Key Dates:

MAY 7

• Our volunteer application process opens and may be completed online at: www.byronwritersfestival.com/volunteer

MAY 25

• The application process closes.
• If you do not receive a confirmation of application within two weeks of the cut-off date, please check your junk mail. If you are certain you have not received confirmation, email the Volunteer Coordinator ([email protected]) to confirm your application was received.

MID JUNE

• The Volunteer Coordinator will be in contact via email to advise you as to whether or not your application has been successful.
• Due to the extremely high volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback on your application results.
• Rosters are determined by volunteer availability, experience and skill set, in order to best meet Festival requirements.

LATE JUNE – EARLY JULY

• Draft Rosters will be created and disseminated to successful applicants for confirmation.
• Volunteer agreements signed and returned.

JULY 28

• Compulsory Orientation and Safety Meeting on site for all volunteers.

• The Festival Weekend runs from Friday 3 August until Sunday 5 August.
• Our Workshop Program runs from Monday 30 July until Thursday 2 August.
• Our Primary School Program runs from Monday 30 July until Thursday 2 August.
• Our Secondary School Program runs on Thursday 2 August.
• Evening events are generally Thursday to Saturday of the Festival Week 3-5 August.

The Volunteer Co-ordinator will email you to advise if you have been successful or not by mid June. If you are not successful in the first round of offers you will be asked if you wish to remain on the contact list as further positions become available.

Volunteers are required to be a minimum of 18 years old.

• A love of books, ideas, reading, writing and festivals is a great start.
• Our volunteers are friendly, reliable, punctual, flexible and are team players.
• AS A MINIMUM, we require our volunteers to commit to two FIVE HOUR shifts.
• Priority of allocations is given to returning volunteers and to those able to volunteer for more than the minimum two shifts.
• Rosters are determined by volunteer availability, experience and festival requirements.
• You must also be available to attend the Volunteer Safety and Orientation Briefing on Saturday 28 July, even if you have been a volunteer for the ByronWF in the past.

Yes. This briefing supplies the critical Work Health & Safety information, allows you to become familiar with the Festival site, gives you the opportunity to meet your team and be briefed by your shift supervisor, as well as providing you with your volunteer T-shirt.

Our volunteers have a variety of qualifications and skills; the common factor is that they are keen to be involved with the Festival and work towards the goal of assisting to bring a successful Festival to Byron Bay. However, there are some specialised roles that require certain skills and experience.

The application form will ask you to tell us your skills in the following areas and will also ask you to select your top three role preferences. There are no guarantees that you will get your preferences as rosters will be determined by availability, experience and festival requirements.

• Office Administration
• Front of House & Ushers
• Ticketing and Gate Control
• Box Office
• Conducting Surveys
• Workshop Assistant
• Volunteer Assistant Coordinator
• Venue Manager
• Master of Ceremonies (MC)
• Hospitality
• Site Assistant/Bump In/Bump Out – some heavy lifting
• Parking and traffic management
• Kids Big Day Out Volunteer

If you have particular talents or work experience that suit a certain role, please note this on the application form when we ask about your ‘previous experience’ and ‘related skills’. If there is something you can offer that is not on the list, please let us know! Think about how your skills may transfer into a festival setting.

• Primary school days involve presentations by some of Australia’s best-loved childrens’ authors at various venues around the Northern Rivers. Preference for Schools Days is given to those applicants with previous experience. You must hold a Working with Children’s Check for these roles. https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/child-safe-organisations/working-with-children-check
• If you wish to work a coffee machine you need to have barista training
• To serve alcohol, a current NSW RSA is required. Hospitality Service Staff for the Opening Night Event (Thursday 4 August) need be confident with tray service, fast and able workers, and be physically mobile.
• For marquee supervisors/venue coordinators who will be managing volunteer staff, leadership and previous Byron WF experience is required. These roles are open to experienced Festival volunteers (ByronWF or other festivals) and/or require approval from the Volunteer Co-ordinator
• To assist with bump in and site assistance, you need to be mobile, physically fit and able to do heavy lifting. eg. Parking/Signage/Marquee/Decor/Sponsor or Markets setup
• The survey team conduct customer research with the Festival Patrons. A brief training session for the survey team will be held beforehand (to be advised). Volunteers for this role must be confident, friendly and self motivated.
• To be a Venue Host (MC), you need to be a quick thinker, a confident public speaker, and be responsive to the various needs of the festival, patrons, production staff and presenters.
• The Writers’ Green Room is HQ for the guest authors. This role is suitable for experienced Festival Volunteers who are familiar with how the festival works.
• Volunteer HQ : The Volunteer Assistant Co-ordinator will greet and register volunteers at shift start, pass on briefings at shift change, and inform the Volunteer Co-ordinator of any gaps in the roster. Volunteers for this role must have excellent communications skills, emotional intelligence, ability to work under pressure, problem solving skills.

