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Government Policy on Volunteering
Code of Practice for Volunteers
Code of Practice for Volunteer Involving Organisations
Guidelines For Appropriate Volunteer Positions
Volunteer Work and Income Support
Useful Information on Volunteering from the New Zealand Government

Government Policy on Volunteering
December 2002

Given that volunteers make a vital contribution to social development, the economy and the environment, government endorses the following policy on volunteering:

Vision
A society with a high level of volunteering, where the many contributions people make to the common good through volunteering and fulfilment of cultural obligations are actively supported and valued.

Recognition
Government recognises that:

volunteers are found in wide-ranging spheres of activity, including sports, arts, heritage, emergency services, social services, health, education, recreation, human rights, tourism, conservation and the environment

volunteers offer their time and expertise of their own free will, out of commitment to their community, and to fulfil cultural obligations

the nature of volunteering varies widely depending on different cultural expectations and the nature of the task

volunteers give their time unpaid and should have the opportunity to gain benefits in return, such as new skills, and a sense of belonging and achievement

volunteers should not replace paid workers

volunteering is an essential element of civil society.

Commitments
To support this vision, government is committed to:

valuing and celebrating the contributions of volunteers

recognising the contribution that tangata whenua, Pacific and ethnic peoples make to their communities through fulfilment of cultural obligations

ensuring that volunteers have appropriate protection under law

ensuring good practice in volunteer programmes which government directly manages

encouraging community and voluntary organisations to develop and maintain good practice in supporting and involving their volunteers

reducing barriers associated with volunteering in legislation, policy and practice

supporting initiatives to increase understanding of, and to disseminate information about, volunteering.

Implementation
Government expects all government agencies to:

take into account the needs of volunteers and their organisations, and the costs associated with volunteering, when developing policies and delivering services

consult volunteers and their organisations on policy and operational changes that impact on volunteering

have policies in place that support the private volunteering activities of staff while ensuring that public servants continue to fulfil their professional obligations.

Further enquiries to:
Community Policy
Ministry of Social Development
Telephone 04-916 3300
© Ministry of Social Development 2002

Code of Practice for Volunteers

To promote excellence in service and maximise the quality of my experience as a volunteer, I will:

Recognise my own motives for being a volunteer and ensure the organisation is aware of these.

Seek work opportunities appropriate to my skills, interests and aspirations.

Be committed to give high quality service.

Consider opportunities for job training and personal development.

Carry out all work I agree to do responsibly and ethically.

Speak out about any concerns that might affect my work relationships or quality of service.

See myself as a valued team member with the right to contribute to decisions which affect my work.

Value and support other team members.

Code of Practice for Volunteer Involving Organisations

To promote excellence in service and maximise the quality of volunteers' experience, this organisation will:

Empower our volunteers to meet their own and the organisation's needs.

Offer volunteers work opportunities appropriate to their skills, experience and aspirations.

Provide volunteers with clear duty statements and orientation to their work and the organisation.

Offer training and support for volunteers to achieve personal and work goals.

Implement procedures to safeguard volunteer safety and well being.

Offer re-imbursement to cover out-of-pocket expenses.

Recognise volunteers as valued team members with opportunities to participate in relevant organisation decisions.

Provide mechanisms to acknowledge contributions made by volunteers.

Guidelines For Appropriate Volunteer Positions

Organisations face significant challenges in determining what positions are appropriate for volunteers. Outlined below are factors that should be considered when listing a voluntary position.

Factors Which Tend to Make the Involvement Of Volunteers Appropriate:

Where the work is for the benefit of voluntary, not-for-profit charitable organisations

Where the job has not been performed by a paid worker within the last six months

Where the job will not require more than 20 hours per week

Where new areas of work are being explored and volunteers may pave the way for the creation of new jobs

Where there is an agreement within the member organisation about the nature and purpose of the volunteer involvement, including the principle of entitling volunteer staff to the same employment practices and benefits as paid staff

Where paid staff acknowledge the value of volunteers' contributions and adequate resources are made available to support, supervise and train the volunteers

Where there is an opportunity for the volunteer to benefit from the work by achieving personal goals

Where a task can be carried out better by a volunteer than by a paid staff person. This might include one-to-one befriending, advocacy, visiting, etc.

