Sex Workers Outreach Project NSW (SWOP NSW) seeks funding to establish a structured Volunteer Program that builds on our 35-year history of peer-led health promotion and advocacy. While our outreach is delivered by professional peer staff, many sex workers wish to contribute their lived expertise as volunteers, strengthening connection, representation, and leadership within our community. ...
SWOP NSW
Peer Leadership & Volunteer Program for Sex Workers
GOAL
$15,000
Australia > NSW > Metro and Regional
Field of Interest
- Health/wellbeing and medical research
Target Population
- Asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and people from CALD backgrounds
- Women and girls
SWOP NSW
About Us
Sex Workers Outreach Project NSW (SWOP NSW) is Australia’s largest and longest-running peer-based organisation supporting sex workers. Established in 1990, we are a community-controlled, not-for-profit charity registered with the ACNC and endorsed as a DGR1 organisation. Our vision is that all sex workers in NSW can live and work with safety, dignity, and equal access to health and human rights. Our mission is to promote the health, wellbeing, and human rights of sex workers through culturally responsive, trauma-informed, peer-led education, advocacy, and community development.
The Issue We Address
Sex workers continue to face stigma, discrimination, and barriers to health care and justice, despite NSW’s decriminalised legal framework. Migrant, Aboriginal, trans and gender-diverse, and street-based sex workers experience particular disadvantage, making it vital to maintain peer-driven services that reach across these communities.
Why SWOP is Best Placed
As a peer-led organisation, SWOP is trusted by the community we serve. Our outreach programs engage directly with sex workers across metropolitan, regional, and remote NSW, offering health promotion, information, and referral. We also train health, justice, and social service providers to improve cultural safety and reduce stigma.
Current Priorities
Our priorities include: expanding volunteer and peer leadership programs; strengthening culturally tailored support for migrant and Aboriginal sex workers; and delivering sector-wide sensitivity training.
Impact
SWOP’s work has helped maintain one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates among sex workers globally. Every dollar of funding directly supports frontline outreach, peer training, and systemic change that improves safety and wellbeing for sex workers.
Project Summary
Sex Workers Outreach Project NSW (SWOP NSW) seeks funding to establish a structured Volunteer Program that builds on our 35-year history of peer-led health promotion and advocacy. While our outreach is delivered by professional peer staff, many sex workers wish to contribute their lived expertise as volunteers, strengthening connection, representation, and leadership within our community.
We are modelling this initiative on successful programs such as NUAA’s Peer Participation Program, adapting it to the unique contexts of sex work in NSW. Volunteers will be supported through clear role descriptions, induction training, trauma-informed supervision, and pathways into peer leadership. The program will prioritise inclusion of migrant, Aboriginal, trans and gender-diverse, and street-based sex workers, who often face the most barriers to participation.
Funding will support recruitment, training, supervision, volunteer coordination, and ongoing evaluation. With your investment, SWOP can launch a sustainable program that harnesses community strengths, increases the reach of our outreach and education, and amplifies the voices of sex workers in shaping policy, health promotion, and stigma reduction.
Project Outcomes
Through this project, SWOP NSW will establish a structured, sustainable Volunteer Program that engages sex workers as community leaders and strengthens our capacity to deliver peer-led health promotion. Our aim is to create safe, supported pathways for sex workers to contribute their skills and lived experience in ways that enhance their community and build resilience.
By the end of the first year, we expect to have recruited, trained, and supported at least 20 volunteers across metropolitan, regional, and priority outreach settings. Each volunteer will complete induction training covering peer education, cultural responsiveness, trauma-informed practice, and self-care. Volunteers will be actively involved in outreach, resource development, health promotion campaigns, and sector training.
We will know we have achieved our aims when:
Volunteers report feeling valued, safe, and supported in their roles.
SWOP’s outreach reach expands measurably, with more sex workers engaged through peer contact.
External stakeholders (health, justice, and community organisations) identify increased awareness and improved cultural safety from engaging with SWOP volunteers.
At least 50% of volunteers express interest in ongoing peer leadership or governance roles.
Impact will be measured through volunteer feedback, supervision reports, outreach data, and partner surveys. Beyond numbers, success will be reflected in the increased visibility and leadership of sex workers, and the strengthening of a community-controlled, peer-led movement that ensures sex workers’ health and rights remain protected.
This program will embed participation as a core feature of SWOP’s future, building on proven peer models and creating lasting capacity for change.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $45,000
FUNDING
| Funding source | Amount |
|---|---|
| NSW Ministry of Health core funding (contribution to overheads, staff time). SWOP in-kind support (office space, IT, HR systems, management). Additional philanthropic/funding applications pending. | $15,000 |
| Australian Communities Foundation | $15,000 |
| To be sourced | $15,000 |
EXPENSES
| Expense item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Volunteer Coordinator (0.4 FTE) | $28,000 |
| Volunteer Training & Induction | $5,000 |
| Supervision & Wellbeing Supports | $5,000 |
| Volunteer Reimbursements | $4,000 |
| Program Evaluation & Reporting | $3,000 |
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