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Volunteers may be either:

• reimbursed for any expenses they have from their voluntary activities, or
• receive an honorarium for their services.

Definition of volunteer

For these payments, a volunteer is defined as a person who freely undertakes an activity in New Zealand:

• that is chosen either by themselves or by a group they are a member of, and
• that provides a benefit to a community or another person, and
• there is no purpose or intention of private financial profit for the person.

Reimbursing expenses
Volunteers often incur expenditure associated with their voluntary activities.

Reimbursement payments are treated as tax-exempt income for the individual if they are based on:

• actual expenditure, or
• based on a reasonable estimate of expenditure the likely to be incurred.

Any reimbursement may be for expenses incurred when undertaking or when travelling to and from a voluntary activity. The reimbursement may be in a non-cash form, for example as petrol or meal vouchers. 

Honoraria

Honoraria are payments made for services provided where no fixed payment would normally be made.  They are treated as schedular payments for tax purposes.

Taxing honoraria
If you are paying honoraria to:

• an employee, use the PAYE calculator to work out the amount of tax.
• someone who is not an employee, the payment is taxed at a flat rate. Find out more about taxing activities called schedular payments.

Part-reimbursement and part-honoraria payments

If the payment is partly honoraria and partly reimbursement of expenses, providing the portions of the payment can be clearly identified and recorded, the honoraria will be taxable and the reimbursement will be tax-exempt income.

If there is no distinction between the honoraria and the reimbursement the entire payment is treated as honoraria and taxed as a schedular payment.

Payments to school trustees

Part of any honoraria paid to school trustees for attending board meetings is treated as reimbursement of expenditure and is not subject to withholding tax as follows:

• for the chairperson, the first $75 per board meeting (up to a maximum of $825 a year)
• for any other board member, the first $55 per board meeting (up to a maximum of $605 a year).

Note
If a board member received additional reimbursement for expenditure over and above their normal honorarium, the reimbursement of expenditure for the honorarium should be reduced by the amount of additional reimbursement received.

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Definition of Recognised Community Activity

Recognised Community Activity offers unpaid work experience opportunities in a work place or work-type environment and allows the client to have their contribution to their community recognised.

Participation in this type of activity is totally voluntary. Work and Income can request a client to participate but cannot make the client undertake this activity.

Recognised Community Activities are not work tested therefore no sanction can be imposed if the client does not participate.

There are two types of Recognised Community Activity:

• Activity in the Community - is an activity associated with a community project under the supervision of a sponsor who is approved by Work and Income to provide that activity. Work and Income will refer the client.
• Voluntary Work – is work undertaken by a person for no remuneration (other than any reimbursement of direct expenses) for a non-profit community organisation or other person, and that is of benefit to the community. “This does not include Activities in the Community, or work undertaken as part of a work experience or work exploration activity.

Voluntary Work
Voluntary work offers unpaid work experience opportunities for clients while contributing to their local community. However, this does not take preference over paid employment opportunities.

Participants:

• Are not employed by the voluntary organisation and not paid for their work contribution.
• May choose to participate in voluntary work, and it is the clients' choice as to what type of voluntary work they participate in.
• Cannot receive a Participation Allowance, but may be reimbursed for the actual and reasonable costs of participation.
• Work and Income can assist the client to identify suitable voluntary work opportunities, but does not arrange or refer a person to a voluntary organisation. This is the client's responsibility.
• It is appropriate however for Work and Income to provide information about local voluntary organisations to a client wishing to undertake voluntary work.
• A Participation Allowance is not paid for voluntary work as it is not a programme or service of Work and Income. We are not responsible for brokering opportunities, mandating providers or monitoring a clients participation.

Activity in the Community
Activity in the Community projects offer unpaid work experience opportunities in sponsored community projects.

Participants:

• Are not employed by the sponsor and are not paid for their work contribution.
• Can receive a Participation Allowance and may be reimbursed for the actual and reasonable costs of participation.
• Community Brokerage Organisations are brokers who obtain a diverse range of Activity in the Community projects for our clients.
• This is done in conjunction with Work Brokers. Work Brokers are responsible for setting up and monitoring Activity in the Community projects.

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• Where the work is for the benefit of voluntary, not-for-profit charitable organisations
• Where the job has not been performed by a paid worker within the last six months
• Where the job will not require more than 20 hours per week
• Where new areas of work are being explored and volunteers may pave the way for the creation of new jobs
• Where there is an agreement within the member organisation about the nature and purpose of the volunteer involvement, including the principle of entitling volunteer staff to the same employment practices and benefits as paid staff
• Where paid staff acknowledge the value of volunteers' contributions and adequate resources are made available to support, supervise and train the volunteers
• Where there is an opportunity for the volunteer to benefit from the work by achieving personal goals
• Where a task can be carried out better by a volunteer than by a paid staff person. This might include one-to-one befriending, advocacy, visiting, etc.
• Where a distinct area of work can be identified for which the volunteer can take responsibility and which complements or extends the work of paid staff

