Yacvic Volunteer Code of Conduct

YACVic Volunteer Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct provides a basis upon which volunteers of YACVic and its core and partner agencies are required to act when representing and working with the organisation.

Any reference to YACVic includes anyone volunteering for Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic), Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS), Koorie Youth Council (KYC) & Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC).

This policy outlines the way you are expected to behave when representing and working for YACVic and includes the key values, which must be observed.

YACVic promotes the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children and young people, including those with a disability, those who are Aboriginal or those from refugee or migrant backgrounds. All volunteers are subject to screening and assessment against child safety standards, including rigorous background, identity and reference checks. All volunteers require a current Working with Children Check and Police Check (costs reimbursed) and must agree to adhere to this code of conduct.

YACVic has zero tolerance for child abuse. All staff and employees are responsible for the care and protection of the children within our care and reporting information about suspected child abuse.

Failure to follow this code will be considered as misconduct, which in the most serious of cases, may lead to dismissal. Breaches of this code will be dealt with in accordance with the appropriate disciplinary procedures.

Definitions

Child means a person below the age of 18 years
Child abuse means any forms of physical, emotional or sexual abuse, exploitation, ill treatment, neglect or other exploitation of a child and includes actions that results in actual or potential harm.
Child protection means any responsibility, measure or activity undertaken to safeguard children from harm.
Young person is someone between the ages of 12- 25 years.
Manager means the staff member supervising you while volunteering.

Child protection

All people involved in the care of children/ young people on behalf of YACVic will:

Maintain a duty of care towards others involved in these programs and activities;
Establish and maintain a child-safe environment in the course of their work;
Treat children and young people with respect and value their ideas and opinions;
Act as positive role models in their conduct with children and young people;
Be professional in their actions, including appropriate boundaries on and offline;
Respect the privacy of children, their families and teachers/carers, and only disclose information to people who have a need to know;
Operate within the policies and guidelines of YACVic and;
Contact the police if a child is at immediate risk of abuse (telephone 000).

No person shall:

Shame, humiliate, oppress, belittle or degrade children or young people;
Discriminate against any child or young person;
Engage in any activity with a child or young person that is likely to physically or emotionally harm them;
Initiate unnecessary physical contact with a child or young person, or do things of a personal nature for them that they can do for themselves;
Be alone with a child or young person unnecessarily and for more than a very short time;
Develop a ‘special’ relationship with a specific child or young person for their own needs;
Show favouritism through the provision of gifts or inappropriate attention;
Arrange contact, including online contact, with children or young people outside of the organisation’s programs and activities;
Photograph or video a child or young person without the consent of the child and his/her parents or guardians;
Engage in open discussions of an adult nature in the presence of children;
Use inappropriate language in the presence of children; or
Do anything which breaches the organisation’s policies, procedures or this Code of Conduct.

Reporting

If you suspect that there is abuse taking place, immediately notify your manager.
If you believe that a child or young person is at risk of immediate harm, you must report it to the police straight away by dialling 000.

In a situation where the manager is suspected of involvement in the activity, or if the person having the suspicion does not believe that the matter is being appropriately addressed or dealt with, the matters should be reported to YACVic’s CEO immediately.

If a child or young person discloses an incident of abuse to you:

Try to take them somewhere private so you can listen to them carefully and try to have a second adult present if possible
Let them use their own words to explain what has happened
Reassure them that they are doing the right thing by telling you and it’s not their fault
Explain that you will need to discuss what has happened with your manager or if it’s serious, the police.
Do not leave them if they are distressed.

As soon as possible after the disclosure:

Record in writing the information using the child/young person’s words
Report the disclosure to your manager or if the child/young person is in immediate danger, the police

Expectations of Volunteers working for YACVic

Personal Conduct

All volunteers are expected to:

Treat everyone with courtesy, respect and kindness
Dress appropriate to the duty being undertaken.
To be sober while on duty - no person may present for work under any influence of alcohol or drugs or consume any alcohol while on duty.

Professional Conduct

All volunteers are expected to:

Perform duties diligently, impartially, conscientiously, with integrity, and to the best of their ability, acting always within the boundaries and interest of YACVic’s aims, policies and objectives.
Encourage teamwork among all volunteers, and always give due credit to the contributions of others
Confidential information will not be used for personal gain or for any other reason, which is inconsistent with one’s obligation to act impartially and in the interests of the community. Confidential information will not be used to cause harm or detriment to any person, YACVic or any other organisation.
While on duty, your time and attention will be dedicated to your role.
Advantage will not be taken of your volunteer role in order to obtain improper advantages for yourself.
It is understood that all volunteers work with the parameters of all privacy principles and legislation.

Appropriate use of organisational resources

All volunteers are expected to:

Use organisational technical and physical resources properly, responsibly and for legitimate purposes only and in accordance with YACVic’s policies and procedures.
Strive to always obtain value for the organisation’s money spent and avoid waste and extravagance in the use of the organisation’s resources
Secure all organisation property against theft or fraud
Maintain the integrity and security of all the organisation’s intellectual property
Always act in the best interest of YACVic.

Protection and promotion of the organisation’s reputation

All volunteers are expected to:

Promote the organisation’s aims and activities wherever possible in our professional dealings with others
Refrain from representing ourselves as spokespersons, or acting for or on behalf of the organisation unless authorised to do so (and when in doubt seek advice from your manager)
All official media contact is to be conducted by your manager unless otherwise agreed
Refrain from engaging in any activity that may compromise the organisation’s integrity and reputation

Compliance and breaches

All YACVic volunteers, including those employed by YACVic on projects and/or core/ partner organisations must comply with this Code of Conduct and report any perceived breaches to the CEO or YACVic Chairperson, as appropriate.

Volunteers whose conduct falls below the standards outlined in the Code will be counselled accordingly and/or disciplined in accordance within the guidelines of YACVic’s disciplinary procedure.

I, (insert full name) as a YACVic volunteer agree to abide by the YACVic Code of Conduct.

Signed:

Date:

Direct line manager: