Bruce WatsonThe first policy change I would want to see?
Fulsome legal rights and legal protections of volunteers, including mental health legal protections.
Volunteers in Australia have some specific legal protections in Australia such as:
Work, health, and safety
Anti-discrimination
Intellectual property
Sexual harassment
However, when it comes to legal representation on such matters as bullying and harassment, volunteers are usually unable to receive pro bono legal representation even through legal aid organisations. Alternatively, incorporated associations are usually able to receive pro bono legal representation which immediately places a mistreated volunteer at a disadvantage. In my experience, an incorporated association has a distinct advantage over its volunteers because there is no easy or transparent way to ensure the incorporated association governance committee can be legally held accountable. The association may ignore its Constitution, policies and procedures, and even the Associations Incorporation Act and a mistreated volunteer has no effective recourse. A committee experiencing attempts to hold it to accountability can simply remove a volunteer attempting to ensure legal accountability of the association with impunity.
It is notable that the OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations and Code https://tinyurl.com/psychcompliance are in effect from 1 December 2025. The Code was developed by WorkSafe Victoria (WorkSafe). Representatives of employers and employees were consulted during its preparation. It was made under the OHS Act and approved by The Hon. Ben Carroll MP, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC.
The Code does not apply to volunteers!
