Getting Started

The Importance of a Volunteer Policy

Developing a volunteer policy is a crucial step in forming a volunteer program. It takes time and preparation but can have fantastic outcomes if combined with clear and creative thinking, a sound understanding of the organisation's strategic plan and consideration of how to make volunteering work for you.

A volunteer policy establishes the basic principles behind your volunteer involvement and your practice guidelines for working with volunteers.

Here is a list of questions that may assist you in developing your volunteer policy:

Why do we want volunteers?
How will volunteers contribute to our organisation's strategic plan?
What risk management practices do we need to cover volunteer involvement, eg; insurance coverage?
How can we ensure a positive approach and good understanding of volunteering practices throughout our organisation?
What roles might be appropriate for volunteers to perform?
What additional resources may we need to support them e.g. induction program, mentor/buddy system?
What tasks may paid employees perform to supervise and support volunteers?
Who would be interested in volunteering with us and what may their motivations be?
What resources will we need to recruit volunteers?
How will we recruit and select volunteers?
Is there any pre-employment or volunteer legislation that we need to comply with?
How will we ensure that the recruitment and selection process is fair to all potential volunteers?
What expenses will be paid for, or reimbursed and how will this occur?
What is the most effective and useful way of communicating our organisation's policies to volunteers, including occupational health and safety issues?
How do we ensure that the volunteers' and organisations' experience is positive?
If a volunteer wasn't happy with the organisation or the organisation wasn't happy with a volunteer, how would we manage this?
Who else may be able to assist us with this process?

By asking yourself and colleagues these questions you can start to investigate how a volunteer policy may operate in your organisation. They can also assist in making people aware that a good volunteer policy can take significant resources' including people's time and commitment!

As with the development of any organisational policy it is important that the board or senior management support the volunteer policy. Their understanding and strategic support can make all the difference to the success of your volunteer program.

For help with developing your volunteer policy see the list of local volunteer experts at: www.wavevolunteeringessentials.org.au

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Additional Resources

Before You Recruit Worksheet - questions to assist you review or develop a volunteer policy.

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Insurance and Legal Issues

Insurance

Before you embark on developing your volunteer program it is essential that you have the correct insurance.

There are two main insurance covers that need to be considered, they are:

Public Liability - covers the organisation if it is sued by a member of the public or a volunteer for harm caused by the organisation's negligence. If the organisation is liable then unless the policy has a relevant exclusion clause, the person can sue for injuries and the insurance company will pay the bill. The public liability policy must be read in full to see if there are any exclusion clauses that might matter to the organisation and to make sure that any special conditions are being met. Public Liability insurance will often not cover accidents to volunteers, either because the organisation was not negligent and the accident was no one's fault, or was the volunteer's fault, or because volunteers knew about and accepted the risk of the accident. Organisations should always have a public liability insurance policy, which should be read carefully to check the terms.
Personal Accident Insurance - covers the volunteers irrespective of the cause of the accident or who was at fault. Personal accident cover generally pays weekly benefits, out of pocket expenses like medical bills and low capital benefits for permanent injury or death. It does not provide high payouts like public liability. Individuals can take out their own personal accident cover, but usually the agency takes out a block policy to cover all its volunteers. Organisations should take care to note exclusions, some insurance will not cover people over 65 or under 16.

There are several other types of insurance that volunteer organisations should consider such as: directors and officers insurance, professional indemnity and property insurance.

Insurance in this day and age is a very complex issue and expert guidance should always be sought.

Insurance options available to non-profit groups include:

Community Insurance Fund was established by the Government of Western Australia, to assist 'community organisations', based in Western Australia, to obtain insurance cover. The Community Insurance Fund is backed by the Crown and is managed by the Insurance Commission of WA. It is a 'safety net' insurance and organisations must prove they cannot obtain insurance cover elsewhere at market rates. Further information can be obtained from www.icwa.wa.gov.au

Community Sector Services (CSS) is a not for profit organisation which facilitates access to a range of administrative services including insurance, via ACI Broking WA Pty Ltd(previously Hammond Insurance Broking) CSS works with ACI Broking WA to develop tailored insurance packages to reduce premiums by utilising the collective purchasing power of the community sector and improve the accessibility of insurance coverage. Further information can be obtained from www.acibroking.com.au

Local Community Insurance Services (LCIS) is a specialist insurance provider established to manage the insurance needs of clubs and community groups within Australia. LCIS is a division of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT). Further information can be obtained from www.localcommunityinsurance.com.au

Municipal Insurance Broking Services - In association with Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) and local Councils, Municipal Insurance Broking Services is offering public liability and other insurances to community groups. Further information can be obtained from www.lgiswa.com.au

Aon Australia provides access to a range of insurance and reinsurance markets, risk management consulting and financial planning. Aon has developed the Volunteers Vital Pack in conjunction with Volunteering Australia, an insurance package designed specifically for charitable, not for profit, voluntary organisations and voluntary involving organisations. Further information can be obtained from www.aon.com.au

Liability Legislation

Under the recently amended Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002 a person who is volunteering for an organisation and operates in good faith when doing community work and within the organisation's guidelines has some protection from liability. The intent of the legislation is that the liability will transfer to the community organisation with which they are involved. This means that volunteers cannot be sued for something they did or failed to do, if they are acting within the scope of the work and directions given to them by the community organisation.

