Volunteer Rights and Responsibilities

Congratulations on choosing to volunteer your time and assistance!

As a volunteer you have particular rights and responsibilities, which you should understand before you begin volunteering.

Rights

As a volunteer you have the following rights:

• to be able to say no if you aren't comfortable with, or haven't agreed to, something
• to be supported in your activities
• to have a clear understanding of your role e.g. be provided a job description
• to be given the appropriate guidance/training etc. if necessary to carry out your job
• to be consulted on things that affect you and your work
• to have a safe working environment (including being covered by insurance)
• to be given access to organisation policies and procedures

Responsibilities

As a volunteer you have the following responsibilities:

• to be reliable and on time
• to carry out any tasks you have agreed to
• to be trustworthy, respectful, and non-judgmental
• to maintain confidentiality
• to ask for support and/or training as necessary

Police Checks

Most organisations require volunteers to undergo a Police Check to ensure the suitability of volunteers for the role they are wanting to undertake.  This is not a difficult process and many organisations can support volunteers to undertake this. It is important to note that it can take around 4 weeks to get the results of this check.

See the Tasmania Police website (external link) for more information.