In progressSeeking a lead
Community help directory
A single place to find help with government documents, health, housing and legal questions — in plain English, with interpreter options noted.
Open project1 role open
Updated
What we're working on
Projects
Everything ECA is building, in the open — including the things that have stalled and the ideas nobody has picked up yet. Open any project to see what it is trying to achieve, how to take part, and what help it needs.
Errol Street, North Melbourne — near the Community Centre, ECA's starting point · photo credits
- IdeaSeeking a lead
Settlement program
Pairing families and individuals newly arrived in Australia with a settled household nearby, so nobody works the first year out alone.
Open project1 role openUpdated
- IdeaSeeking a lead
Youth mentoring program
Pairing young Eritrean-Australians aged 14–25 with mentors for study, career and everyday guidance — including university students matched with someone already working in the field they are aiming for.
Open project1 role openUpdated
Want detail on any of these — budgets, decisions, why something stalled? Email eritreancommunityaustralia@gmail.com and we will tell you. Full accounts are presented to members at the Annual General Meeting.
Get involved
Roles we're looking to fill
4 roles, each one a gap in a specific project above. Most take a few hours here and there, and you can stop whenever you need to.
Several of these are coordinator roles — somebody to run a program rather than help with it. Most of our projects are new, which is exactly why they are open.You do not need to have done this before. If you are interested and willing to see it through, a committee member will work alongside you until you have your feet. Being interested matters more than being experienced.
We give references, and we make referrals
Volunteering here counts for something outside the community too. If you give your time to ECA, we will write you a reference for a job application, a university place, a visa or a scholarship — a real one, from a committee member who worked with you and can speak to what you actually did.
We also make referrals: introductions to employers, other organisations and people in our network who are looking for exactly what you can do. For young people especially, this is often the part that makes the difference.
Already volunteered and need a reference? Ask us — give us a week where you can.
Community Help Directory Coordinator
Lead the help directory — decide what goes in it, check the phone numbers are right, and keep it current. The project needs somebody to own it.
- Time commitment
- 2–4 hours per week
- Location
- Melbourne / mostly remote
Settlement Program Coordinator
Own the pairing of newly arrived households with local families — the matching, the introductions, and the check-ins that keep pairs going.
- Time commitment
- 3–4 hours per week
- Location
- Melbourne
Mentorship Program Coordinator
Run the mentoring intakes — recruit mentors, match them to mentees, and keep pairs checked in on so matches last the full six months.
- Time commitment
- 2–3 hours per week
- Location
- Melbourne / partly remote
Across the whole association
These few sit outside any single project — they serve everything we run.
Grant Writing Support
Help us write funding applications to councils, foundations and state government programs.
- Time commitment
- 5–10 hours per application
- Location
- Online / Remote
Nothing here fits?
Tell us what you are good at, or what you wish existed. Most of what is on the board above started as somebody raising it at a gathering — a project goes up once someone offers to lead it.
Get in touch