The recent amendment to the legislation has not affected the status of volunteers' liability, it has only removed the liability associated food and other donated products.

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Additional Resources

Insurance Checklist - guide for insurance coverage

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Understanding Equal Opportunity

Like employers, volunteer organisations have a responsibility to provide an environment free from discrimination and harassment. It is important that your volunteer policy is supported by a plan to ensure that volunteer and organisational practices do not discriminate against certain groups of the community. After all, you could be missing or losing a pool of potentially valuable volunteers. It is also equally important that your volunteer policy is linked to a complaints management process which is well known and available to all volunteers to manage any matters that may arise (for additional information see Performance Management Module.) Equal Opportunity is based on the premise that everybody deserves a "fair go". It doesn't matter what sex, race or age you are, if you have a disability in any way, your marital status, pregnancy, your family status or family responsibility, the religious or political beliefs you might hold, any spent convictions you may have, your sexual orientation or gender history - everybody has the right to be treated fairly.

The Equal Opportunity Act gives everyone a fair go - by law. It makes it unlawful to discriminate against people on certain grounds and areas of public life. It means that if any person believes they have been discriminated against in these ways, there is an avenue they can pursue for help.

For more information regarding Equal Opportunity contact the Equal Opportunity Commission, (08) 9216 3900 www.equalopportunity.wa.gov.au

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Additional Resources

Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity Brochure - produced by the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment,

available online at:www.oeeo.wa.gov.au

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Volunteer Resource Centres

Volunteer Resources Centres are located throughout the State and are available to provide advice and support to organisations in the management of their volunteers. They also provide a service of matching volunteers to volunteering opportunities.

For more information and to find your nearest Volunteer Resource Centre see p. of Additional Resource Module.

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Volunteering WA

Volunteering WA is a state-wide service supporting volunteering in Western Australia. As part of this role Volunteering WA seeks to build stronger communities through volunteering. This includes: undertaking promotion, advocacy, developing partnerships, undertaking research, delivering innovative programs and the provision of support to volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations.

Volunteering WA is a membership based organisation. For more information on Volunteering WA, including membership information please contact (08) 9482 4333 or visit: www.volunteeringwa.org.au


