The Warm Welcome Program

If you're a current UQ staff member who would like to help others settle into life in Australia, you can volunteer to become a Welcomer. 

We want to create a large pool of Welcomers and their families from a wide range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including staff born in Australia. 

We try to match new staff and their families with the UQ staff who can best support them in terms of cultural and religious background, language, stage of life and interests.

Welcomers will be allocated to incoming staff on a case-by-case basis, with consideration given to your availability and capacity to help. You will need to volunteer for at least a 6-month period.

As a Welcomer, your activities may include:

• introducing new staff to UQ, Brisbane and their new neighbourhood
• providing guidance on Australian cultural norms, considerations and differences
• helping with practical matters such as obtaining a driver’s licence, renting or buying housing, obtaining a credit card or doing grocery shopping
• sharing a meal, attending a sporting or cultural event, or going on another form of social outing
• providing ongoing support through the transition to Australia and UQ.

How to become a Welcomer

To become a Welcomer, you need to:

1. Submit an expression of interest to Workplace Diversity and Inclusion. You'll need to provide basic demographic information about yourself, which will be used to match you with an incoming staff member. 
2. Complete a Warm Welcome Program Induction. If your expression of interest is accepted, Workplace Diversity and Inclusion will give you an introduction to the program covering the role and responsibilities of a Welcomer. As part of the induction, you will also need to complete the the Culture and Core Inclusion online training modules.

You'll also be provided with an information pack that includes more details about the program and your roles and responsibilities.  (PDF, 126.9 KB)