We assist our member agencies to find the right
volunteers for the right jobs. Please contact us to find out more
about our comprehensive matching service.
For agencies to use our referral service, they will have to meet
our minimum standards for working with volunteers in not-for-profit,
community-based organisations.
Notes from the Referral Desk, March 2005
Forms - These forms assist potential clients and volunteers in the recruitment and referral process
How the referral system works
for volunteers
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How the referral service works
for agencies
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| 1. During the first part of the interview
in which you are about to participate two things will happen:
- your interviewer will ask you about what sort of jobs
you would like to do as a volunteer -- these questions will
involve what sort of organisations you would prefer to work
for, at what times you are available, in which regions of
Canberra you would like to work, whether you have your own
transport.
- the interviewer will then tell you about the various jobs
that are available at the present time and discuss those
jobs with you so that you will be in a position to choose
which of them you prefer.
2. The interviewer will then write down the details of
the three or four jobs that you have chosen as your preferred
options, including the address and telephone number of a
contact person in each organisation. You will be given a
copy of this information.
3. It will be your responsibility to contact your preferred
organisation and arrange a suitable time to talk to someone
there about working as a volunteer in that organisation.
4. If you have difficulty contacting the organisations whose
names you are given, or you do not find a suitable job, please
call Volunteering ACT and we will provide you with additional
names and telephone numbers.
5. We may contact you at some time in the next few weeks
to check that you have been successful in obtaining a suitable
volunteer job. |
1. Your request for volunteers -
must be provided to us on our Volunteer Job Request
form.
The Volunteer Job Request form can alternatively be found
in the Information Pack or obtained from the office.
Provide a separate job description for each job; this is
attached to the request form.
2. Making the request active - as soon as we receive
completed job requests, they are checked and.then become active.
NOTE - we do not have a 'pool' of volunteers whom
we then contact.
People contact us seeking information on volunteering and
are invited to attend for an interview.
3. During the interview – volunteer's skills,
interests, time availability and their motivations are matched
with available positions.
Prospective volunteers are provided with up to four referrals
to different positions along with the job descriptions and
any other information that agencies provide. The standard
and amount of information serves to enable volunteers to make
an informed choice and leads to greater recruitment and retention
rates for you.
NOTE – if the job description or the request
form is unclear in any way when we receive it, we will attempt
to clarify this with the lodging agency before recruitment-
commences.
We do not complete police, medical and reference checks
and suggest that agencies should conduct their own screening
of volunteers. |
When agencies are engaged in the employment of volunteers it is
necessary for the agency, in addition to assessing the volunteer’s
general competence to perform the tasks required by a vacant position,
to take into consideration the volunteer’s suitability with
respect to a number of other matters that may have substantial legal
or security implications.
This is of particular importance when the volunteer may be required
to work in contact with specific classes of people, such as children,
disabled persons or the elderly.
As an example, the following statement is in accordance with the
contractual requirements of the ACT Department of Education and
Community Services:
Recruitment of Staff and Volunteers
There must be a procedure in place which ensures that all persons
employed at or involved with children in the organisation are
fit and proper persons. A person is 'fit and proper' if: (a) the
person is capable of providing an adequate standard of care in
a service setting; (b) understands the needs of the service’s
clients (c) the person is of good character and is suitable to
be entrusted with the care of children.
The organisation must be satisfied that any relevant person is
'fit and proper' for any proposed position. The test of good character
includes taking into account: (a) convictions in Australia or
overseas of any offence involving children (offences against children
include child abuse, assault and neglect). (b) any action taken
in Australia or overseas in respect of the protection of children
who were under the guardianship or custody of the person.
The process for the selection of staff and volunteers should
be designed so that applicants are required to demonstrate the
above qualities.
As part of their employment practices organisations are strongly
advised to request personal references which should be checked
with the referee, and a police clearance. Organisations should
request a police check each time they employ staff and volunteers
including those who have worked in other services as part of the
obligation to ensure that all staff are 'fit and proper'. It is
considered inefficient for the applicant to supply a police check
as there is no guarantee that it is up to date and that it has
not been tampered with. The information from the police will go
directly to the service provider.
It is extremely important that such information is sensitively
and confidentially handled with access only to those who must
see it. This is particularly important for the Provider where
access to the details of police or reference checks should be
limited and not open to all senior employees.
Agencies seeking further information on this subject are encouraged
to consult their own legal advisers to ensure that their operating
procedures are appropriate.
 referral@volunteeract.com.au
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