Casual Volunteer

Volunteers are the backbone of Girl Guiding. Thanks to the many volunteers in Girl Guiding in Australia, girls and young women can experience all that Girl Guiding offers. With the introduction of the Girl Guides Australia Child Safe Child Friendly Framework, screening and recruitment requirements for Volunteers has changed. A distinction has been made between Volunteers that help regularly and those that help not so frequently. Volunteers are now either a Casual Volunteer or an Ongoing Volunteer.

Casual Volunteers are those people who volunteer with Girl Guiding in Australia on less than five occasions in any 12-month period at a Girl Guide activity where Youth Members are present, when those occasions do not include any overnight stays or assistance that is likely to result in unsupervised access to Youth Members. Examples of the support a Casual Volunteer may provide, include assisting at a barbeque at a Girl Guide event or talking to Youth Members about a particular topic where they will be supervised by an Adult Member.

Regardless, prior to commencing, all Casual Volunteers are required to familiarise themselves with the GGA Code of Conduct.

When a Casual Volunteer is working in a Unit or a District, the Unit Leader or District Manager is responsible for advising the Casual Volunteer that they are expected to adhere to the GGA Code of Conduct.

Very occasionally, the nature of an activity does not allow for supervision of an adult by an Adult in Guiding. While this is generally avoidable with good planning, it may be unavoidable, and the adult will require screening as an Ongoing Volunteer prior to taking part in the activity. Examples of such activities include:
  • a volunteer participating in a caving expedition or manning an orienteering station when Youth Members are completing the activity alone (and not as a group) and there is no line of sight to another Adult in Guiding
  • when a water activity only provides for one Youth Member to be in the vessel with an adult and the water activity course is such that there is no line of sight to another Adult in Guiding
  • where a person is providing First Aid for an event and is likely to be providing assistance to one Youth Member (without other Youth Members present) and not be within line of sight of another Adult in Guiding
As Casual Volunteers do not have an ongoing or regular role and are supervised when they are with Youth Members, they are not required to undergo any formal screening, recruitment, or induction.

If a Volunteer is participating in an overnight stay with Youth Members or may not be supervised when they are with Youth Members, then they must comply with the requirements of an Ongoing Volunteer as outlined in the Ongoing Volunteer section of this website.

All Girl Guide Queensland Guide Units are required to display the Casual Volunteer QR scan poster for volunteers to scan and complete the necessary fields.

Some Useful Tips for sharing the GGA Code of Conduct
It is suggested, the Girl Guide Australia Code of Conduct is visible on the wall of all Girl Guide meeting places.
If the volunteering is at a fundraising event, e.g., a fundraising barbeque, email the GGA Code of Conduct to all those helping prior to the event.
The GGA Code of Conduct could be included in the Welcome Pack to all new Guiding families.