Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) has been working alongside communities in East Gippsland, Latrobe and Wellington shires since 2024 through the government‑funded Resilient Regions program. We’re inviting more local organisations and small businesses to access free, tailored support from our skilled business volunteers and local team.
Our team works directly with community groups, organisations and small businesses to strengthen resilience, support growth and build long‑term capability. All support is provided at no cost, funded through the Disaster Ready Fund, supported by the Australian and Victorian governments.
ABV volunteers and corporate pro bono partners bring deep experience across community development, economic recovery and business planning. Support is tailored to local needs and may include:
See how communities have used Simtable demonstrations to strengthen local preparedness.
Read about our recent work with Orbost and District on place‑based governance.
Explore insights from our small business workshops in Mallacoota and Orbost.
Our volunteers bring practical, hands‑on experience across business management, finance, marketing, customer relations and digital solutions. Whether you’re navigating challenges, planning for growth or strengthening your organisation’s resilience, we’re here to help you build confidence and capability.
“We’re proud to support Gippsland communities to strengthen their economic and disaster resilience. Together, we can build a stronger and more resilient regional economy.”
— Michelle Shaw & Cory Lindfield, ABV Program Coordinators
If your community organisation or small business is interested in exploring how ABV can support your goals, we’d be pleased to connect. Our Program Coordinators are based in Gippsland and can meet at your convenience.
At Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) we know that the strongest communities lead their own change.
This year’s annual report highlights the contribution of our 311 skilled business volunteers, 15 corporate and industry partners, and 12 programs delivered across six countries — all of which has been grounded in trust, collaboration and local leadership.
This snapshot marks ABV’s ever-deepening connection with partners, small businesses, communities and volunteers across Australia and the Pacific.
With a clear strategic focus, we’ve grown our work across four key outcome areas: strengthening economic and disaster resilience in Australia; supporting First Nations entrepreneurship; building micro, small and medium enterprises in the Pacific Islands; and increasingly, delivering values-aligned ESG outcomes for our corporate partners.
Our partnerships have gone from strength to strength through this time, and we’re grateful for the trust and opportunity extended to us by those that we collaborate and co-design our programs with, whether they be corporate or government bodies.
Drawing on a rich legacy of international development, our team continue to work seamlessly alongside a dedicated cohort of skilled volunteers who consistently deliver the pragmatic, responsive support that ABV is known for.
We acknowledge the breadth of skills and deep commitment of our team and sincerely thank the dedication and vision of our volunteers, partners, communities and organisations who walk year after year on this journey with us.
Together, we are committed to building vibrant marketplaces and bustling main streets that will nurture, feed and house whole communities across regional Australia and the Pacific Islands for generations to come.
We invite you to download the report, and together celebrate the impact that we can have when we truly resource and support communities to lead change from the ground up.
ABV CEO, Liz Mackinlay
The declaration of the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development is more than a calendar milestone. It is a global recognition of the extraordinary contribution volunteers make to building resilient communities and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. Around the world, skilled volunteers are stepping forward to share knowledge, strengthen local leadership and create opportunities that endure.
For Australian Business Volunteers (ABV), this year is a chance to highlight the power of skills-based volunteering. For over four decades, ABV has mobilised professionals across Australia and the Pacific Islands to work alongside communities, businesses and organisations. With over 6100 hours donated in the last financial year, their expertise in areas such as finance, governance, marketing and strategic planning has helped enterprises grow, supported recovery after disasters and enabled local leaders to plan for sustainable futures.
Across regional and rural Australia, the Pacific Islands and in partnership with First Nations communities, ABV volunteers have helped strengthen resilience by supporting businesses, organisations and enterprises to adapt, grow and plan for the future. Their work has brought communities together, built social connections and supported locally led solutions that respond to complex challenges.
Outcomes have included stronger enterprises, more confident local leadership and pathways to long-term economic strength and community wellbeing. Volunteers often describe these experiences as deeply rewarding, reflecting on the relationships formed, the sense of purpose they feel and the pride in knowing their skills have contributed to sustainable futures grounded in identity, inclusion and resilience.
The International Year underscores a simple truth: sustainable development cannot be achieved without people. Volunteers are the bridge between global aspirations and local realities. ABV’s partnership model ensures that solutions are co-designed with communities, empowering local leaders to take ownership of their future.
