The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (National Standards) are a best practice framework to guide volunteer involvement. They are an essential resource for all organisations and groups that engage volunteers. The National Standards can be used flexibly, recognising that volunteering takes place in highly diverse settings and ways.
Adoption of the National Standards has direct benefits to both volunteers and to organisations and groups:
- They help improve the volunteer experience and ensure that the wellbeing of volunteers is supported and their contributions are valued.
- They provide best practice guidance and benchmarks to help organisations attract, manage and retain volunteers and support effective risk and safety practices.
The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement
The eight National Standards for Volunteer Involvement are a best practice framework to
support safe, effective and inclusive volunteering.
Standard 1: Volunteering is embedded in leadership, governance and culture
The governing body and organisation leaders promote volunteering and implement effective systems to support volunteer participation.
1.1 Responsibilities for engaging, leading and managing volunteer participation are defined and supported.
1.2 Governance and risk management arrangements facilitate safe and meaningful volunteer participation.
1.3 Policies and procedures applying to volunteers are developed with volunteers and communicated and implemented across the organisation.
1.4 Volunteer records are maintained, and volunteers and employees understand their obligations on information sharing, record keeping and privacy.
1.5 Processes are in place to manage relationships with partner agencies in collaborative volunteering activities. (This criterion only applies to organisations or groups working with other organisations in a collaborative activity involving volunteers and/or sharing responsibility for volunteers).
Standard 2: Volunteer participation is championed and modelled
Commitment to volunteer participation is set out through vision, planning and resourcing, and supports the organisation’s or group’s strategic direction.
2.1 The organisation publicly declares its commitment to volunteer participation.
2.2 A volunteering culture is championed and modelled at all levels of the organisation.
2.3 Volunteer participation is part of the organisation’s vision, purpose, goals and objectives and is developed through engagement with volunteers.
2.4 Volunteering programs are supported by adequately resourced volunteer managers or officers.
2.5 Resources (including time, funds, equipment and technology) are allocated for volunteer involvement.
Standard 3: Volunteer roles are meaningful and tailored
Volunteers are engaged in meaningful roles which contribute to the organisation’s or group’s purpose and meet volunteer interests and preferred style of participation.
3.1 Volunteer roles are designed and negotiated with volunteers, considering the needs and interests of volunteers.
3.2 Volunteer roles contribute to the organisation’s purpose, goals and objectives.
3.3 Volunteer roles are defined, documented and communicated.
3.4 Volunteer roles are reviewed regularly including through feedback and engagement with volunteers about their experience.
Standard 4: Recruitment is equitable and diversity is valued
Volunteer recruitment and selection strategies meet the needs of the organisation and volunteers; they facilitate and value diversity and promote equity and accessibility.
4.1 Organisations and groups engage volunteers using planned and innovative approaches to attract people with relevant interests, knowledge and skills.
4.2 Potential volunteers are provided with information about the organisation, how volunteers contribute to its purpose and vision, available opportunities and the selection process.
4.3 Volunteers are selected based on their interests, knowledge, skills and suitability for the role, and consistent with anti-discrimination law.
4.4 Diversity, inclusivity and accessibility principles are built into recruitment activities, reflecting and promoting awareness of, and respect for, diversity and inclusion and the inherent value this brings to the organisation.
4.5 Screening processes maintain the safety and security of service recipients, employees, volunteers, and the organisation, in line with legal requirements and regulations.
Standard 5: Volunteers are supported and developed
Volunteers understand their roles and gain the knowledge, skills and feedback needed to participate safely and effectively.
5.1 Volunteers are provided with relevant induction and training.
5.2 Volunteers’ knowledge and skills are reviewed to identify support and development needs.
5.3 Volunteers are engaged with throughout their time with an organisation or group and provided with supervision and support that enables them to participate fully.
5.4 People with responsibility for volunteers have sufficient time and resources to engage with and provide appropriate and required support.
5.5 Changes to the role of a volunteer are fair and consistent and achieved through engaging with the volunteer.
Standard 6: Volunteer safety and wellbeing is protected
The health, safety and wellbeing of volunteers is protected and volunteers understand their rights and responsibilities.
6.1 Effective working relationships with employees, and between volunteers, are facilitated.
6.2 Organisations and groups meet their legal and ethical obligations to protect volunteers from harm.
6.3 Processes are in place to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of volunteers in their capacity as volunteers, including relevant insurances.
6.4 Volunteers understand and have access to complaints procedures.
6.5 Complaints, concerns and safety incidents are analysed to identify causes and inform continuous improvement.
Standard 7: Volunteers are recognised
Volunteer contribution, value and impact are understood, appreciated and acknowledged.
