Our Story
AVI has been at the forefront of international volunteering for 60 years, and has enabled over 9000 Australians to find their place in the world through an opportunity to work in developing communities.
The first Australian volunteers were graduates of The University of Melbourne. They were inspired by an Indonesian delegate speaking at a World University Service Assembly in India in 1950. He asked for technical experts to work in Indonesia - not just to share their knowledge, but to participate in the life of the newly independent society.
Herb Feith was the first Australian to respond to that request in 1951, and worked as a translator with Indonesia's Ministry of Information. Several other young Australians followed in his footsteps and the Volunteer Graduate Scheme (VGS) was established.
Herb's pioneering journey paved the way for the Overseas Service Bureau (OSB), a wider Australian volunteer program, to be formed in 1961. The OSB provided Australians with opportunities to volunteer in the Pacific, Africa and Asia through a program that was called Australian Volunteers Abroad. In 1988, OSB commenced volunteer placements in Latin America and the Middle East in 1995.
The Overseas Service Bureau changed its name to Australian Volunteers International in 1999. The Australian Government first provided funding to OSB in 1965 and still continues to provide significant support for a range of programs and projects managed by AVI.
The spirit of partnership and adventure that motivated those first Australian volunteers nearly 60 years ago continues to inspire AVI's programs.
Herb Feith with his adopted
family in Indonesia, 1952