Volunteer OHS Management

Policy

This policy outlines the occupational health and safety (OHS) requirements in schools for managing volunteers.

Summary

• The principal or their delegate must manage OHS risks associated with the tasks carried out by volunteers in schools.
• The principal or delegate must discuss the scope and boundaries of any volunteer work with volunteers prior to any work commencing.
• Volunteers must be inducted, trained and supervised in accordance with this and other related policies such as the Volunteers in Schools policy, and each school’s local volunteer policy – the level of which may differ depending on the type of tasks the volunteer is offering to complete.
• Schools are encouraged to engage contractors instead of volunteers to complete tasks that involve high-risk work, where possible.
• Any volunteers undertaking high-risk work on behalf of the school must also follow any other policy requirements for their volunteer work, including developing a Safe Work Method Statement in consultation with the principal or their delegate where required.
• Volunteers undertaking high-risk work must provide proof of relevant training and qualifications.
• Volunteers who identify a hazard, incident or near miss in the school must notify school staff, the principal or their delegate who will report it on the volunteer’s behalf in eduSafe Plus.

Details

Schools on occasion may engage volunteers from the school community to assist with tasks and work in or on behalf of the school. Principals or their delegates must manage the occupational health and safety (OHS) risks and hazards associated with the tasks and work that volunteers carry out.

Typical types of volunteer work can include but are not limited to working bees, classroom reading, helping at school camps or sports coaching.

This policy does not include contractors who are engaged on a paid basis, casual relief teachers or visitors. For guidance on managing contractors, please refer to the Contractor OHS Management policy. For guidance on managing casual relief teachers, refer to the OHS Induction and Training Policy and the Casual Relief Teacher policy. Visitors do not need to have an OHS induction, refer to the Visitors in Schools policy and procedure.

This policy does not contain all obligations for schools in relation to managing volunteers and should be read in conjunction with the Volunteers in Schools policy, the Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors policy and any other policy relevant to the tasks the volunteer has been engaged to perform.

Roles and responsibilities for managing volunteer OHS

Under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 2004 (Vic), managing the risks related to volunteers is a shared responsibility between the department, the principal or their delegate, school staff and volunteers.

Department roles and responsibilities

The department must maintain, so far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and healthy working environment for volunteers.

Principal or delegate roles and responsibilities

The principal or their delegate and the health and safety representative (HSR), where elected, must ensure that all volunteers are provided an induction into the workplace that is appropriate for the task/s they are volunteering for.

Volunteer roles and responsibilities

Volunteers must take reasonable care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions while volunteering. This includes participating in and completing all applicable induction activities, based on what task/s they are performing.

School staff roles and responsibilities

School staff must take reasonable care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions. School staff are responsible for reporting hazards and undertaking actions if appropriate to mitigate the risks. School staff may be required to report incidents, hazards or risks on behalf of volunteers in eduSafe Plus. School staff may also be required to help supervise volunteers where appropriate.

Any school staff who identifies, observes, or is alerted by a volunteer to a hazard in the workplace must notify the principal or their delegate using the most appropriate method based on current risk and report it in eduSafe Plus. Where there is unreasonable risk identified, staff may need to direct volunteers to cease the associated activity and isolate the hazard (where possible and safe to do so).

Key requirements to enable a healthy and safe workplace for volunteers

When assigning work to volunteers, the principal or delegate must:

• establish the scope and boundaries of the task prior to work commencing
• ensure that the volunteer is competent, qualified, or experienced enough to undertake the task
• also follow the department’s Volunteers in Schools policy, and the specific processes identified in the school’s local volunteer policy, such as child safety induction and training
• consider the child safety risks relevant to the volunteer’s role and follow the Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors policy
• consider any other relevant policies and procedures and their required documentation when assigning high-risk work (see related definitions) to volunteers, including but not limited to Prevention of Falls when Working at Heights, Plant and Equipment Management, Hot Work, and so on. Refer to the full A to Z list of all OHS policies and procedures on PAL
• consider the level of school staff supervision required for volunteers depending on the type of work being performed, and with a focus on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the volunteer and students.