7.1 How volunteers add value to the organisation, service recipients and the community is clearly understood.
7.2 Volunteer effort is measured and acknowledged in the organisation’s reporting and used to demonstrate impact.
7.3 The organisation regularly engages with volunteers about the impact of their contribution.
7.4 Volunteer acknowledgement is appropriate to the volunteer and respectful of cultural values and perspectives.
Standard 8: Policies and practices are continuously improved
Effective volunteer involvement results from a system of best practice, regular review and continuous improvement.
8.1 Policies and procedures are designed and implemented to effectively guide all aspects of volunteer involvement.
8.2 Volunteer involvement is regularly reviewed in line with the organisation’s evaluation and quality management frameworks.
8.3 The organisation’s performance with volunteer involvement is monitored and reported to the governing body, employees, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
8.4 Opportunities are available for volunteers to provide feedback on their experience and relevant areas of the organisation’s work.
Download the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement documents:
National Standards for Volunteer Involvement
The refreshed National Standards for Volunteer Involvement includes a description of each National Standard accompanied by specific criteria and examples of evidence that indicate a standard has been met or could be met.
National Standards Poster
National Standards Translations
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Arabic
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Chinese Simplified
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Chinese Traditional
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Farsi
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Greek
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Italian
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Korean
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Punjabi
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Spanish
- National Standards for Volunteer Involvement – Vietnamese
Guidance on adopting the National Standards
Using the National Standards
Using the National Standards
The National Standards allow organisations and groups to make use of simple, practical criteria across a broad range of volunteering scenarios in a way that is scalable to activity and resourcing. These standards are designed for organisations aspiring to best practice and can be applied at a high-level to guide and inform any organisation or group considering volunteer engagement.
Each standard is accompanied by specific criteria and examples of evidence that indicate a standard has been met or how it could be met. The criteria reflect the core components of the National Standards, and the evidence acts as a guide as to whether the organisation or group is implementing that standard in practice.
Organisations and groups can use the National Standards in several ways:
- As a general guide to improving practice.
- As guidelines or a checklist to help identify opportunities for making improvements.
- As a framework to assist in planning and establishing a new volunteering program.
- As an audit tool that provides a snapshot of organisational performance.
- As a baseline from which progress in making improvements can be monitored and measured.
The standards are intended to be flexible enough to apply to organisations and groups of different sizes, with varying levels of resources, in both urban and rural settings, led by employees or by volunteers. For example, volunteer-led organisations or groups of volunteers coming together to organise their own activities may find the National Standards useful for guiding their work, to consult when establishing a volunteering program, or for working towards a more formal organisational structure if desired. However, the criteria and suggested evidence underpinning each standard is for educational purposes and may not be applicable to all types of organisations.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement?
The National Standards are a best practice framework to guide volunteer involvement. The National Standards can be used flexibly, recognising that volunteering takes place in highly diverse settings and ways. They are not mandatory or enforceable by law. They are not government standards; they are owned by Volunteering Australia.
2. Why were the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement refreshed?
The National Standards were refreshed to ensure that they reflected the contemporary environment and to ensure that they support volunteering to thrive into the future. Volunteering continues to change in Australia, with the contemporary environment providing both opportunities and challenges for organisations and volunteers alike.
3. How was the refresh of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement undertaken?
The development of the refreshed standards was informed by a sector wide consultation process conducted across each state and territory in 2023 and by insights gained through the National Strategy for Volunteering consultations held in 2022. The refresh also involved drawing on insights from overseas and other ‘national standards’ arrangements. The project was funded via the Australian Government’s Volunteer Management Activity.
4. How have the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement changed?
The development of the refreshed standards was informed by a sector wide consultation process conducted across each state and territory in 2023 and by insights gained through the National Strategy for Volunteering consultations held in 2022. The refresh also involved drawing on insights from overseas and other ‘national standards’ arrangements. The project was funded via the Australian Government’s Volunteer Management Activity.
What’s changed?
Each National Standard statement has been updated and is now ‘free-standing’ with the intent of the standard incorporated into the standard itself e.g., Standard 1 was previously ‘Leadership and Management’ and is now ‘Volunteering is embedded in leadership, governance and culture’.
Changes to the content/text of the standards, criteria and evidence have been made throughout to reflect consultation feedback, so that they:
- are more appealing and applicable to a wider variety of organisations and groups.
- are more reflective of contemporary volunteering.
- include further content around diversity, inclusion and accessibility.
- make the volunteer more prominent and reinforce reciprocal relationship, without losing organisation/group focus.
What’s stayed the same? The core aims and principles underpinning the National Standards have remained intact and the eight broad focus areas of the National Standards have remained. The main existing resources (the National Standards document and the implementation Guide and Workbook) have been updated not replaced. The ‘anatomy’ of the National Standards has stayed the same i.e., each Standard is underpinned by a set of Criteria which are supported by a series of Evidence examples.
