full news stories as soon as we get our hands on them!

🚨Notification for People Using Safe Phones

On Monday 27 July at 2pm, Australia's new AusAlert system will be tested nationwide. If you keep a hidden phone as part of a domestic and family violence safety plan, consider switching it off or using aeroplane mode before the test.

Please share to help keep our community informed 💜

Carolyn Robinson sat in a courtroom, watching women navigate the aftermath of domestic violence alone. So she left a 35-year teaching career to make sure they wouldn't have to.

Carolyn's story shows what happens when purpose meets persistence. Read the full story here. https://volunteeringqld.org.au/beyond-dv-carolyn-robinsons-story/

Yesterday, she was worried about a maths test. Today, she’s disclosed sexual abuse to an adult. Tomorrow, she will have to tell that same story to a stranger, in an unfamiliar room, with enormous trepidation in her heart.

That is the reality PACT brought to life at the Queensland Police Service Academy in Oxley, where the team delivered a training session to investigators.

PACT is grateful for its partnership with the Queensland Police Service and the opportunity to help investigators understand what happens after they make a referral.

It was a chance to remind investigators that a child's disclosure is just the beginning of a much longer road for a victim or witness. There is the waiting. The uncertainty. The prosecutor's conference. The court familiarisation visit. The pre-recording. The trial. And in between all of that, the countless quiet conversations and moments of reassurance our PACT volunteers offer.

A key message shared with police investigators was nothing PACT volunteers do can change the evidence or the legal process. What they can change is how a person experiences the criminal justice system.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this training session, for your engagement, your questions, and your continued commitment to improving the experience of the victims and witnesses we all serve.

Please join us in welcoming two wonderful new faces to the PACT team! 🎉

Meet Grace, one of our newest Support Volunteers based in Townsville. Grace is currently studying law, and she was drawn to PACT because it combines her interest in access to justice with the chance to support people through the court process. When she's not volunteering, she loves jumping out of airplanes (skydiving), or relaxing with beach days and a good book.

Meet Stacey, our new Administrator Officer. Stacey joined PACT because she wanted to give back to her community and support people through difficult times, values that shine through in everything she does. She's also lived to tell the tale of a snake bite, so we know she can handle a challenge.

Grace and Stacey, welcome to the PACT family. We're so glad you've joined us.

Want to join a community that supports victims and witnesses through some of the hardest moments of their lives? Get in touch to find out more about volunteering with PACT.

Often, everything we know about court came from TV dramas. Lawyers shouting. Judges slamming gavels. An intimidating space built to make you feel small.

What’s it like in real life?

For a child victim, their day in court might start like this. Nervously waiting, watching for a familiar face. Their PACT volunteer.

Most Qld courts have a side door, one PACT volunteers know about. Victims don’t need to wait at the main entrance. They can access court through a different door. One that means they don’t have to see the person who hurt them.

Inside, they learn something most people don’t know. Victims have a choice.

Give evidence in the courtroom OR from a Vulnerable Witness Room, a private space with video link technology, where all they can see is the judge, prosecutor or defence on a screen.

For many victims and witnesses, that choice changes everything. It feels safer. Less intimidating. More possible.

PACT is creating an educational resource about Giving Evidence in Queensland Courts. We used real Judges. Real Prosecutors. Real Defence Barristers. We captured what it’s actually like when you're asked questions by the prosecutor, and what cross examination really looks like.

Because knowing what to expect can turn one of the most daunting days of someone's life into something they can actually face.

This is what education looks like at PACT.

Thank you to all the volunteers involved in producing this video. Watch this space for the launch of this educational resource.