What we do

Community Support Workers Course

What is the course:

The Community Support Worker (CSW) course is delivered to volunteers of community information support (CIS) agencies to equip them with knowledge and skills to:

• work with people experiencing personal and financial hardship,
• assess the diverse and multi-faceted needs of people accessing these CIS essential services, and
• determine the appropriate response required to meet those needs.

Click here to download the CSW-2025-Training-Calendar

Registration:

To express your volunteer’s interest in the course, click the link to complete the online CSW training registration form.

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the CSW course, learners must be enlisted as volunteers at a CISVic agency. Once you and the agency have decided that you will be a CSW volunteer, the agency will complete the online registration form (found below), which will start the enrollment process. For more information about the course, read through the CSW course factsheet below.

Some volunteers may qualify for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). For more information about this process and whether a volunteer qualifies, read through the CSW RPL process factsheet. To access the RPL application forms, visit the members section on this website.

Requirements:

To complete the course, learners will need basic English and some computer literacy skills. (Basic computer skills include performing word processing tasks, downloading and uploading documents from a web-based training platform, and using emails).

In general, any desktop or laptop computer purchased in the past two years should be capable of meeting most of your learning needs. Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones may also enable access; however, there are likely to be aspects of the course where the computing capability of mobile devices alone is insufficient. Learners will also need access to word-processing software.

Cost:

$175 per participant for member agencies and $225 per participant for non-members.

Online Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training

CISVic has invested in some online cultural awareness training and provides it free to our member agency staff and volunteers. This is an excellent opportunity to become culturally aware and competent when working and engaging with Indigenous Australians.

The online training will give you the following:

• A deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and how it impacts your workplace, community and your approach as a volunteer, employee or organisation,
• key skills and knowledge on how to engage Indigenous individuals in the workplace and how to communicate with Indigenous community members; and
• the ability to identify cultural gaps and the knowledge on how to influence and contribute to Indigenous reconciliation in the workplace and the wider community.

Click HERE to register and access the training. After registration, you will receive an email with information to access the training.

Working with Interpreter Training

CISVic’s interpreter training has moved online. This recorded webinar provides participants with the skills and knowledge to successfully communicate with clients using interpreters.

In this training, you will be provided with:

• An understanding of the importance of interpreters and how to access them,
• Information about the different language services,
• Skills to ensure that an interview with an interpreter runs smoothly; and
• Ways of responding if the interview doesn’t seem to be going well.

Click HERE to register and access the training. After registration, you will receive an email with information to access the training.

Virtual VITALS

These information and training sessions for Community Support Workers are an opportunity for volunteers and students to jump online and learn about different approaches to supporting clients, services and supports available to clients.
All sessions commence at 10 am and range in length from an hour to an hour and a half.

There are currently no VITALS sessions scheduled.  Please contact CISVic to discuss your agency’s interest in the program.

DoFoodSafely

This free online training course is recommended for staff and volunteers at agencies that provide fresh and non-perishable food items. DoFoodSafely is a free, non-accredited, online learning program provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria and proudly supported by Queensland Health and South Australia Health.

DoFoodSafely is designed to enable you to understand how to work with and handle food in commercial settings safely.

Click HERE to start the training.

Family Violence Training

• Safe and Equal, Family Violence Foundations training – a free online learning package to build knowledge around preventing, identifying and responding to family violence. Click HERE.
• AVERT Family Violence – an innovative, multi-disciplinary free online training package responding effectively to family violence. Designed for workers at all levels within the community services, health, family law and human services sectors. The training provides sound and practical information for responding appropriately and promoting safety for all involved. Click HERE.
• DV-alert – Domestic and Family Violence Response Training (DV-alert) is a free online national training program designed for health, allied health, educational, childcare, and community support frontline workers. Click HERE.