This year is a reminder that the act of giving time and expertise is transformative. It builds inclusion, strengthens resilience and creates pathways to wellbeing. ABV’s work across Australia and the Pacific Islands shows that when volunteers bring their skills to the table, communities are not only supported in the present but equipped to thrive in the future. Volunteers themselves often say the experience changes them too—broadening perspectives, deepening empathy and reinforcing the belief that sustainable development is a shared journey.
As the world celebrates the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, ABV invites partners and volunteers to join in recognising the profound impact of skilled volunteering. It is a call to harness expertise, strengthen communities and ensure that sustainable development is not just a goal but a lived reality across our region.
With the very real and devasting impact of natural hazards and disasters front of mind this High-Risk Weather Season, Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) reflects on five years of driving community-led disaster and economic resilience for empowered solutions from the bottom up.
Putting communities in the driver's seat, building local capacity, and forging lasting relationships, this work has featured 175 community projects delivered across 16 disaster affected and prone local government areas in regional and remote Australia.
While ABV as international development organisation has traditionally delivered inclusive economic and sustainable development across 34 countries in the Asia-Pacific, CEO Liz Mackinlay reflects that January 2020 marked a distinct shift for the organisation to deliver services in its own backyard.
“We were watching the catastrophic impact of the Black Summer fires devastate communities across the East Coast; impacting our volunteers, our Australian-based team, and bringing out country to standstill as homes, livelihoods, habitats and lives were taken,” ABV CEO Liz Mackinlay says.
“We had communities hurting in our own backyard, and ABV had the skills to help. Lending our hand at a time of significant national disaster was simply a no brainer.”
Liz Mackinlay, ABV CEO
ABV's CEO and Program Director drove from Sydney to the heavily fire-affected town of Cobargo in New South Wales to see where and how ABV and its volunteers could be of help.
“We approached the community’s members with sensitivity and humility – after all, they were both the first responders and the long term recovery agents of change – so we wanted to make sure we grounded our offer of support in their priorities. Our deep relationships with the impacted community groups and leaders in the region allowed us to then co-design our services to support community-led organisation to build back better,” Liz says.
Since then, ABV’s team of community development professionals and skilled business volunteers have channelled over $6m in diverse funding and in-kind support to further community-led initiatives across disaster-affected and prone communities along the Eastern Seaboard.
As ABV engaged with communities across regional Australia, a clear message came through. Facing industry transitions, youth migration, workforce shortages and growing isolation, people wanted more than disaster recovery — they wanted to build stronger, more self-sustaining futures.
Through a strengths-based, community-led approach, ABV is working alongside local leaders who are determined to shape their own futures — helping them turn challenges into opportunities.
In Braidwood, ABV supported the development of a Tourism Roadmap to revitalise local industries and strengthen visitor appeal. In Orbost, we worked alongside community members to design an organisation structure that gives locals a unified voice in shaping the future of their town — based on their own priorities and aspirations.
“Communities told us they didn’t just want to recover from disasters — they wanted to build stronger, fairer local economies and a deeper sense of connection,” Liz says. “That’s what resilience truly looks like.”
As programs continue to expand to Victoria and Queensland, with a view to partnerships across all States and Territories, ABV’s evolving focus connects disaster preparedness with long-term economic resilience and social cohesion — helping communities anticipate change, adapt to new realities and thrive together.
ABV remains committed to walking alongside communities, ensuring local knowledge drives local futures.
Raised with an ethos of providing a helping hand to your neighbour, joining Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) in 2023 to volunteer with communities in Nauru was in some ways simply common sense for Sydney local, Vera Pajovic.
“Maxine Wiggs, a wonderful lady I used to work with in the travel industry reached out to me and said she was working with an organisation that I would love,” Vera says.
When a volunteer position came up to support ABV’s work with the Nauru Chamber of Commerce and Sustainable Tourism Working Group to support a range of locally-led private sector strengthening initiatives, Vera, who has a longstanding career in marketing in Australia’s tourism and travel industry, didn’t hesitate to apply.
“I have worked in the Pacific for many years with tourism boards and communities in Papua New Guinea when I was working for the Kokoda Track Foundation,” Vera adds. “I feel very connected to the Pacific, and the need to support our region; bringing everyone with us, and not leaving anyone behind.”