Principals or the delegate must ensure that all volunteers:

• are inducted using the Volunteer OHS induction checklist (refer to the Resources tab) or equivalent template, in conjunction with any other inductions as required by relevant policies (such as the school’s local volunteer policy)
• are informed, prior to the commencement of any works or services, to report to the general office upon arrival or an agreed-upon alternative process
• know to report all hazards, incidents and injuries to school staff to ensure they are reported on their behalf in eduSafe Plus as per the Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies) policy.

The Volunteer OHS Management procedure in the Procedure tab contains detailed step-by-step information about how schools can meet these key requirements.

Department supports for schools

Central and regional offices provide a range of supports and services to assist principals and employees to be safe and well. This includes access to the OHS Advisory Service and the statewide OHS services team who provide free advice in relation to volunteer OHS management including but not limited to guidance on completing Safe Work Method Statements for volunteer tasks.

Using eduSafe Plus (staff login required) to report and manage hazards identified allows the statewide OHS services team to provide assistance and advice. Guidance for reporting and managing hazards on eduSafe Plus is located in the How to report a workplace hazard guide (PDF) (staff login required) on the knowledge base in eduSafe Plus.

Definitions

eduSafe Plus
The department’s online hazard and incident reporting and management platform, accessible on the intranet. Staff log on to eduSafe Plus using their employee number and password.

Note: Volunteers do not have access to eduSafe Plus, however, can report issues to school staff for entry into eduSafe Plus on their behalf (for example, via an email or discussion).

Hazardous chemicals
Chemicals that have the potential to cause harm to human health, both in the immediate and long-term. A chemical is classified as hazardous if it:

• is listed on the Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS) and the concentration of the chemical or its ingredients equals or exceeds the concentration cut-off levels listed on the HCIS that relate to health effects or
• meets the criteria for a hazardous chemicals set out in the Approved Criteria for Classifying Hazardous Substances or
• meets the criteria for the hazard classification set out in Part 3 Health Hazards of the globally harmonised system (GHS).

High risk work
Otherwise known as ‘high-risk construction work’, the following is mandated as high-risk work by the department:

• where there is a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres
• on or next to roadways or railways used by road or rail traffic
• in, over or next to water or liquids where there is a risk of drowning
• at workplaces where there is any movement of powered mobile plant
• where there are structural alterations that require temporary support to prevent collapse
• in an area where there are artificial extremes of temperature
• on or near energised electrical installations or services
• involving a trench or shaft more than 1.5 m deep
• on or near pressurised gas distribution mains or piping
• involving demolition
• involving a confined space
• on or near chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines
• involving tilt-up or precast concrete
• on telecommunications towers
• involving diving
• involving removal or disturbance of asbestos
• in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere
• involving the use of explosives
• involving a tunnel.

If a task isn’t listed and schools are unsure if it is high-risk, the OHS Advisory Service can provide further advice. Please note that this does not include work that could be considered ‘high-risk’ from a Child Safe Standards perspective.

Volunteer
A volunteer school worker is a person who voluntarily engages in school work, without payment or reward. School work means:

• carrying out the functions of a school council (whether or not as a member of a school council)
• any activity carried out for the welfare of a school, by the school council – any parents’ club or association or any other body organised to promote the welfare of the school
• any activity carried out for the welfare of the school at the request of the principal or school council
• providing any assistance in the work of any school or kindergarten
• attending meetings in relation to government schools convened by any organisation which receives government financial support (note: a volunteer can receive payment for out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel costs, and can still be classed as a volunteer).

For further information, refer to the Volunteers in Schools policy on PAL.

Related policies

• Chemical Management
• Child Safe Standards
• Contractor OHS Management
• Environmental Hygiene
• Excursions
• Mosquito Risk Management
• Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools
• OHS Risk Planning and Management
• Personal Liability of School Employees and Volunteers
• Plant and Equipment Management
• Testing and Tagging of Electrical Equipment
• Volunteers in Schools
• Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors

Relevant legislation

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)
• Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)
• Worker Screening Act 2020 (Vic)

Volunteer OHS Management procedure

This Volunteer OHS Management procedure sets out the practical step-by-step instructions that principals or their delegate must follow to implement the Volunteer OHS Management policy. This procedure must be implemented in consultation with the health and safety representative/s (HSR), school staff, volunteers and your health and safety committee or OHS Working Group (if established).

