Support for Volunteers

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Starting a volunteer role

Volunteering can help with your personal development, to gain work experience, meet new people, and increase self-confidence.

When you express your interest in a volunteering role, ask what support and onboarding is provided for new volunteers. Often, you won’t be the only person starting at the same time.

There may be mentoring, information and welcome sessions, or meet-and-greets with other team members, that can help you get used to the role.

Before you start, you might ask about a trial period to see if the role is a good fit for you and the organisation.

Two women stand on a balcony together

Your rights, responsibilities and expectations as a volunteer

You and the organisation you volunteer with are responsible for making sure you’re safe & happy in your role.

Volunteers have the right to:

  • feel safe
  • be interviewed and engaged as a volunteer in accordance with equal opportunity and anti-discrimination legislation
  • receive information about the organisation
  • a clearly written role description
  • know to whom they are accountable
  • be recognised as a valued team member
  • be supported and supervised
  • a healthy and safe working environment
  • be protected by appropriate insurance
  • say no if they feel they are being exploited
  • be reimbursed for approved out-of-pocket expenses
  • be advised of the travel reimbursement policy
  • be informed and consulted on matters which directly or indirectly affect them and their work
  • be made aware of the grievance procedure
  • orientation and training
  • information about policies and procedures that affect their work
  • have their confidential and personal information dealt with in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

Volunteers have a responsibility to:

  • be reliable
  • respect confidentiality
  • carry out the tasks defined in the role description
  • be accountable
  • be committed to the organisation
  • undertake training as requested
  • ask for support when they need it
  • give notice before they leave
  • value and support other team members
  • carry out the work they have agreed to do responsibly and ethically
  • notify the organisation as soon as possible of absences
  • adhere to policies and procedures

FAQs Common Questions

  • See National Standards for Volunteer Involvement.

  • Pausing or stopping a volunteering role
    Be open with the organisation you volunteer with – if you feel that you are no longer in a position to volunteer, give the organisation some notice to allow them to find a replacement. It’s worth remembering too, that if a volunteering activity doesn’t turn out as you’d expected, there are other opportunities you can try.

    Volunteering is social! If you are nervous about starting a volunteer role, you can ask friends or family to join with you and share the experience or ask the organisation if they will hold an information session for other people starting at the same time.

    Volunteer organisations can provide recognition for service and also be referees for job applications.

  • Organisations owe their volunteers certain legal obligations, but under the different State and Territory legislations it’s not always clear where volunteers are covered.
    Volunteering WA recommends Justice Connect’s Not-For-Profit Law Information Hub to ensure volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations receive up-to-date legal advice.

    Their ‘Managing Volunteers Guide’ covers:

    • Volunteer, employee or independent contractor – The legal differences between a volunteer, employee and independent contractor
    • The volunteer relationship – Recruiting, inducting, managing performance and ending the relationship
    • Volunteer safety – Your organisation’s responsibility regarding negligence, work health and safety, managing risk, insurance and child safe standards
    • Unlawful workplace behaviour – Protecting volunteers and other people your volunteers interact with from behaviour such as sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and victimisation
    • Other legal issues – Intellectual property, privacy and record keeping

    Not-for-profit Law ‘helps the helpers’ by providing tailored legal information, advice and training to not-for-profit community organisations. By relieving the burden of legal issues, organisations can better focus their time and energy on achieving their mission – whether that’s supporting vulnerable people, delivering community services, enhancing diversity or bringing together the community.

  • Volunteer-involving organisations have a duty of care to ensure a safe environment for employees, volunteers & clients.

    Volunteer-involving organisations have legal obligations to protect the health and safety of their service users, visitors, volunteers and members of the public. These are especially important when working with vulnerable people such as children, older people and people with disabilities protecting them from harm or abuse.

    To manage risks, organisations may establish or undertake:

    • Criminal history checks (police checks, blue cards, yellow cards)
    • Requirement for statutory declarations from volunteers
    • Referee checks
    • Policies and procedures
    • Supervision
    • Training
    • Following codes of conduct, or
    • Up to date insurance policies

    Background checks required for volunteers may vary depending the services the organisations provides and the type of work a volunteer is required to undertake, and might include:

    • National Police Check
    • Working with Children Check

    Background checks should be completed by the organisation prior to the volunteer commencing.

  • See NFP Law’s ‘Engaging and working with youth volunteers’ guide for an overview of the legal issues you need to consider when engaging volunteers who are under 18-years-old.

  • Unfortunately, disputes may occur between you and other people at the organisation where you volunteer.

    This can be greatly upsetting for all concerned. You may feel that your commitment to the organisation and its cause has been rendered worthless. You may also be concerned about your reputation within the organisation, or the broader community.
    There are no equivalent ‘Fair Work’ regulations for volunteers and in most cases no external body can intervene in disputes amongst volunteers or between volunteers and organisations.

    Your first step should be to consider how you would like to resolve the issue.

    • Do you wish to continue in your volunteer role, or in a different role within the organisation?
    • Is this conflict affecting your relationships with other people, either inside or outside the organisation?
    • For some people, walking away will be a heart-breaking option, but may be the least taxing emotionally and practically.
  • Mandurah Filipino-Australian Multicultural Community Volunteers.
  • Two op shop volunteers behind the counter
    Each Good Sammy store has a team of staff and volunteers who work together to keep it running.
  • St John WA Volunteer Development and Ambulance Officer, Brian.