We'll provide you with practical examples and tips that will leave you feeling more confident in what is expected of you when it comes to managing psychosocial hazards and fulfilling your positive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment and other unlawful conduct.β― Law and policy updatesNational Standards for Volunteer InvolvementVolunteering Australia has refreshed the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (Standards). The Standards are a best practice framework to guide volunteer involvement that: - help improve the volunteer experience and ensure that the wellbeing of volunteers is supported and their contributions are valued, and
- provide best practice guidance and benchmarks to help organisations attract, manage and retain volunteers and support effective risk and safety practices
The Standards have been refreshed to ensure they are contemporary and inclusive of the diversity of volunteering and volunteers. The development of the refreshed Standards was informed by a sector wide consultation process conducted across each state and territory in 2023. Weβve updated our national volunteering guide and self-help tool to refer to the refreshed standards. We refer to the Standards, where relevant, throughout our guide, recognising that βbest practiceβ sits alongside and in addition to the legal issues that volunteer involving organisations need to consider.
Changes to Victoriaβs WorkCover schemeFrom 31 March 2024, changes which come into effect under Victoriaβs WorkCover scheme include: - changes to the eligibility criteria for mental injury compensation
- an additional requirement to the βwhole person impairmentβ process (a second entitlement period review)
- changes to WorkSafe's ability to share information across business units
- a requirement for certain rejected claims that can't be resolved through conciliation to be determined by the courts, instead of arbitration, and
- the establishment of the Return to Work Advisory Committee, to provide advice to the WorkSafe Victoria Board on return to work initiatives
ResourcesUpdated resourcesWorking with others Handling disputes and conflicts Managing people Running the organisation Managing insurance and risk Help us reinstate our funding in NSWIn November we announced that a year after the NSW Government stopped funding our work, we had no choice but to start removing our tailored legal information resources for NSW-based community organisations from our website, because we no longer have the resources to keep them up-to-date and legally accurate. We also had to cut off our NSW advice services completely. Each month in our Monthly Updates, weβll let you know which resources weβre removing ahead of time. On 4 April weβll remove: We know our services and resources are valued and used by tens of thousands of NSW community organisations each year. We need your help to ensure a sustainable NSW community sector where frontline organisations can access our free legal support to help them deliver services to more people in need. Weβre asking you to email a letter to the NSW Government in support of reinstating our funding so we can continue to support a strong and vibrant NSW community sector. Upcoming webinarsJoin a 75-minute webinar covering common legal problems, and leave equipped with practical legal tips and insights to implement in your organisation.
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