Volunteer Management-Screening & Vetting Volunteers
Screening volunteers: self-vetting, police checks, and interviews
Screening means making sure you have the right people for the job. This section
deals with how you can screen your potential volunteers and ensure that the
people who volunteer with your club are the best possible fit.
Why screen?
Your club has a responsibility to meet a duty of care to its members, particularly
young and/or vulnerable people. This means making every practical effort to
ensure the safety of the club and its community.
Screening begins before a volunteer has even made contact with you. The way
your club advertises or attracts volunteers and the types of people you target with
your advertising, are all ways of screening volunteers.
Depending on what sort of responsibilities a volunteer will undertake, self-vetting,
police checks and interviews are all common ways to screen potential volunteers.
The types of screening you use should fit with the volunteer’s role. If someone is
not going to be in a position where they can abuse responsibility, it may not be
necessary to screen them. For example, someone volunteering to fix a fence
during the off-season probably won’t need a police check.
Screening doesn’t guarantee unsuitable volunteers will be screened out. It is
equally vital to make sure other aspects of recruitment, training and supervision of
volunteers are effective.
Self-vetting means volunteers may screen themselves out
Screening is a two-way process. There are ways for potential volunteers to screen
themselves out if they think they are not right for the job, or the job is not right for
them.
For example, if people are made aware that a police check is part of the process
before they begin (in advertising or on the application form), and they know that
they have a criminal record, they can choose not to apply. This is self-vetting.
By being specific with your advertising of volunteer positions, you enable people
to screen themselves out without embarrassment on their part, or unnecessary
extra work for you. For example, someone wants to volunteer with your pony club
because they are hoping that this volunteering position will give them plenty of
opportunities to learn to ride. But when your club advertises for a volunteer
position of riding instructor, the potential volunteer decides not to apply because
they know they don’t have the right skills.
Police checks
Check with your National Sports Organisation to see if they have a policy
regarding police checks. If you decide that police checking is something you need
to do, then the following information might be useful.
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To do a police check, see the NZ Police vetting service. Volunteers must fill out
a consent form in which they agree to disclose their information. Refer to
example overleaf.
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Your club must respect the confidentiality of potential volunteers.
o
For more information on police checks and when they may be necessary
contact New Zealand Police.
New Zealand Police licensing and vetting services
An organisation may request any information held by New Zealand Police about a
potential employee.
Requests for this information are best made before that person starts their
employment, contract, or volunteer work with the organisation.
People must provide their written consent for an organisation to request a Police
vetting check.
Purpose of Police vetting
Police vetting aims to protect our more vulnerable members of society (children,
older people and those with special needs) from any risks posed by people who may
have displayed behaviour that could be detrimental to others' safety and wellbeing.
What is Police vetting?
Police vetting searches the Police database for any information held about the
person being vetted
Criminal conviction information is released in accordance with the Criminal Records
(Clean Slate) Act 2004.
Information released may include:
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conviction history,
location of the court,
the date of the offence,
the offence itself, and
the sentence imposed.
Information about traffic infringements, other than those resulting in demerit points or
a suspended driver's licence, is not available.
A family violence report may be included in a vetting check. This may
include information about:
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behaviours of a violent or sexual nature that may not have resulted in a conviction
any interaction, including as a victim, with Police, whether it resulted in a criminal
conviction or not.
In cases where this sort of information exists, further inquiry may be carried out. The
vetting response may be "red stamped" or flagged for further review.
The organisation will be informed prior to any employment decision.
This assists the organisation to evaluate any likely risk.
In the interests of natural justice, organisations must discuss this information with the
person before making an employment decision. It might well be that there is no
longer any risk.
Where the person being vetted is concerned about the accuracy of information,
Police welcome correction.
IMPORTANT: Police vetting is not a complete background check. It should be used
only as part of a robust recruiting and screening process.
Useful further information
A robust recruiting and screening process is outlined in the publication
"Safe Not Sorry" by Anthea Simock from the Institute for Child Protection Studies,
PO Box 679, Hamilton.
Requesting your personal information from Police
Individuals cannot request a Police vet on themselves. See our FAQ on how to
request information that Police hold about you.
Criminal record or "clearance certificates"
Police vetting is different and unrelated to a criminal check or a clearance certificate.
New Zealand does not have a document known as a "police clearance certificate". If
you want a copy of your criminal record you should request this from the Ministry of
Justice.
Your own Criminal Record is like a "clearance certificate" that other countries have.
You can obtain a copy of your Criminal Record from the Ministry of Justice.
How to request a copy of your own criminal record [Ministry of Justice Website]
For information on how to access another person's criminal record as a third party,
contact:
Ministry of Justice Privacy Unit
Telephone 64-4-918 8800 or fax 64-4-918 8820
or write to: Ministry of Justice Privacy Unit PO Box 2750, Wellington.
Further Information
If you require more information you can contact the Police vetting service.
Phone: +64 4 470 7079
Reference Checks
If your recruitment process includes checking an applicant’s referees, you can
download a sample reference checking form to help you conduct reference
checks. The application form your club uses, is a good place to collect the contact
information needed for a reference check.
Interviewing
Interviewing can be very informal (a chat) or more structured and formal. It‘s a
great way to discuss issues relevant to a role and look at different people for the
job. Interviewing may therefore be an important part of getting volunteers for your
club.
When people enquire about volunteering for your club they may expect to be
interviewed in an efficient and polite manner.
Be prepared
o
Think about the purpose of the interview. Are you interviewing for a specific
role?
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Have your list of questions ready. Make your questions open-ended, because
this encourages discussion between you and the volunteer. Using open-ended
questions means you want to avoid asking questions that can be answered
“yes” or “no”. Rather than “do you like…”, try, “tell me about…”. If your person
is shy or a bit unsure how to answer your question, you can offer example
answers.
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If you have been given a volunteer’s application form in advance of the
interview, take a look at it. Think about what things you can ask this person to
find out more about them and the potential that they may bring to your club.
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It may be a good idea to bring a list of available positions to show your
potential volunteer the types of roles they could take in your club. They may not
know that you have several different positions available.
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Another useful tool for conducting a good interview is an interview guide – a list
of standard questions and some of the do’s and don’ts. See some example
questions and general advice on interviewing volunteers (Word, 30 KB). Once
you have made a decision about a volunteer, let them know immediately. Don’t
keep them waiting as this could put them off wanting to be involved in the
future.