News

The NSW Government is leading the way in supporting and recognising the contributions of the state’s 4.3 million volunteers with the launch of a new Volunteer Charter.

The NSW Volunteer Charter sets out a clear code of conduct organisations can adopt to grow and support volunteering across the state.

The NSW Volunteer Charter is a set of 10 guiding principles that encourage best practice, good communication and positive relationships. It supports the foundations for a good volunteer experience and gives individuals, groups and organisations the opportunity to express their support for the spirit of volunteering while upholding the principles of good volunteer practice.

The 10 principles of the volunteer charter are: choice, involved, respect, safety, timely, training, clarity, reasonable, leadership, recognition. A companion document provides guidance on how each principle can be implemented.

Minister with responsibility for volunteering Jodie Harrison said the NSW Government was proud to be the first state in Australia to have such a charter, and together with a refreshed NSW Volunteering Strategy, there is a clear path to grow the sector.

“Whether they are on the sports field, in the foodbank, patrolling the beach or deploying to an emergency, volunteers are the heartbeat of every community,” Minister Harrison said.

“The government is focused on building sector capacity, investing in research, and enhancing the recognition of volunteers.

“This Charter provides a way for organisations to deliver best practice, support good communication and positive relationships. Most importantly, it will encourage more people to take up volunteering and find meaningful ways to give back to their communities.

“Our united vision for the future is one where volunteering in NSW grows and is vibrant, everyone can volunteer, more often, throughout life and their contributions are celebrated.”

Volunteers contribute close to 900 million hours, worth $178 billion, to our collective wellbeing.

The development of the NSW Volunteer Charter was done in consultation with the volunteering sector, in response to NSW Volunteering Taskforce recommendations. It is a key new initiative under the NSW Volunteering Strategy 2020 to 2030.

Centre for Volunteering CEO Gemma Rygate thanked the NSW Government for their work coordinating the development of the milestone document.

“Volunteering has so many benefits for communities and individuals, helping people connect, boosting health and wellbeing,” Ms Rygate said.

“Setting consistent standards and supporting good practice across organisations helps our sector to grow, and the Volunteer Charter is an important tool to help ensure this.”

Download the NSW Volunteer Charter here.