Where is ABV based?

ABV has its head office in Canberra, Australia, with a secondary office in Melbourne, Australia. 25 In-Country Managers and Agents are located across the 18 countries where ABV currently operate and provide support for volunteers and clients.

Does ABV Australia have political or religious affiliations?

ABV is non-religious and non-political, allowing us to deliver capacity building solutions to anyone in need regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion or political view.

I've never heard of ABV - can it be trusted?

ABV has been assisting developing communities for almost 30 years. We are well known and respected within the development community and the countries in which we work for the quality of our volunteers and client focused approach to development.

As a registered charity, ABV adheres to stringent standards of accountability. ABV is a signatory to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct which defines standards on how organisations should be managed, how they communicate and how they spend the funds they receive from donors. ABV is externally audited every year.

Where does ABV work?

For a full list of the countries where we work go to the Where we work section of this website.

How does ABV decide who to work with?

Clients approach ABV with requests assistance with a particular business problem. We assess each request to ensure there will be a clear element of skills transfer between the volunteer and a counterpart with the client’s business. ABV then liaises with the client to make sure there is a clear understanding of what to expect and how they can get the most out of their time with the volunteer. Once in country, volunteers will be asked to make assessments about whether follow-up assignments are needed.

How do volunteer experts differ from professional consultants?

While our volunteers offer an equivalent level of expertise to consultants, they are not working for profit and are focused on skills transfer, which increases capacity and ensures the assignment has sustainable results. When clients have developed the capacity to solve problems independently and continue successfully to run or grow their business or organisation over the long-term, we regard our assistance as having been sustainable.
Sustainable benefits may appear long after the volunteer has returned to Australia.