Applying to be an approved voluntary work organisation
Find out what you need to do to become an approved voluntary work organisation.
What you need to apply
There are different kinds of evidence you must provide when you submit your form.
Not for profit status
If you’re community based, you must provide evidence of your organisation’s not for profit status.
The following table describes the 2 types of organisations and the evidence they need to provide.
Organisation Type | Accepted evidence |
---|---|
Community based organisation |
You can provide any of the following:
|
Government sector agency Is a not for profit government sector agency operating at the local, state, territory, or federal level. |
Not required |
Insurance
If you’re a community based organisation, you must provide evidence that you hold 2 types of insurance.
The following table describes the:
- 2 types of insurance a community organisation must hold
- evidence they need to provide.
Insurance Type | Accepted evidence |
---|---|
Public liability insurance |
You can provide either a:
|
Personal accident insurance Covers volunteers for any accident or injury they have while working with your organisation. It’s also known as voluntary worker’s insurance. It’s often purchased on its own or as an addition to your public liability insurance. |
You can provide either a:
|
In all cases, evidence of your insurance must confirm all of the following details:
- your organisation’s name
- the type of insurance
- the period of coverage
- the amount of cover.
We can't accept Policy Disclosure Statements and tax invoices as evidence, as they don’t confirm this information.
To find out more about insurance cover, contact your insurance provider.
How to apply
You need to fill in a form to apply to be a voluntary work organisation.
Step 1: Download and complete the Voluntary Work - Request for organisation approval form.
Step 2: Attach evidence of your not for profit status if you’re a community based organisation.
Step 3: Attach evidence of your public liability and personal accident insurance if you’re a community based organisation.
Step 4: Submit your form and evidence to us. You can only do this in person at a service centre.
Once we assess your application, we’ll write to you and let you know the outcome.
What happens next
If we approve your request, you can have 1 or more job seekers volunteer at your organisation.
Your responsibilities
We may need you to confirm how many hours per fortnight a job seeker volunteers at your organisation. This is so we can record it on their job plan. It’s the job seeker’s responsibility to seek your confirmation, if required.
You’ll have the same work health and safety responsibilities for both:
- job seekers
- anyone else working or volunteering at your organisation.
You’ll need to make sure your workplace and any activities meet all work health and safety obligations under relevant legislation.
If you suspect a job seeker isn’t meeting their voluntary work activities, you should report it.
Change of Circumstances
It’s important to tell us if your circumstances change. You’ll need to tell us of a change within 14 days.
You need to tell us if your organisation changes it’s:
- name
- location
- not for profit status
- insurance cover
- contact details or contact person.
You must also tell us if your organisation ceases to operate.
You can use the Voluntary Work – Request for organisation approval form to update your details.
Page last updated: 26 February 2021
This information was printed 26 February 2021 from https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/organisations/community/applying-be-approved-voluntary-work-organisation. It may not include all of the relevant information on this topic. Please consider any relevant site notices at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/site-notices when using this material.