City of Mount Gambier has endorsed a Volunteer Management Plan and Policy to maximise the benefit of volunteering for more than 100 people who actively donate their time to Council and future volunteers.
Volunteers are identified as workers under the South Australian Work Health & Safety Act (2012) and have the same rights and responsibilities as paid workers.
Council volunteers work at the Library, ReUse Market and Waste Transfer Station, the Riddoch, the Valley Lakes Conservation Park and also support the community events team.
"Volunteers provide such a valuable contribution to Council and we know that the services and programs they support wouldn't be able to operate at their current capacity without them," City of Mount Gambier CEO Sarah Philpott said.
We know that volunteering plays a key role in sustaining healthy, resilient communities and contributes significantly to the quality and vibrancy of our community. - CEO Sarah Philpott
In the development of the Volunteer Management Plan, the project team undertook a benchmarking exercise against the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement. A volunteer experience survey was also conducted.
"As a result of this work, the plan addresses any gaps and inconsistencies and aims to improve the experience for our volunteers in addition to supporting our community to reach a higher volunteer participation rate."
An implementation plan will now be developed to roll out the first of the plan's initiatives.
"Council has already acted to develop and implement position descriptions for volunteers, develop a process for recording volunteer hours and participation and centralise the management of volunteer files and data and ensure volunteers are aware of, and have capacity to report safety incidents and hazards."
