First, the if your organisation is insured check you have identified the responding policy and the Policy Wording and that you have cover for the country or territory(ies) for the project.
Secondly, the concept of the safe harbour for volunteers is founded in the definition of Volunteer and Volunteer workers is common in Health and safety laws. In New Zealand this protection is extensive. Regardless of where voluntary work is performed the objective should be that volunteers are not at risk of being sued, prosecuted or detained. In most cases this relies on understanding the applicable law and making sure that the volunteers are covered by safe harbour provisions. If there are no safe harbour provisions while volunteers may be willing to take on risk those risks need to be clearly set out and the organising not-4-profit should also consider whether even with full consent the risks can be justified. As a general rule consider how your project can be structured to make it clear that the volunteers have not stepped over that invisible boundary from being a volunteer to a person that is in charge of safety.
Thirdly , while volunteer associations, such as Rotary, do have safe harbour protection under, for example in New Zealand under Section 17(2) of the Health and Safety Act that is only possible provided that the organisation can identify its volunteers. This may sound trivial but proper records are essential. For Rotary organisations you have the systems provided to register your volunteers.
"....volunteer means a person who is acting on a voluntary basis (whether or not the person receives out-of-pocket expenses)"
Fourthly, A PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) is the primary duty holder and must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and any others affected by their workTheir core responsibility is NZ health and safety law
Key Responsibilities of a PCBU:
- Primary Duty of Care: Ensuring a safe work environment, including managing risks from physical and psychological factors like noise, stress, or hazardous substances.
- Safe Systems and Equipment: Providing and maintaining safe machinery, structures, and work systems.
- Training and Information:
Providing necessary training, instruction, and supervision to workers
. - Monitoring: Monitoring worker health and workplace conditions.
- Engagement: Consulting with workers on health and safety matters.
- Overlapping Duties: Consulting, cooperating, and coordinating with other PCBUs on shared work sites to manage risks collectively.
A PCBU can be a company, partnership, or self-employed person. Examples include retailers, manufacturers, or contractor
Finally, apart from the provisions in Section 29 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (which I have reproduced in full below) the policy wording does provide cover for fines for "Insured Persons" as defined in the general conditions under clause 7 and Insured Persons does include volunteers under Clause 60 up to the limit which is $1,000,000.
29. Insurance against fines unlawful
(1) To the extent that an insurance policy or a contract of insurance indemnifies or purports to indemnify a person for the person’s liability to pay a fine or infringement fee under this Act,—
(a) the policy or contract is of no effect; and
(b) no court or tribunal has jurisdiction to grant relief in respect of the policy or contract, whether under sections 75 to 82 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 or otherwise.
(2)A person must not—
(a) enter into, or offer to enter into, a policy or contract described in subsection (1); or
(b) indemnify, or offer to indemnify, another person for the other person’s liability to pay a fine or an infringement fee under this Act; or
(c) be indemnified, or agree to be indemnified, by another person for that person’s liability to pay a fine or an infringement fee under this Act; or
(d) pay to another person, or receive from another person, an indemnity for a fine or an infringement fee under this Act.
(3)A person who contravenes subsection (2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction,—