Volunteer Protections and Liabilities  **Final call for registrations**

Oops! A volunteer gets hurt. Oops! A volunteer harms someone else. What are your organisation's responsibilities when it comes to injuries to, and acts of, your volunteers?

Volunteers are an integral part of community organisations, but do you know what the legal position is if they are injured? What happens if their actions hurt someone else? Unlike employees, volunteers are not cover by worker's compensation so there are different legal rules to understand.

This seminar will provide information about your organisation's legal responsibilities for, and obligations to, volunteers. You will learn what your organisation might be liable for, and also how to minimise risk.

Date: Thursday, 11 November 2024

Time: 9.30am-12.30pm (registrations from 9.15am)

Presenters: Rebecca Dean & Michelle Hocking from Clayton Utz Lawyers

Venue: Clayton Utz, Level 18, 333 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000

Cost: $40 (incl. GST) administration fee per person

Light refreshments will be provided

Registrations for this seminar are open, and it is filling fast!  For more information, or to register please visit:

Warrnambool, Victoria

Throughout 2010, PilchConnect and the VCOSS Clearinghouse are working together to run governance training for people involved in not-for-profit organisations in regional Victoria.  We are running a seminar entitled ‘Board Members: Roles, Responsibilities, Liabilities and Protections', and in November we'll be heading to Warrnambool.

This 'back to basics' training is suitable for new not-for-profit board/committee of management members - or existing board or committee members that are seeking a refresher on the roles and legal responsibilities that come with helping to run an effective community organisation in Victoria.  Attendees will work in small groups on practical, hypothetical scenarios which are common to many community organisations. We encourage multiple board members to attend this seminar.

Date:               Thursday, 18 November 2010
Time:               5.30pm – 8.00pm
Venue:             Archie Graham Community Centre, 118-130 Timor St, Warrnambool
Presenters:       PilchConnect Staff
Cost:                $40 (incl. GST) admin fee per person ($20 for VCOSS members)
Refreshments:   A light supper will be provided

To register for this session, or for further information and details of other community training throughout regional Victoria in 2010, please visit the VCOSS Clearinghouse website below.

New Office for the Non-Profit Sector

The Federal Government has announced its intention to establish an Office for the Non-Profit Sector which will be tasked with implementing regulatory reform for the not-for-profit community sector.   This welcome announcement was made following the appointment of Tanya Plibersek as Minister for Social Inclusion, and follows the Australian Labor Party's pre-election commitment to Strengthen the Non-Profit Sector.

The Office will initially be guided by a soon-to-be formed Non-Profit Sector Reform Council, which will be responsible for providing advice on the following key issues facing the sector:

• the role, feasibility and design options for a national 'one-stop-shop' regulator;
• streamlining of Federal Government's tendering and contracting processes;
• harmonisation of fundraising and other State and Territory legislation; and
• implementing the additional recommendations contained in the Productivity Commission's report in the Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector.

On the advice of the Council, the new Office will be aiming to develop smarter regulation for the not-for-profit sector by reducing red tape and improving accountability.  PilchConnect welcomes these priority areas and looks forward to working with the Office in the future.

For further information on the Government's announcement, visit the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's website below. 

Inquiry into Victoria's regulatory framework

In July 2010 the Victorian Treasurer announced that the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC) will be conducting an inquiry into Victoria's regulatory framework. The Commission was asked to identify areas of regulation (including regulation of the not-for-profit sector) that should be reformed as a matter of priority.

In September 2010, PilchConnect made a detailed policy submission to this Inquiry, which focused on the following points relevant to the Victorian approach to not-for-profit regulation:

Further information regarding the VCEC inquiry, including a link to our full submission to the Commission is available on the 'Law Reform and Advocacy' section our website, accessible via the below link:

Using Proxy votes

With AGM season well and truly upon us, we thought it timely that this month's tip look at the rules around proxy voting, that is, the process of appointing someone else to attend a meeting and vote on a member’s behalf.