An avid traveller and founding director of sustainable tourism consultancy, EcoStory, Vera has come in contact with countless tourist businesses, but when it comes to sharing her expertise for inclusive economic development in Nauru, Vera says ABV’s involvement has been vital.
“It’s essential to work with an organisation who understands the community's needs and can navigate the local complexities that make the work meaningful and impactful,” Vera explains.
“It’s not ABV coming in, it’s really finding the local parties and uncovering opportunities to support micro and small businesses in the ways that they want.”
“The country is beginning to understand the benefits of what tourism could mean for people in Nauru, but it needs to be led by the community and foreign tourists need to meet the locals where they’re at.”
In her two years with ABV, Vera has been in Nauru twice, with a third volunteer visit on its way to help build the country’s tourism industry in a sustainable and empowering way for inclusive economic development.
“I was expecting the workshops (in business mentorship and coaching), but less so the strategic direction piece that I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to with local stakeholders and the Chamber.”
“Nauru’s described as the rough diamond of the Pacific and it has so much to offer,” Vera emphasises through her work on the Nauru Private Sector Development Roadmap, supported by the Australian High Commission in Nauru. “It is a great tourism destination for the adventure tourist.”
“There’s amazing hiking, and incredible opportunities for fishing and snorkelling. Nauruans are also proud of their culture; they’re generous and have so much to share.”
“It’s about finding partnerships on the island and working together to grow the industry.”
Not spoken about is the fact that with her own business, Vera is no doubt incredibly busy and continues to find time for this vocational work in a voluntary capacity.
“I’ve learnt so much from it as well. Along with training, I’ve learnt about a different culture and different ways of how things are done,” Vera says.
“It’s been humbling, and I’m so happy to be just a small piece of the puzzle.”
“Building local tourism is helping people to improve their livelihoods and strengthen their communities. If I can support just five people to build their businesses, I will be so happy!”
From humble beginnings on a cattle station near Sandfire, Freddy’s journey has been one of resilience, independence, and creativity. Inspired by the land and the stories of his community, he began painting in 2017. This became a profound way to share his feelings and express his connection to the unique beauty and spirit of the country.
Now, through Longuda Designs, inspired by his traditional name (Blue Tongue Lizard), Freddy’s artwork is bridging cultures and uniting people. As part of ABV’s Martu Business Development Services program, funded by Greatland Gold, what started as a small sole trader business has now blossomed and expanded in scope, from showcasing his goods at local markets to exhibiting at the Broome Art Gallery. Thanks to the unwavering support from ABV volunteer, Martin Venier, and the whole team’s dedication, Freddy is diversifying with new ventures like stunning fishing shirts featuring his artworks!
“Art helps me focus, paintings tell a thousand words and inspires me to express myself through my art work”
Through the transformative power of art, Longuda Designs envisions a world where Australians and people across the globe come together. By weaving creativity, culture, and connection into his designs and products, he hopes to inspire unity, celebrate diversity and build bridges that transcend borders.
The 2019/2020 Australian bushfires were a catastrophic event with devastating impact across regional communities. Burning up to 19 million hectares, destroying thousands of homes, and impacting nearly three billion animals, the impact of these fires can still be felt today.
Communities like those in Gippsland, have worked tirelessly through recovery to rebuild homes, livelihoods and habitats. One such community is Buchan, a small town in East Gippsland with a population of 200 people. Despite its size, the town boasts over 35 incorporated associations and groups, reflecting the local communities’ rich interconnectedness and dedication to place.
The volunteerism and commitment of the local community is utterly infectious, says local community worker Susan Freeman. “Their commitment and passion to build back after the fires and support one another has been amazing.”
In the wake of the bushfires, the Buchan community formed an association to support community-led recovery efforts. Working originally with the East Gippsland Shire Council, Susan deepened her knowledge of local disaster recovery efforts and learnt about the various community recovery committees established to help drive this.
“Each of the impacted Gippsland communities had a Place Manager who I provided support to, and Buchan was one of them,” Susan says. “The determination among the communities and Place Managers was incredible. I had never seen anything like it before.”
Since joining the Buchan Gelantipy and District Renewal Association, Susan has supported the delivery of valuable community-centred projects ranging from bricks and mortar through to wellbeing related programs with local outreach. This has included supporting community organisations to progress the redevelopment of the Buchan Recreation Reserve, as well as the construction of the new netball and tennis courts, upgrades to community halls, and the installation of an accessible canoe launch.