When considering your availability on the application form, please check and double check your calendar. Try to be realistic about how much time commitment you can manage. If your plans change in the meantime, please break our hearts quickly rather than slowly. Please email [email protected] by 25 May, with ‘Availability Change’ in the subject heading. Once the cut off date has arrived, the rosters will be created. As you can imagine it takes a lot of time and careful consideration to match over 200 volunteers across the Festival.

Please advise the Volunteer Coordinator ASAP so your shift can be re-allocated. Emails should read CANCEL MY SHIFT or SHIFT CHANGE in subject heading with your name.

Yes, absolutely. We aim to be as inclusive as possible. We will endeavour to find a role that will suit your restrictions. Please advise us of your restrictions in the online application so that we may cater for your abilities.

There are only very limited positions available for those travelling from interstate. Byron WF does not cover travel or accommodation costs. If you are flying home on the Sunday afternoon, please choose shifts that allow you time to get to the airport etc.

• The chance to be involved in a vibrant, literary cultural event.
• As a volunteer you will receive a position description outlining your duties, orientation, insurance for your rostered shift, and less experienced volunteers will be allocated a supervisor.
• You are provided free parking and light lunch or refreshment for the day that you are rostered. We also have a wonderful volunteer Facebook group which can assist for carpooling.
• Volunteers are provided with a T-Shirt as well as an opportunity to attend the Festival on the day of their shift, either before or after their shift. These Day Passes are not transferable and are not redeemable for cash.
• A thank you party for our volunteers will be held at our Centre after the Festival.

Volunteers receive various Byron Writers Festival passes in exchange for work, depending upon the amount and area of commitment. You may attend the festival prior to, or upon completion, of your shift each day. If you work a full day, you will receive a pass for another day of the Festival. Passes for specific roles such as Schools Days, Evening Events, workshops or pre-festival and bump-in work will vary and be clarified with each job description.

No. You are provided free parking and a light lunch or refreshment for the day that you are rostered. There are a variety of wonderful food stalls at the festival, where you may purchase a tasty meal before or after your shift. Also check our volunteer’s Facebook group to organise car-pooling and make friends.

Volunteers are provided with a ByronWF volunteer team T-shirt, which must be worn while on duty. If the weather is cold we suggest wearing the T-Shirt over a long sleeved shirt so as not to cover up the Festival T-shirt which identifies you as a volunteer. You will need to tell us your T-shirt size in the application form.

Yes. Please tell us your T-Shirt size when you apply. There is a question in the application form that asks this. As we order T-shirts by size and to specific quantities, it is important you endeavour to tell us your correct size. Refer to the size guide chart below. How to measure your T-Shirt size: Find a t shirt you already have that’s comfortable and lie it out on a flat surface (floor or table). Measure it across from side seam to side seam 1cm below the armpit seam and you will have your half chest measurement. Then check the size guide chart and get the closest one to your measurement, if you’re in between 2 sizes and don’t like them tight go upwards unless the shirt you have measured is very baggy and you think you’d like a slightly smaller fit.

Yes. Volunteers that indicate they are able to do more than the minimum two shifts are given priority.

If you are not successful in your application to be a volunteer, you may request to purchase festival tickets at the Early Bird rate. Simply contact the Volunteer Co-ordinator to arrange a manual ticket purchase by 20 June. This offer is only valid for the applicant themselves, not for friends, relatives, etc.

Please email [email protected]