The National Standards

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National Standards for Volunteer Involvement

The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (the “Standards”) are a best practice framework to guide volunteer involvement, and are designed to be used by the person or team who have responsibility for volunteer engagement.

The National Standards highlight eight (8) key areas for effective volunteer involvement:

  1. Volunteering is embedded in leadership, governance and culture.
  2. Volunteer participation is championed and modelled.
  3. Volunteer roles are meaningful and tailored.
  4. Recruitment is equitable and diversity is valued.
  5. Volunteers are supported and developed.
  6. Volunteer safety and wellbeing is protected.
  7. Volunteers are recognised.
  8. Policies and practices are continuously improved.
National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (PDF)

Resources to support implementation

Implementation Guide

This Implementation Guide contains a step-by-step process to follow to help you implement the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, including:

Steps to implementing the National Standards:

  • Step one: Identify benefits and challenges and assess readiness.
  • Step two: Conduct a gap assessment.
  • Step three: Secure internal support and resources.
  • Step four: Develop an action plan and implement the plan.
  • Step five: Review, celebrate, and ensure continuous improvement.

View the NSVI Implementation Guide (PDF)

Evaluation of the Volunteer Experience

Use these simple ‘Volunteer Experience Checklists’ as prompts to evaluate your current practices against the best-practice National Standards.

A version of the checklist is tailored for managers and leaders, and a version tailored for your volunteers to answer.

Gap Analysis Tools

This is a self-assessment tool that can be used to compare your organisation against the National Standards and identify any gaps or areas for improvement.

Available formats:

Evidence Guide

The Evidence Guide identifies the practices, processes, policies and documentation that can be used to show that an organisation has implemented the National Standards, including:

  • A summary and the intention of the standard.
  • The specific criteria required for the standard.
  • The requirements to show how a standard has been met or can be met.
  • Specific examples of evidence that could be used to show criteria have been met.

View the Volunteering Australia NSVI Evidence Guide (PDF).

Accreditation

Organisations that can show that they meet, and will continue to meet the National Standards, can be endorsed as Exemplary Volunteer-Involving Organisation.

Endorsement Process

Accreditation can be obtained through your State or Territory volunteer peak body (Volunteering WA), through a two part process:

Part 1 – an assessment of documentation that supports and verifies your implementation of the Standards.

Part 2 – a review directly with your volunteers to verify their experience, awareness and knowledge.

Accreditation Guide (inc Fees)

Please read the Accreditation Guides, and then contact our Training team to express your interest.

 

Further Learning & Support

Volunteering WA offers a variety of tools and resources to assist organisations to demonstrate their compliance with the Standards.

Training & Workshops

Volunteering WA offers two workshops on the National Standards:

  • Introductory Workshop: A 1-hour introduction and overview of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement.
  • Implementation Workshop: A 3-hour workshop designed to assist organisations with the preparation and planning for implementation. Participants are asked to complete the self-assessment gap analysis prior to attending. During the session, we cover change management, challenges and benefits of implementation, discussion of each participant’s self-assessment, and how to develop an action plan with next steps.

Explore upcoming workshops on the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement.

Consultations

Take advantage of a 1-hour consultation with Volunteering WA to discuss your organisation’s alignment to the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement. You’ll learn about any gaps you may have and how to move forward with a reliable action plan.

The consultation is free for Volunteering WA members, and $50 +gst for non-members. An invoice will be issued once your booking has been confirmed.

Book a 1-hour consultation with a Volunteering WA team member:

Louise Giles, Training Manager (meeting request link)
Felicity Smith, Volunteer Management Engagement (meeting request link)

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Please note, the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (2024) are the intellectual property of Volunteering Australia. They are recognised within Australia as the best practice framework for volunteer involvement. 

As the owners of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, Volunteering Australia has endorsed its foundation members, the state and territory peak bodies for volunteering, as being the sole organisations authorised to deliver training and develop resources on the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement. 

Any unauthorised use of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement is strictly prohibited.