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The laws surrounding volunteering can be complex, yet volunteers are an important resource to many, if not most, community organisations.

Volunteer involving organisations can ensure their relationship with volunteers is meaningful, and managed respectfully and safely, by understanding the legal issues relating to the engagement and management of volunteers.  Not-for-profit Law has a suite of resources available to help navigate volunteering in community organisations.

National Volunteer Guide

Your organisation owes its volunteers certain legal obligations, and these are sometimes hard to work out.

Not-for-profit Law have produced a National Volunteer Guide for use by volunteer involving organisations across Australia. It provides an overview of the key legal obligations organisations owe volunteers and provides practical examples, template documents and tips to assist in their understanding.

The Guide is divided into six parts and covers the following key issues:

• Glossary of common terms and overview
• Understanding the legal differences between a volunteer, employee and independent contractor
• Understanding your organisation’s legal obligations in relation to the safety of its volunteers
• Protecting volunteers and other people your volunteers are interacting with from unlawful workplace behaviour
• Recruiting, inducting, managing performance and ending the volunteer relationship, and
• Organisational issues applicable to volunteers.

National Volunteer App

Not-for-profit Law has developed a Working with Volunteers app to complement the National Volunteer Guide and the National Volunteer Webinars.

This tool will help volunteer involving organisations understand the key legal obligations that not-for-profit organisations have towards volunteers. The key topics include recruitment, safety, unlawful workplace behaviour, managing performance and ending the volunteer relationship.

After completing a series of questions, your organisation will be provided with an opportunity to print a report containing an overview of the legal issues, recommendations and links for further information all based on your answers.

Recruiting Volunteers e-Learning Module 

This e-learning module covers the legal obligations involved in the process of recruiting volunteers. It includes interactive activities, instructional videos and realistic scenarios to help you recruit volunteers fairly and safely, while maintaining a high-quality service and upholding your legal and ethical obligations. This module will empower your organisation to prepare to recruit volunteers, undertake screening and ensure fair and non-discriminatory selection processes.

Click here to access these resources and many more on the Not-for-profit Law website.