Bruce WatsonApproximately 15% of workers are exposed to bullying in their workplace. However, few studies appear to have been conducted
in nonprofit and voluntary organizations. This scoping review explored prevalence and structural and contextual factors that
influence bullying in nonprofit and voluntary organizations. From a capture of 671 papers, 54 were assessed for eligibility and
18 full-text articles were reviewed. Bullying is prevalent in nonprofit and voluntary organizations at the same or higher levels
as other sectors, with sexual harassment appearing to be a serious problem in the context of fundraising. A synthesis of papers
found a suite of factors presented in four themes; complex and unique power relations, the exploitation of virtuosity, the exercise
of hegemonic power, and asymmetrical power and extreme dependency, which together act to stabilize the presence of bullying
in nonprofit and voluntary organizations. Such dynamics need to be disrupted for intervention to occur. Further research is
needed on how volunteers “sense-make” in the face of dissonance between organizational mission and behavior, intervention
evaluation, and regulating philanthropic donation to reduce donor dependence
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!