It also included repairing and improving two important local halls and establishing a community bus to support the Neighbourhood House, Bush Nursing Centres, Primary School and sporting clubs, to stay active and participate in local life.
“Our work extends beyond physical infrastructure, and with the support of the council and the Gippsland Community Foundation, we’ve organised movie nights, family fun days, barbecues, and Christmas parties to nurture and keep our community together.”
Susan says the Buchan community still has a long way to go, however navigating bureaucracy and funding requirements has made this process more complicated. “The competitive nature of grant rounds and the mismatch between funding availability and community readiness have posed significant hurdles for us.
“The promised government funding wasn’t made easily available to us once we were coordinated and ready to use it. It’s also inherently difficult for us to secure grants that fund administrative wages like myself, and now time is running out. I am looking for any grant available that might be able to help fund this role.
Susan says the funding and support outside of Government grants has been instrumental to their community’s work, with the Australian Business Volunteers offering strategic support and efficient avenues to navigate community-led solutions.
“We couldn’t have achieved what we have for our community without the funding support of non-government bodies such as the Gippsland Community Foundation, Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal and capacity building support from the Australian Business Volunteers.
“I hope that government funding models can be adjusted to better reflect community-led resilience and recovery efforts going forward.”
ABV is pleased to support community leaders like Susan through the Victoria Resilient Regions program implemented in collaboration with Deakin University to help Victoria’s Gippsland region prepare for future severe weather events.
The Resilient Regions program is supported by the Australian and Victorian Governments.
At ABV, we have had the privilege of walking alongside so many incredible women on their journeys—women who inspire, lead, and create lasting impact in their communities.
As we celebrate their achievements, our CEO, Liz Mackinlay, takes a moment to reflect on their resilience, passion, and the change they drive every day.
Join us as we honour their stories and the meaningful contributions they make to building a better future this International Women's Day
Corina Jadai was born in Derby, and raised in the Kimberley and Pilbara region.
Corina is an established artist, graphic designer and now First Nations fashion designer. She enjoys painting, creating designs for commercial use, designing football shirts, working with resin art and making jewellery.
Corina joined the Martu program in 2023 where she first met the program team and her mentor, Liz Reece, in Broome. Liz is an experienced professional in the textile industry, who has provided valuable insights along the way.
In July, Newmont Telfer provided the opportunity for Corina to showcase her fashion collection and work with the Martu program at the Newmont offices in Perth for a NAIDOC week celebration. Newmont staff enjoyed Corina’s presentation and many stayed behind to talk with Corina and view her portfolio.
Corina then spent the week with Brigitte to work with professionals in the fashion industry. These included Textile Lab, who are helping to print her designs onto fabric and sew the garments together at their textile factory.
Corina and Brigitte also visited Siricin Silks to choose fabrics for the designs. Brigitte said: “We had a great week visiting industry professionals to further Corina’s journey to help her first collection of garments become a reality. Corina is growing in confidence in talking about her work. We met with professionals in the industry who were incredibly impressed by her dedication and the creativity and quality of her work.”
Corina continues to build her networks in the First Nations fashion scene in WA. In late August, Corina was invited to be involved in a Kirrikin fashion show held at the Fortescue Festival at Newman. Corina met with the Kirrikin team in Newman and was given the opportunity for a behind the scenes industry experience which will be valuable when Corina comes to show her own garments.
Young community members learnt how to be a model for the day, walking the catwalk wearing Kirrikin's latest designs. Corina said the event was “an inspiring, memorable and uplifting experience”. “The event provided a welcome moment of beauty and creativity, which I truly appreciated.”
Image: Corina and Amanda Healy (Director, Kirrikin) meeting at Kirrikin studio in Perth to discuss Corina’s fashion designs
Last week, our Martu team joined the Rawa Community School from Martu country during their visit to Margaret River. We were warmly welcomed by the Undalup team, led by Zac Webb, who shared incredible cultural insights into Wadandi Boodja (country), its people, plants, animals, and traditions.
Through hands-on activities, we learned how to make rope, craft tools, and even mimic bird calls. A truly enriching experience.
Thank you to the Undalup team and Rawa Community School for making us part of such a meaningful cultural exchange.
