Frequently Asked Questions

MEMBERSHIP

  • This is really simple.

    Have you served, or are serving in the military and / or emergency services? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you qualify as a member.

    Are you an immediate family member of someone who has served or, is currently serving in the military or emergency services? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you qualify as a member.

  • Yes, you certainly can.

  • Absolutely! It does not matter whether you were deployed or not, what rank you achieved or how long you served, you are welcome to join the Buddy Up community.

  • Yes you can.

  • A person is required to be 18 years or older to join Buddy Up as a registered member.

  • Some of our Chapters do hold events which are family friendly. However, children are the responsibility of a parent / guardian / carer at all times.

  • No. Buddy Up does not hold events that are specifically for children. However, children are welcome to attend events which are advertised / promoted as family friendly. Should you have any questions about whether a child can attend an event, please reach out to the Event Leader assigned to the event.

  • Yes, not all of our events are physical fitness events and many of our fitness events can / will take into consideration members at different stages of their fitness / wellness journey. We recommend you reach out to your local Chapter Leader or Program Coordinator to discuss any concerns you have. You also have the option of speaking to a Buddy Up Member Support Officer. Please send an email to membersupport@buddyupaustralia.org to request a call from a Member Support Officer.

    If you are unsure of who your volunteer Chapter Leader and / or Program Coordinator is, please visit Our Chapters page of the website or send an email to: info@buddyupaustralia.org

  • We have a ‘Supporter’ membership for people who have no affiliation to the services however are passionate about our cause. There is an annual membership fee of $49 for a Supporter membership which contributes to funding our member events.

    A Supporter membership will enable you to attend Buddy Up events however, where places are limited on events, priority will go to our serving / former serving members and immediate family. Furthermore, some of our program of events have restrictions depending on the funding body, therefore, this may impact the ability for a Supporter member to attend.

    For any questions with regards Supporter memberships, please send an email to: info@buddyupaustralia.org

  • Membership is for a lifetime! However, every year on your anniversary of joining you will receive an email asking you to check your details and ensure we have the correct information on file. The only way your membership ends is if you specifically request via email to no longer be a member.

  • Please visit our JOIN US page to become a member.

  • Yes, absolutely.

    Apart from our physical locations across Australia, we have one ‘National Chapter’ which virtually connects members who live outside our other Chapters. If you are interested in talking to one of our team about starting events in your local area, please contact us via email on info@buddyupaustralia.org

  • Not at all! You can become a member and enjoy the Buddy Up events. There is no requirement for you to volunteer. This is optional.

  • Yes, absolutely!

EVENTS / ACTIVITIES 

  • Once you sign up to Buddy Up as a member, you will find a list of activities on the Buddy Up App. You can also login to your account via the login option on a desktop from the Buddy Up website home page.

    To find out how to navigate the Buddy Up App and find events, please refer to our quick tutorial videos on our You Tube Channel Buddy Up Australia - YouTube

  • Some Buddy Up events are free and some are subsidised by Buddy Up which means there is a member contribution. Full details will be made available on the event description and directions of how to make payment for subsidised events.

  • Some events that Buddy Up has held previously include: park runs, book clubs, hikes, yoga, beach volleyball, cycling, e-bikes, nature days, family BBQs, sailing, art classes, cooking classes, equine therapy, boot camps, coffee catch ups. If there are events you’d like us to offer or you’d like to find out more about running an event, please reach out to our Member Support Officer via email to chat further: membersupport@buddyupaustralia.org

  • Fabulous! We’d love to chat! Please send an email to info@buddyupaustralia.org with details and your best contact. You can also fill in the ‘Contact Us’ form on the website.

  • Yes! Feel free to check out the events happening around Australia and if there is one happening in the area you are travelling to, click on the ‘going’ button to let the Event Leader know you will be attending.