The Volunteer OHS Management policy and procedure are part of the broader approach to managing health, safety and wellbeing in schools.

The Volunteer OHS Management procedure contains the following chapters:

1. Engaging volunteers and assessing the task
2. Inducting volunteers
3. Controlling the risks, including supervision
4. Hazard, incident and near miss reporting

1. Engaging volunteers and assessing the task

When engaging volunteers, the principal or delegate must determine the type(s) of work to be undertaken by volunteers and whether the volunteers in question have the skills and competencies to undertake the tasks. The principal or delegate should consider whether the task is appropriate for a volunteer to undertake given the nature of the task, or whether it should be undertaken by trained school staff or paid contractors with relevant skills, training and experience.

The principal or their delegate must then identify hazards and assess the risks depending on what tasks the volunteers are undertaking. This must be done in consultation with the volunteers, school staff, who are or are likely to be affected, and health and safety representatives, where elected. Refer to the OHS Risk Planning and Management policy for further details on ways to assess risk including completing risk assessments where appropriate. Depending on the types of work undertaken, other policies may help to assess risk such as the Excursions policy or the Outdoor Activities and Working Outdoors policy.

The principal or delegate may need to repeat this process if the scope of works or services change or the skills and competencies of the volunteers change. Any risk assessments conducted during this process must be retained as per the Records Management policy.

Volunteer work can be divided up into volunteer work commonly undertaken and high-risk work.

1.1 Volunteer work commonly undertaken

Below are examples of common activities typically undertaken by volunteers in schools. They include but are not limited to:

• gardening/landscaping (that is, working bees)
• breakfast club or school canteens
• painting
• clean-up of grounds
• theatre performances or presentation days
• school fetes
• school administration
• assisting in a classroom
• school excursions
• school camps
• sporting coaching.

Some examples of hazards and risks associated with these tasks could include:

• environmental risks, where volunteers are off site, such as on an excursion or a camp
• handling of hazardous substances such as herbicide, where volunteers are doing gardening or maintenance tasks such as working bees
• volunteers working in classrooms where challenging behaviours may be present
• canteen facilities with older equipment or limited first aid kits
• poor food handling practices in canteens/breakfast clubs
• bringing non-tested or tagged electrical equipment onto site
• inappropriate behaviour from volunteers
• bringing pets on site
• natural hazards, such as insect bites
• using equipment such as lawn mowers and power tools
• task creep/completion of extra work not discussed with the principal or delegate.

1.2 High-risk work

Some schools might engage a volunteer to complete high-risk work specific to the volunteer’s usual profession. The principal or their delegate must verify that volunteers are competent to undertake these tasks and have received the required training or experience.

Examples of volunteers undertaking high-risk work could include, but are not limited to:

• using powered mobile plant, such as ride-on lawnmowers
• working at heights over 2 metres, such as to clean gutters
• landscaping and garden maintenance next to roads.

High-risk work (refer to the ‘related definitions’ section in the Policy tab) requires stringent controls to ensure the work is done by a competent, qualified individual. To support with identification of high-risk work and the specific requirements, principals or their delegate must also consider any other relevant policies when assigning these tasks. These include the Prevention of Falls When Working at Heights, Plant and Equipment Management, Hot Work, Confined Spaces and Asbestos Management policies. High-risk work requires the completion of Safe Work Method Statements by the volunteer, in consultation with the principal or their delegate, to prepare for the task – refer to the relevant policy for more information.

For any work that involves a school-owned item of restricted plant and equipment, the volunteer must be provided with any Safe Work Procedures associated with that item. Refer to the Plant and Equipment Management policy and procedure for further details and other requirements.

2. Inducting volunteers

The principal or their delegate must induct all volunteers using the Volunteer OHS induction checklist (refer to the Resources tab), or equivalent template, in addition to any induction requirements found in the department’s Volunteers in Schools policy and the school’s local volunteer policies.

