Become a Volunteer
Empower the Next Generation of Changemakers and Innovators
FIRST volunteers are part of a global robotics community empowering young people in the STEM field. Working side by side with FIRST participants, volunteers play an important role in shaping young minds and inspiring students to achieve.
®
Explore Volunteer Roles
FIRST LEGO League volunteer roles generally fall into three categories:
®
®
-
Judges, who do not require FIRST experience but are comfortable to interview students about their achievements
-
​Technical roles, which require experience with FIRST systems as well as additional training
-
Non-technical roles, which require some basic understanding of the FIRST program
-
General roles, which don't require any volunteer or FIRST experience and are usually required across all events regardless of program
The following FIRST volunteer role descriptions detail the role requirements, prerequisites and age limits for both Explore and Challenge events.
Steps to Volunteering
Obtain volunteer 'Working with Children' Clearance
In accordance with the official FIRST Youth Protection Program, all volunteers over the age of 18 are required to have a valid Working with Children Check or equivalent clearance for the state or territory in which you are volunteering. This is free of charge for most states. You can find Working with Children Check information for your state in the FAQs below.
Select an event from the event list
Browse our events table and filter by your program and location to see what's coming up near you!
Pick your preferred volunteer role
Volunteers registering on the FIRST Australia dashboard will be asked two questions that allow us to figure out what roles suit you best, or you can select your preferred roles on your volunteer profile. For volunteers registering on the FIRST Inspires volunteer system, you will be asked to choose your preferred roles when registering for an event. For more information on individual roles, browse through the element above!
Register for your event!
Depending on the program for the event you have selected, you will register to volunteer with either the FIRST Australia volunteer dashboard or the FIRST Inspires volunteer dashboard. Both sites will require you to create a volunteer profile with your key information, and the Australian site will require you to input your WWCC number as part of this profile.
Registering for FIRST LEGO League or FIRST Tech Challenge events
-
Visit firstaustralia.systems in your browser or via the button below to create your volunteer profile.
-
Select 'Volunteer' on the home page and find your event from the list, then proceed to register for that event.
-
Input your preference list and availability, then submit!
Registering for FIRST Robotics Competition events
-
Visit firstinspires.org in your browser or via the button below and select 'Register' or 'Log In' to create your volunteer profile.
-
Select 'Volunteer Registration' on the home page and search for your event, then proceed to register for that event.
-
Input your preference list and availability, then submit!
Need further assistance?
Access the FIRST Inspires volunteer registration guide and the FIRST Volunteer Handbook below, or scroll to read our Frequently Asked Questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! There are a variety of technical and non-technical roles available at all events. Find out more about non-technical roles by browsing volunteer roles above!
The minimum age requirement for a FIRST volunteer is 13, though specific roles have higher age requirements. The age requirements for individual roles can be found by browsing volunteer roles above.
All volunteers over 18 years of age are required to have a valid Working with Children Check in accordance with the FIRST Youth Protection Program.
The Working with Children Check requirements, issuing office and cost for each state and territory are as follows:
State | Check | Requirements | Authority |
---|---|---|---|
ACT | Working with Vulnerable People Registration | Free for volunteers | Access Canberra |
NSW | Working with Children Check | Age 18+ | Free for volunteers | Office of the Children's Guardian |
NT | Working with Children Clearance (Ochre Card) | $8 fee for volunteers | NT Police - SAFE NT |
QLD | Blue Card | Please contact FIRST Australia: firstaustralia@mq.edu.au | Blue Card Services |
SA | Working with Children Check | Age 14+ | Free for volunteers | Department of Communities and Social Inclusion |
TAS | Working with Vulnerable People Registration | Age 16+ | $21.36 fee for volunteers | Service Tasmania |
VIC | Working with Children Check | Age 18+ | Free for volunteers | Service VIC |
WA | Working with Children Check | Age 18+ | $11 fee for volunteers | Department of Communities |
The time requirements vary by each role and can be found by accessing volunteer role information from FIRST Inspires, linked in the section above. However, we're always looking for volunteers for any length of time that you can help out!