Factors Which Tend to Make the Involvement Of Volunteers Inappropriate:

• Where the work is for the benefit of a profit-making organisation
• Where the volunteer receives remuneration implying low-wage status rather than voluntary work
• Where the work will typically require more than 20 hours per week
• Where the work is normally considered to be the responsibility of a statutory service, e.g. nursing care, teaching etc
• Where the volunteer would be undertaking work which is the subject of an industrial dispute
• Where the volunteer would be performing tasks carried out by paid staff in the past 6 months or where their involvement would reduce the likelihood of employment of paid staff
• Where the involvement of volunteers would jeopardise the wage or employment conditions of paid staff
• Where there is a disagreement within the client organisation about the nature and purpose of volunteer involvement
• Where there are insufficient resources to provide proper support, supervision, training and workspace for volunteers
• Where there is no money available to pay volunteers out-of-pocket expenses or provide appropriate insurance cover
• Where the work offers no rewards to the volunteer, e.g. work is too demanding, tedious, dirty and unpleasant and the volunteer does not have an opportunity to achieve personal goals
• Where unacceptable risks to health and safety are involved, e.g. physically dangerous work, potentially violent work etc.

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• Recognise my own motives for being a volunteer and ensure the organisation is aware of these.
• Seek work opportunities appropriate to my skills, interests and aspirations.
• Be committed to give high quality service.
• Consider opportunities for job training and personal development.
• Carry out all work I agree to do responsibly and ethically.
• Speak out about any concerns that might affect my work relationships or quality of service.
• See myself as a valued team member with the right to contribute to decisions which affect my work.
• Value and support other team members.

• Empower our volunteers to meet their own and the organisation's needs.
• Offer volunteers work opportunities appropriate to their skills, experience and aspirations.
• Provide volunteers with clear duty statements and orientation to their work and the organisation.
• Offer training and support for volunteers to achieve personal and work goals.
• Implement procedures to safeguard volunteer safety and well being.
• Offer re-imbursement to cover out-of-pocket expenses.
• Recognise volunteers as valued team members with opportunities to participate in relevant organisation decisions.
• Provide mechanisms to acknowledge contributions made by volunteers.

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Given that volunteers make a vital contribution to social development, the economy and the environment, government endorses the following policy on volunteering:

Vision
A society with a high level of volunteering, where the many contributions people make to the common good through volunteering and fulfilment of cultural obligations are actively supported and valued.

Recognition
Government recognises that:

• volunteers are found in wide-ranging spheres of activity, including sports, arts, heritage, emergency services, social services, health, education, recreation, human rights, tourism, conservation and the environment
• volunteers offer their time and expertise of their own free will, out of commitment to their community, and to fulfil cultural obligations
• the nature of volunteering varies widely depending on different cultural expectations and the nature of the task
• volunteers give their time unpaid and should have the opportunity to gain benefits in return, such as new skills, and a sense of belonging and achievement
• volunteers should not replace paid workers
• volunteering is an essential element of civil society.

Commitments
To support this vision, government is committed to:

• valuing and celebrating the contributions of volunteers
• recognising the contribution that tangata whenua, Pacific and ethnic peoples make to their communities through fulfilment of cultural obligations
• ensuring that volunteers have appropriate protection under law
• ensuring good practice in volunteer programmes which government directly manages
• encouraging community and voluntary organisations to develop and maintain good practice in supporting and involving their volunteers
• reducing barriers associated with volunteering in legislation, policy and practice
• supporting initiatives to increase understanding of, and to disseminate information about, volunteering.

Implementation
Government expects all government agencies to:

• take into account the needs of volunteers and their organisations, and the costs associated with volunteering, when developing policies and delivering services
• consult volunteers and their organisations on policy and operational changes that impact on volunteering
• have policies in place that support the private volunteering activities of staff while ensuring that public servants continue to fulfil their professional obligations.

Further enquiries to:
Community Policy
Ministry of Social Development
Telephone 04-916 3300
© Ministry of Social Development 2002

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Earlier this year, the Volunteering NZ Board reviewed our strategic plan and set its course for the next three years.
The past successes provided VNZ with a foundation that will help to lead and foster an environment that supports, promotes, values and encourages effective volunteering by our peoples across all sectors and in the wider community.

Read more...

This information will be available within the next couple of weeks.

You can keep in touch with new announcements regarding the Conference through our e-newsletter VNZ Update. If you are not a subscriber yet, please register here or e-mail comms@volunteeringnz.org.nz.

This information will be available within the next couple of months.

You can keep in touch with new announcements regarding the Conference through our e-newsletter VNZ Update. If you are not a subscriber yet, please register here or e-mail comms@volunteeringnz.org.nz.

This information will be available within the next couple of months.

You can keep in touch with new announcements regarding the Conference through our e-newsletter VNZ Update. If you are not a subscriber yet, please register here or e-mail comms@volunteeringnz.org.nz.