If an equivalent checklist is used, it must include the following details as a minimum:

• required conduct/behaviour
• security and access
• emergency evacuation plans/exits
• location of amenities
• hazard and incident reporting and point of contact
• first aid and infection control procedures
• links to any policies that may be relevant for volunteer work being undertaken, such as:
  • Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy
  • Volunteers in Schools policy
  • Volunteer OHS Management policy
  • Plant and Equipment Management policy
  • OHS Risk Planning and Management policy
  • Outdoor Activities and Working Outdoors policy.

The Volunteer OHS induction handbook (refer to the Resources tab), can be used to assist in providing guidance on school specific and department OHS requirements to volunteers.

Volunteer OHS inductions are valid for 12 months and must be renewed after that point.

The principal or their delegate must keep records of volunteer OHS inductions per the Records Management policy. Volunteer OHS inductions can be created or uploaded and stored electronically in eduSafe Plus (staff login required). Guidance for uploading OHS inductions can be found in the how to guide (staff login required) in eduSafe Plus.

The statewide OHS services team or the OHS Advisory Service can support schools with the use of eduSafe Plus.

2.1 Sign in and sign out

Volunteers must sign in prior to entering the school premises, as per the Visitors in Schools policy and local visitors procedures.

2.2 Working with children clearances

The principal or their delegate must consider whether or not a Working with Children Clearance and other suitability checks for volunteers are required by referring to the Working with Children Checks and other Suitability Checks for School Volunteers and Visitors policy and by following their local volunteers policy.

3. Controlling the risks, including supervision

Once volunteer tasks are identified and the risk is assessed, the principal must work together with the volunteer and staff who are or are likely to be affected to reduce the risk by implementing controls. If a risk cannot be eliminated, a mix of controls must be considered to achieve the best possible risk reduction. For further details on this process please refer to the OHS Risk Planning and Management policy.

Some example controls for common volunteer work could include, but is not limited to:

• pairing up volunteers with staff or other volunteers to reduce manual handling risks when setting up school fetes, presentation days, working bees, and so on
• providing gloves, insect repellent or other personal protective equipment for gardening or clean-up activities
• clearly communicating to volunteers the role and tasks being undertaken
  communicating emergency management procedures in place to all volunteers
• food handling courses for staff and volunteers to reduce the possibility of food contamination
• ensuring testing and tagging has occurred for any electrical equipment owned by the volunteer that is to be used on the school site
• other supervision strategies as identified in the school’s Child Safety Risk Register.

3.1 Supervision

The principal or their delegate must determine the level of school staff supervision required for volunteers, depending on the type of work being performed, level of risk, and with a focus on ensuring safety and wellbeing.

The principal has the discretion to make a decision about the ongoing suitability of a volunteer worker and may determine at any time whether or not a person is suitable to volunteer at their school.

For more details on managing volunteers and their work, please refer to the Volunteers in Schools policy.

4. Hazard, incident and near miss reporting

In the event of an emergency or critical incident, schools must follow their Emergency Management Plan and the department’s policy on Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies).

Volunteers reporting a hazard, incident or near miss in the school must notify school staff, the principal or their delegate who will report it on the volunteer’s behalf in eduSafe Plus (staff login required).

School staff who identify a hazard in the workplace relating to volunteers must notify the principal or their delegate. School staff are encouraged to report hazards, incidents and near misses in eduSafe Plus. eduSafe Plus can help with allocation of tasks and management of hazards.

Notifiable incidents (PDF) must also be reported to WorkSafe on 13 23 60.

Resources

Templates and forms

• Volunteer OHS induction checklist – a template that a principal or their delegate can use to ensure that all volunteers are inducted into the workplace before beginning their volunteer work. Induction checklists can be digitally created or uploaded and maintained in eduSafe Plus (staff login required) (guidance available at Managing OHS inductions):
  • Volunteer OHS induction checklist (DOCX)
  • Volunteer OHS induction checklist (PDF)
• Volunteer OHS induction handbook – can be used to assist in providing guidance on school specific and department OHS requirements to volunteers:
  • Volunteer OHS induction handbook (DOCX)
  • Volunteer OHS induction handbook (PDF)