Where a distinct area of work can be identified for which the volunteer can take responsibility and which complements or extends the work of paid staff

Factors Which Tend to Make the Involvement Of Volunteers Inappropriate:

Where the work is for the benefit of a profit-making organisation

Where the volunteer receives remuneration implying low-wage status rather than voluntary work

Where the work will typically require more than 20 hours per week

Where the work is normally considered to be the responsibility of a statutory service, e.g. nursing care, teaching etc

Where the volunteer would be undertaking work which is the subject of an industrial dispute

Where the volunteer would be performing tasks carried out by paid staff in the past 6 months or where their involvement would reduce the likelihood of employment of paid staff

Where the involvement of volunteers would jeopardise the wage or employment conditions of paid staff

Where there is a disagreement within the client organisation about the nature and purpose of volunteer involvement

Where there are insufficient resources to provide proper support, supervision, training and workspace for volunteers

Where there is no money available to pay volunteers out-of-pocket expenses or provide appropriate insurance cover

Where the work offers no rewards to the volunteer, e.g. work is too demanding, tedious, dirty and unpleasant and the volunteer does not have an opportunity to achieve personal goals

Where unacceptable risks to health and safety are involved, e.g. physically dangerous work, potentially violent work etc.

Volunteer Work and Income Support
Definition of Recognised Community Activity

Recognised Community Activity offers unpaid work experience opportunities in a work place or work-type environment and allows the client to have their contribution to their community recognised.

Participation in this type of activity is totally voluntary. Work and Income can request a client to participate but cannot make the client undertake this activity.

Recognised Community Activities are not work tested therefore no sanction can be imposed if the client does not participate.

There are two types of Recognised Community Activity:

Activity in the Community - is an activity associated with a community project under the supervision of a sponsor who is approved by Work and Income to provide that activity. Work and Income will refer the client.

Voluntary Work – is work undertaken by a person for no remuneration (other than any reimbursement of direct expenses) for a non-profit community organisation or other person, and that is of benefit to the community. “This does not include Activities in the Community, or work undertaken as part of a work experience or work exploration activity.

Voluntary Work Voluntary work offers unpaid work experience opportunities for clients while contributing to their local community. However, this does not take preference over paid employment opportunities.

Participants:

Are not employed by the voluntary organisation and not paid for their work contribution.

May choose to participate in voluntary work, and it is the clients' choice as to what type of voluntary work they participate in.

Cannot receive a Participation Allowance, but may be reimbursed for the actual and reasonable costs of participation.

Work and Income can assist the client to identify suitable voluntary work opportunities, but does not arrange or refer a person to a voluntary organisation. This is the client's responsibility.

It is appropriate however for Work and Income to provide information about local voluntary organisations to a client wishing to undertake voluntary work.

A Participation Allowance is not paid for voluntary work as it is not a programme or service of Work and Income. We are not responsible for brokering opportunities, mandating providers or monitoring a clients participation.

Activity in the Community
Activity in the Community projects offer unpaid work experience opportunities in sponsored community projects.

Participants:

Are not employed by the sponsor and are not paid for their work contribution.

Can receive a Participation Allowance and may be reimbursed for the actual and reasonable costs of participation.

Community Brokerage Organisations are brokers who obtain a diverse range of Activity in the Community projects for our clients.

This is done in conjunction with Work Brokers. Work Brokers are responsible for setting up and monitoring Activity in the Community projects.

Useful Information on Volunteering from the New Zealand Government

New Zealand Government Policy on Volunteering:
The NZ Government Policy on Volunteering can be found at www.msd.govt.nz/work-areas/communities-hapu-iwi/volunteering/policy.html and the NZ Government Work Programme on volunteering February 2003 is at www.msd.govt.nz/work-areas/communities-hapu-iwi/volunteering/work-programme.html.

Volunteers transporting passengers
The Land Transport Safety Authority has a produced a fact sheet that summarises this complex area of law. There is a useful diagram with a set of questions for voluntary organisations whose activities involve providing transport. For the Fact Sheet visit www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/18.html.

The MSD online resource called 'goodpractice participate'.
This website will help public servants to engage successfully with community, voluntary, tangata whenua and Mäori organisations when decisions are being made. Everyone is encouraged to visit the website www.goodpracticeparticipate.govt.nz. The content will be continually added to and updated and your feedback will be very welcome.

ACC on Volunteers
Volunteer workers: your guide to ACC cover www.acc.co.nz/claimscare/making-a-claim/volunteer-workers--your-guide-to-acc-cover/index.html.

Downloadable documents:
Information about the Health and Saftey in Employment Act (.PDF Format 181 Kb) and how it affects volunteers engaged in work activities (.PDF Format 109 Kb).

Minister Turia’s Speech to the Volunteering New Zealand 2003 AGM
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.cfm?DocumentID=16701

Government Departments with an interest in volunteering:

Department of Internal Affairs www.dia.govt.nz

Department of Conservation www.doc.govt.nz

Department of Labour www.dol.govt.nz

Ministry of Social Development www.msd.govt.nz

Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector www.ocvs.govt.nz