BUDDY UP APP 

  • For all technical problems with the Buddy Up App please send an email to: support@buddyupaustralia.org

  • Yes, we have created a series of short tutorial videos available at Buddy Up Australia - YouTube

  • Members are automatically added to the National Chapter if their residential address (by postcode) does not fall within the boundaries of one of our physical Chapters. The National Chapter aims to connect members who are not in close proximity and allows our volunteer leaders to share events and activities that are either virtual events and / or of interest to members Australia-wide

  • Activity Groups have been created within the App to support volunteers and members engaging and sharing information around events that are held on a regular basis. For example, weekly parkruns in Perth and Canberra or Yoga on the Sunshine Coast. The naming convention of Activity Groups will clearly indicate what location they are in.

  • Yes you can. You will be allocated a Chapter automatically based on the postcode you detailed during the sign up process. However, this does not stop you from joining any Chapter Group or relevant Activity Group that Buddy Up has available.

  • All of our events / activities will be added to the App to provide one central point of access. However, if you prefer to use a desktop / laptop, you can login to your account via this option and search through the local events / activities available.

  • You can use the search bar at the top of the screen when you have the App open. You will need to search for the name of the Chapter to find it. Our current Chapter locations can be found here.

  • The personal details you provided as part of your Buddy Up registration are held by Buddy Up Australia and subject to our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy can be viewed HERE.

    In addition, attendance at events, especially where member contribution is required will mean providing your personal details (i.e. name / email and possibly a contact number). This is required to ensure you are provided with up to date and timely information in relation to an event and for safety reasons to ensure our volunteers leaders are aware who is attending an event.

    We understand that some people want to reduce their presence electronically, however, our Event Leaders need to know who is attending their events so an ‘anonymous’ profile is not ideal. As such, if you want to limit your ‘visibility’ please chat to us about your options. One way is to use a pseudonym for your name and an unidentifiable photo. Then let us know so we can let our Event Leader know to keep them safe.

VOLUNTEERING 

  • Please head to our VOLUNTEERS page and follow the prompts to express your interest. You will be asked to complete some details and submit. A Chapter Leader or Program Coordinator will then be in contact to chat further.

  • We have an ongoing Event Leader opportunity available which is advertised on our website. Occasionally we advertise additional volunteer opportunities on SEEK Volunteer such as ‘Grant Writers’.

  • An Event Leader represents Buddy Up at our events; they meet and greet and are the point of contact for our members who are attending. Some Event Leaders like to get more involved in the event planning and coordination process, which is great! We recommend anyone who is interested in the volunteer Event Leader opportunity to express interest and chat to one of our team.

  • A Chapter Leader is a Buddy Up volunteer who runs a local Chapter and leads a team of Event Leaders. The journey to becoming a Chapter Leader begins with Event Leading. A Chapter Leader is our most senior volunteer leadership opportunity. If you have any questions about what being a Chapter Leader involves, please reach out to a Program Coordinator or email info@buddyupaustralia.org

  • Event Leading can be anywhere from 1 event to multiple events. Our Event Leader opportunity is very flexible and will suit a range of lifestyles.

FUNDRAISING & DONATIONS

  • How awesome you would like to support Buddy Up through fundraising! Community fundraising is a perfect opportunity to support the sustainability of our local Chapters. Prior to undertaking a fundraising activity for Buddy Up, we would require you to email us – info@buddyupaustralia.org  with the full details. The team will then review the activity and be in touch. As much as we would love to just let the community ‘go wild and fundraise’ on behalf of Buddy Up, we have to maintain our good governance practices.

  • Thank you very much! Please head to our DONATE page and follow the prompts. Your donation is greatly appreciated.

  • Thank you very much! Your local Chapter will be delighted to hear this. Once you have made your donation, please send an email to info@buddyupaustralia.org to advise them of your name, amount donated and which Chapter you would like the donation allocated to.

  • We certainly are, check us out on the ACNC Register, Search for a charity | ACNC

GENERAL 

  • Great question! Please refer to our Privacy Policy

  • We are open to discussing this opportunity with you. Please send an email to info@buddyupaustralia.org and one of the executive team will be in touch to chat further.

  • We do not currently have any Ambassadors however, we are open to discussing this opportunity. Please send an email to info@buddyupaustralia.org and one of the executive team will be in touch to chat further.