The Victorian Associations Incorporation Act 1981 does not provide an automatic right for proxies to be used by incorporated associations.  Because of this, the power or right to appoint a proxy can be given only by an organisation's rules, so you must check your rules carefully for any provisions about proxy voting.

There are many different ways in which proxy voting can occur and associations have an ability to set their own rules about how proxies are to be appointed and exercised.  For example, the rules of some organisations will specify a deadline for when proxy forms must be received before the meeting.  In our opinion, having a deadline in your rules which establishes when proxies must be received prior to a meeting is beneficial, and avoids a situation where the Secretary is forced to sort through piles of forms on the day of the meeting.  This can slow progress of an AGM, and frustrate the Chairperson's attempts to conduct the meeting in an efficient manner.

For further information on proxy voting, including a flowchart that can be used review proxies, see Part 6 of our 'Guide for Public Officers and Secretaries of Victorian Incorporated Associations' which is freely available on our website below:

PilchConnect has recently joined Matrix on Board and other organisations to support an initiative for the not-for-profit sector, an online community hub called the 'Non-Profit Q&A' website.

By easily sharing questions and answers on day-to-day issues faced by not-for-profits, the Q&A website allows for anyone to ask any question, and one or more answers will be provided from the combined knowledge power of the sector. There is even a ‘live online’ help desk, which can assist with immediate questions much of the time.

The Non-Profit Q&A website is shaping to be a terrific source of knowledge sharing and will be tremendous asset to the not-for-profit community as long as lots of questions and answers are exchanged. You might ask a question today, and be able to answer someone else's tomorrow.

It’s all free, and all about Australian not-for-profit sector.  Visit the Non-Profit Q&A website below.

In February 2010, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced an initiative to assist newly registered not-for-profit organisations in understating their tax obligations and entitlements to tax concessions. A selection of new not-for-profit organisations were contacted directly by the ATO to discuss key areas such as income tax exemption, deductible gift recipient status, and GST.

The ATO has released the feedback it has received from the initiative, which indicated broad support for the continuation of the service, whilst also highlighting areas for improvement – such as a more user friendly internet site. The ATO has indicated that they will use the findings to address these issues, with the aim of further assisting new not-for-profit organisations to understand their tax obligations and entitlements.

For further information on the ATO's initiative, and the feedback it has received to date, visit the ATO website below:

There are currently two major surveys being conducted within the not-for-profit sector.  Details of each of these surveys are below for those that are interested in participating:

Australian Community Sector Survey 

The Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) is currently running the Australian Community Sector Survey, a national survey which seeks to collect data about the community services and welfare sector.  ACOSS states that the survey provides an important snapshot of how disadvantaged Australians are faring, and is a powerful means of highlighting to government and media the issues facing community services.

The survey is available online, and will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete.  To participate, please visit the  ACOSS website.

National Survey of Volunteering Issues

Volunteering Australia is currently running a survey which focuses on Australia's vast volunteer sector, and invites individuals from the following fields to participate:

• volunteers;
• member of a Board or Committee of Management;
• managers of volunteers;
• executive managers of not-for-profit organisations;  or
• corporate volunteering co-ordinators.

The survey is intended to assist Volunteering Australia in understanding some of the existing and emerging issues affecting volunteers and organisations that involve volunteers in Australia. The survey will also allow for the monitoring of trends in, and attitudes to, volunteering over time.

The survey is available online and takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.  To participate, please visit the  Volunteering Australia website.

Have you missed an earlier edition of PilchConnect's e-bulletin and want to get up-to-date?  All of our previous newsletters are available on the PilchConnect website at the link below, including this month's edition!

PilchConnect is a specialist legal service which has been set up to provide legal help to Victorian, not-for-profit community organisations.

The service provides free and low cost legal information, training, advice and legal referrals for Victorian not-for-profit community organisations. We also undertake law reform and advocacy work about the wide range of legal issues that affect the not-for-profit sector.

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this e-bulletin please email  connect@pilch.org.au.

If you would like to contribute to, or provide feedback about this e-bulletin, please email
  connect@pilch.org.au.

To find out more about the legal services we provide, see: