WorkSafe Fact Sheet - HSWA Info For PCBUs That Engage Volunteers
The primary piece of legislation that governs health and safety in New Zealand is the health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). This fact sheet explains the health and safety duties of a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) that engages volunteers. (60kb)

Resource - Guide For Managers Of Volunteers
Developing your Volunteer Programme - a guide for managers of volunteers. This highly recommended resource was developed by Volunteer Wellington and contains practical tips, tools and resources to help organisations develop their volunteer programmes. (1.2mb)

Resource - Becoming Volunteer Ready
Before you engage volunteers you need to ensure that you have solid policies, systems and processes in place to protect your organisation, the people you serve and your volunteers. A lack of good policies can result in poor practices, and have a detrimental effect on your organisation and its reputation. (141kb)

Resource - Volunteer Management Checklist
Volunteering Waikato encourages best practice in volunteer management. This check-list will help you to assess your current processes and assist you to identify areas for the further development of your volunteer programme. (61kb)

Fact Sheet - Volunteers and the Human Rights Act
The Human Rights Act protects people from unlawful discrimination. The Act’s intention is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly in key areas of life, including employment, and this includes the recruitment of volunteers... (122kb)

Resource - Finding the Right Volunteer
Finding the right volunteers for your organisation involves ensuring that you are getting an effective message, and the right message, to the right audience... (362kb)

Fact Sheet - Volunteer Pre-employment Checks
When recruiting volunteers, there are a range of checks you can undertake to ensure you are getting the right person for the role, the right person for your organisation, and the right person to work with your clients... (106kb)

Resource - Volunteer Reference Checks
When recruiting volunteers, reference checks are an important part of the process. These checks allow you to build a picture of the prospective volunteer and help to ensure that you are getting a good fit for your team... (359kb)

Fact Sheet - Checking Criminal Records
The purpose of vetting is to minimise the likelihood of the more vulnerable members of society, eg children, older people and those with disabilities, being put at risk by individuals who may have displayed behaviour that could be detrimental to others safety and wellbeing... (170kb)

Resource - Matching Volunteers to Roles
The key to matching volunteers to roles is understanding the specific requirements of the role AND the volunteers motivation... (360kb)

When the role doesn’t suit the volunteer
Sometimes this situation arises. What can we do? Much depends on when you realise that the role doesn’t suit and the sooner this happens the better it is for everyone. (35kb)

Resource - Dealing with Performance Issues
Volunteer performance has an effect on the overall performance of your organisation. The longer issues are ignored the more ingrained they may become, and the greater the negative effect will be on your volunteers, organisation and clients. The sooner you deal with issues, the better for everyone... (405kb)

Resource - Exiting A Volunteer
There are many reasons that your organisation may need to exit a volunteer. Perhaps they are no longer able to perform the role, cannot safely complete the required tasks, or are not aligned with the values or vision of the organisation. Exiting a volunteer is sometimes necessary, but not always an easy process...
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Resource - Engaging Volunteers With Disabilities
Volunteer teams benefit by being diverse and involving a wide range of volunteers, and this may include those with a disability or impairment. Whether you are considering involving a volunteer with an intellectual disability, sight or hearing impairment, someone recovering from an illness, or with a mobility issue etc, this resource contains some helpful considerations... (345kb)

Fact Sheet - Reimbursement of Volunteers' Expenses
Volunteering Waikato encourages community organisations to reimburse the actual expenses, eg travel, of your volunteers... but make sure you know the IRD rules regarding reimbursement... (114kb)