Overnewton Anglican Community College: Strengthening community engagement & child safety

Introduction

Overnewton Anglican Community College has transformed the way it manages community participation, shifting from a long-standing manual Family Involvement Program to a fully digital, compliance-led Community Engagement Program. With nearly 800 registered users and more than 500 fully onboarded volunteers, the College exceeded its participation goals by four times in the program’s first phase.

Rosterfy now underpins the entire volunteer framework by centralising compliance checks, streamlining onboarding, reducing administrative effort, and ensuring only appropriately screened adults engage with students. The platform supports the school’s long-term vision to build a stronger, safer, and more connected community.

Overnewton Anglican Community College is a leading P–12 independent school in Melbourne’s northwest. Known for its strong community values, the College has long encouraged parent and community involvement as part of its educational philosophy.

In March 2025, it launched the Community Engagement Program, modernising its volunteer processes with a renewed focus on child safety, compliance, and expanding participation beyond parents to include grandparents, alumni, and broader local community members.

The Challenge

As the College’s community engagement expanded, its manual processes could no longer support the scale or compliance requirements of a modern educational environment.

Key challenges included:

• Heavy manual administration across onboarding, screening and tracking volunteer eligibility
• Compliance gaps in managing Working With Children Checks and role-based requirements
• Limited visibility over who was eligible and cleared to work with students
• Fragmented data across multiple tools and staff
• No automated reminders, increasing the risk of expired WWCCs or missing documentation

The shift from mandatory to voluntary participation raised concerns about sustaining engagement. However, interest remained strong and reinforced the need for a digitised system to handle growth safely and efficiently.

The Results

After evaluating four to five platforms, from basic databases to full volunteer systems, Rosterfy was the only solution able to meet the College’s operational and legislative requirements.

What set Rosterfy apart

• Purpose-built compliance controls for WWCC and child-safety obligations
• Customisable workflows tailored to Overnewton’s unique onboarding processes
• Role-based eligibility rules ensuring only compliant volunteers can access student-facing opportunities
• Automated reminders for training, WWCC expiry, and mandatory checks
• Future scalability to extend compliance management to contractors and potentially staff

Rosterfy was chosen for its long-term value and its ability to adapt to Overnewton’s complex needs without forcing a compromise in process or compliance.

Implementation: Moving from paper to a modern compliance framework

The move to Rosterfy required an initial investment of time to configure workflows and role journeys. However, the benefits were immediate:

Centralised data & dtreamlined onboarding

All volunteer records, training requirements and WWCC checks now sit in one system,  reducing manual handling and lowering the chance of human error.

Consistent child-safety screening

Volunteers upload WWCCs and mandatory documents, which Rosterfy verifies and flags if incomplete, expired, or missing.

Automation that reduces workload

Automated reminders and eligibility rules mean staff no longer chase compliance manually.

Improved event management

Team leaders can check volunteers in on the day, ensuring only rostered and compliant individuals are present.

The Impact

The program has already surpassed expectations by four times and created meaningful community benefits.

1. Program growth far exceeds goals

• 800 registered users
  
• 500 fully onboarded volunteers
  
• Participation reached four times the initial projections.

This growth demonstrates a strong community connection even after removing mandatory volunteer requirements.

2. Strengthened child-safety compliance

Rosterfy ensures:

• Mandatory WWCCs are validated
• Volunteers cannot access shifts unless they are fully compliant
• Auditable, transparent records support risk management.

3. Reduced administrative burden

The platform has:

• Eliminated repetitive manual tasks
• Centralised communications
• Made event staffing faster and more reliable
• Reduced multi-staff coordination for large events (e.g., camps)

4. Better volunteer experience

Volunteers can:

• See all opportunities in one place
• Understand requirements clearly
• Complete onboarding independently

Requests for new features are minimal, the most common being push notifications, reflecting strong usability.

5. Enhanced reputation & community trust

Positive volunteer experiences are contributing to:

• Stronger word-of-mouth
• Reinforced school brand values
• Increased confidence from families and the broader community