Home Volunteering Essentials Getting Started Engaging & Recruiting Screening & Selecting Background Checking Induction Motivation Reward & Recognition Performance Management Evaluating your Volunteer Program Volunteer Resource Centres WAVE Training Templates & FREE STUFF Resource Register
Getting Started Engaging & Recruiting Screening & Selecting Background Checking Induction Motivation Reward & Recognition Performance Management Evaluating your Volunteer Program Volunteer Resource Centres
Getting Started The Importance of a Volunteer Policy Developing a volunteer policy is a crucial step in forming a volunteer program. It takes time and preparation but can have fantastic outcomes if combined with clear and creative thinking, a sound understanding of the organisation's strategic plan and consideration of how to make volunteering work for you. A volunteer policy establishes the basic principles behind your volunteer involvement and your practice guidelines for working with volunteers. Here is a list of questions that may assist you in developing your volunteer policy: Why do we want volunteers? How will volunteers contribute to our organisation's strategic plan? What risk management practices do we need to cover volunteer involvement, eg; insurance coverage? How can we ensure a positive approach and good understanding of volunteering practices throughout our organisation? What roles might be appropriate for volunteers to perform? What additional resources may we need to support them e.g. induction program, mentor/buddy system? What tasks may paid employees perform to supervise and support volunteers? Who would be interested in volunteering with us and what may their motivations be? What resources will we need to recruit volunteers? How will we recruit and select volunteers? Is there any pre-employment or volunteer legislation that we need to comply with? How will we ensure that the recruitment and selection process is fair to all potential volunteers? What expenses will be paid for, or reimbursed and how will this occur? What is the most effective and useful way of communicating our organisation's policies to volunteers, including occupational health and safety issues? How do we ensure that the volunteers' and organisations' experience is positive? If a volunteer wasn't happy with the organisation or the organisation wasn't happy with a volunteer, how would we manage this? Who else may be able to assist us with this process? By asking yourself and colleagues these questions you can start to investigate how a volunteer policy may operate in your organisation. They can also assist in making people aware that a good volunteer policy can take significant resources' including people's time and commitment! As with the development of any organisational policy it is important that the board or senior management support the volunteer policy. Their understanding and strategic support can make all the difference to the success of your volunteer program. For help with developing your volunteer policy see the list of local volunteer experts at: www.wavevolunteeringessentials.org.au top Additional Resources Before You Recruit Worksheet - questions to assist you review or develop a volunteer policy. top Insurance and Legal Issues Insurance Before you embark on developing your volunteer program it is essential that you have the correct insurance. There are two main insurance covers that need to be considered, they are: Public Liability - covers the organisation if it is sued by a member of the public or a volunteer for harm caused by the organisation's negligence. If the organisation is liable then unless the policy has a relevant exclusion clause, the person can sue for injuries and the insurance company will pay the bill. The public liability policy must be read in full to see if there are any exclusion clauses that might matter to the organisation and to make sure that any special conditions are being met. Public Liability insurance will often not cover accidents to volunteers, either because the organisation was not negligent and the accident was no one's fault, or was the volunteer's fault, or because volunteers knew about and accepted the risk of the accident. Organisations should always have a public liability insurance policy, which should be read carefully to check the terms. Personal Accident Insurance - covers the volunteers irrespective of the cause of the accident or who was at fault. Personal accident cover generally pays weekly benefits, out of pocket expenses like medical bills and low capital benefits for permanent injury or death. It does not provide high payouts like public liability. Individuals can take out their own personal accident cover, but usually the agency takes out a block policy to cover all its volunteers. Organisations should take care to note exclusions, some insurance will not cover people over 65 or under 16. There are several other types of insurance that volunteer organisations should consider such as: directors and officers insurance, professional indemnity and property insurance. Insurance in this day and age is a very complex issue and expert guidance should always be sought. Insurance options available to non-profit groups include: Community Insurance Fund was established by the Government of Western Australia, to assist 'community organisations', based in Western Australia, to obtain insurance cover. The Community Insurance Fund is backed by the Crown and is managed by the Insurance Commission of WA. It is a 'safety net' insurance and organisations must prove they cannot obtain insurance cover elsewhere at market rates. Further information can be obtained from www.icwa.wa.gov.au Community Sector Services (CSS) is a not for profit organisation which facilitates access to a range of administrative services including insurance, via ACI Broking WA Pty Ltd(previously Hammond Insurance Broking) CSS works with ACI Broking WA to develop tailored insurance packages to reduce premiums by utilising the collective purchasing power of the community sector and improve the accessibility of insurance coverage. Further information can be obtained from www.acibroking.com.au Local Community Insurance Services (LCIS) is a specialist insurance provider established to manage the insurance needs of clubs and community groups within Australia. LCIS is a division of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT). Further information can be obtained from www.localcommunityinsurance.com.au Municipal Insurance Broking Services - In association with Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) and local Councils, Municipal Insurance Broking Services is offering public liability and other insurances to community groups. Further information can be obtained from www.lgiswa.com.au Aon Australia provides access to a range of insurance and reinsurance markets, risk management consulting and financial planning. Aon has developed the Volunteers Vital Pack in conjunction with Volunteering Australia, an insurance package designed specifically for charitable, not for profit, voluntary organisations and voluntary involving organisations. Further information can be obtained from www.aon.com.au Liability Legislation Under the recently amended Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002 a person who is volunteering for an organisation and operates in good faith when doing community work and within the organisation's guidelines has some protection from liability. The intent of the legislation is that the liability will transfer to the community organisation with which they are involved. This means that volunteers cannot be sued for something they did or failed to do, if they are acting within the scope of the work and directions given to them by the community organisation. The recent amendment to the legislation has not affected the status of volunteers' liability, it has only removed the liability associated food and other donated products. top Additional Resources Insurance Checklist - guide for insurance coverage top Understanding Equal Opportunity Like employers, volunteer organisations have a responsibility to provide an environment free from discrimination and harassment. It is important that your volunteer policy is supported by a plan to ensure that volunteer and organisational practices do not discriminate against certain groups of the community. After all, you could be missing or losing a pool of potentially valuable volunteers. It is also equally important that your volunteer policy is linked to a complaints management process which is well known and available to all volunteers to manage any matters that may arise (for additional information see Performance Management Module.) Equal Opportunity is based on the premise that everybody deserves a "fair go". It doesn't matter what sex, race or age you are, if you have a disability in any way, your marital status, pregnancy, your family status or family responsibility, the religious or political beliefs you might hold, any spent convictions you may have, your sexual orientation or gender history - everybody has the right to be treated fairly. The Equal Opportunity Act gives everyone a fair go - by law. It makes it unlawful to discriminate against people on certain grounds and areas of public life. It means that if any person believes they have been discriminated against in these ways, there is an avenue they can pursue for help. For more information regarding Equal Opportunity contact the Equal Opportunity Commission, (08) 9216 3900 www.equalopportunity.wa.gov.au top Additional Resources Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity Brochure - produced by the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment, available online at:www.oeeo.wa.gov.au top Volunteer Resource Centres Volunteer Resources Centres are located throughout the State and are available to provide advice and support to organisations in the management of their volunteers. They also provide a service of matching volunteers to volunteering opportunities. For more information and to find your nearest Volunteer Resource Centre see p. of Additional Resource Module. top Volunteering WA Volunteering WA is a state-wide service supporting volunteering in Western Australia. As part of this role Volunteering WA seeks to build stronger communities through volunteering. This includes: undertaking promotion, advocacy, developing partnerships, undertaking research, delivering innovative programs and the provision of support to volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations. Volunteering WA is a membership based organisation. For more information on Volunteering WA, including membership information please contact (08) 9482 4333 or visit: www.volunteeringwa.org.au
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