The 13-year-old is a fixture at Nobbys Surf Live Saving Club on the weekends.

She also put her hand up to help children with life-threatening illnesses three years ago, after she lost her friend to brain cancer.

Olivia's mum Kerryn Scully said that it was a few months after the passing of Olivia's friend, Caprice, who she had known since she was a baby, that Olivia saw an advertisement on television promoting the work of Ronald McDonald House at John Hunter Hospital.

"She was only 10 and she asked me if she could volunteer for them," Ms Scully said.

"I told her probably not because you have to be an adult.

"I made contact with them and, given the circumstances, they said 'yes'."

For three years Olivia has hosted monthly craft afternoons for the children and teenagers staying at Ronald McDonald House while they receive treatment at the children's hospital.

While Ms Scully, who accompanies Olivia to the sessions, personally "sometimes struggles" with the hardships the children are facing, she said she was always impressed with her daughter's strength.

"I saw Caprice at her worst and at her best," Olivia said. "So it doesn't really phase me.

"I've made a lot of friends at the house.

"It's so tough for them, they can't be at school and they can't be at home with the rest of their family. They just want to feel normal," she said.

"It makes me feel better about what I've been through and tells me to give back."

On top of volunteering at the house, the Saint Pius X student patrols Nobbys Beach as a junior lifeguard once a month and helps out with Nippers at the beach on Sundays. She is also at Nobbys on Saturdays in the summer season to help out with another surf life saving program called Little Rippaz.

"It's a Nippers program for kids with disabilities," Olivia said. "Some of them are non-verbal, or have autism, or use wheelchairs. We do beach activities and then we go on the boogie boards and get them on the waves."

Olivia hopes that when she grows up she can be a professional life guard.

She said she wanted to keep up her volunteering activities for as long as she can.

Ms Scully said she was very proud of her daughter's commitment to others.

"It's not driven by me or my husband," she said.

"You can be good at something, and there's kids out there who are very good at some things," Ms Scully said. "But to be able to give something to other kids and your community that's even more important I think."