5. How are the refreshed standards more accessible and inclusive?
The National Standards themselves now include text which reinforces the need for inclusion and diversity considerations in volunteering management practice.
For example, Standard 4 (Recruitment is equitable and diversity is valued) is all about a commitment to equity and inclusion. There is an explicit underpinning criterion, which recommends diversity and inclusion are built into recruitment activities.
Visual accessibility has been built into the design of all the resources following Vision Australia guidance. The National Standards document has been translated into several languages for people who have low English language proficiency.
6. What do the refreshed Standards mean for organisations who have already implemented the existing Standards?
All organisations and groups can implement the refreshed National Standards at any time.
For many, this might be when they reach an existing review date or when resources/capacity allows for a review against the refreshed standards. The refreshed National Standards have retained the core aims and principles underpinning the previous standards. Whilst it will be important over time to align with the refreshed National Standards, this can take place when organisations and groups have the resources to do this.
The state/territory Volunteering Peak Bodies will be running training sessions on the refreshed National Standards in the coming months.
7. Will there be training available on the refreshed National Standards?
Yes, the state and territory Volunteering Peak Bodies are leading the implementation of the refreshed National Standards and will be offering training to support implementation. Contact your state/territory Volunteering Peak Body to find out when training is available.
8. What resources are available to support implementation of the National Standards?
The National Standards document (which includes guiding criteria and examples of supporting evidence), posters, translations and a video are now available on the Volunteering Australia website. More resources, including an Implementation Guide, will be available soon!
Further resources which support good practice in volunteer management are available on the national Knowledge Base and the Volunteering Resource Hub.
Further support, training and resources are available via the state and territory Volunteering Peak Bodies.
9. Are the resources available free of charge?
The resources on the Volunteering Australia website are free of charge.
10. How do the refreshed National Standards relate to the National Strategy for Volunteering?
The National Strategy for Volunteering (NSV) and the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (NSVI) are separate, but highly complementary, pieces of volunteering infrastructure.
The NSV is future-oriented and provides an ecosystem level vision and plan for the next ten years, with goals and actions that can be considered and adopted by organisations and groups to work towards and achieve that vision.
The NSVI provide a framework for contemporary best practice volunteer management and engagement on the ground. They are a tool for volunteer managers and leaders to ensure volunteering is safe, effective, and inclusive.
Many of the actions required to meet the NSVI also reflect the intent and spirit of the NSV and can be used as a demonstration of contributing to some of the longer-term goals highlighted in the NSV.
11. How do the National Standards relate to other national standards or principles such as the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations or the Aged Care Quality Standards
The refreshed National Standards for Volunteer Involvement complement other standards, for example the Australian Government’s National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and the Aged Care Quality Standards.
Of particular relevance in the refreshed National Standards are section 1.2 ‘Risk management systems are in place to identify, assess and respond to risks relating to volunteer participation,’ and 4.5 ‘Screening processes maintain the safety and security of service recipients, employees, volunteers, and the organisation, in line with legal requirements and regulations.’
Standard 4 reinforces that volunteer screening requirements should be documented, applied and meet legal and regulatory requirements for specific sectors (e.g. criminal history, and the requirements of sectors such as aged care and those working with children and/ or vulnerable people).
12. Can anyone provide training on the National Standards?
Volunteering Australia owns the IP for the National Standards and has endorsed its Foundation Members, the state and territory Volunteering Peak Bodies, as being the sole organisations to deliver nationally consistent training on the Standards.
Contact details for the state and territory Volunteering Peak Bodies
For guidance on implementing the National Standards
VolunteeringACT
volunteeringact.org.au
02 6251 4060
info@volunteeringact.org.au
The Centre for Volunteering (NSW)
volunteering.com.au
02 9261 3600
info@volunteering.com.au
Volunteering Queensland
volunteeringqld.org.au
07 3002 7600
reception@volunteeringqld.org.au
Volunteering SA&NT
vsant.org.au
08 8221 7177
reception@vsant.org.au
Volunteering Tasmania
volunteeringtas.org.au
03 6231 5550
team@volunteeringtas.org.au
Volunteering Victoria
volunteeringvictoria.org.au
03 9052 4524
info@volunteeringvictoria.org.au
Volunteering WA
volunteeringwa.org.au
08 9482 4333
info@volunteeringwa.org.au
The 2023 refresh of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement was funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services under the Volunteer Management Activity. Intellectual Property for the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement belongs to Volunteering Australia.
The Centre for Volunteering NSW runs an accreditation program called the Exemplary Volunteer Involving Organisation initiative. This program provides accreditation in New South Wales only. While the program assesses organisations against the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, it is not regulated or formally recognised by any governmental or regulatory body. Accreditation does not guarantee compliance with all relevant laws or standards, and organisations must ensure their practices meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Being accredited through the initiative does not imply endorsement by any national organisation or regulatory body, including Volunteering Australia.