Can You Use Volunteers In A For-Profit Business?

Wanting an extra pair of hands in your business is completely understandable. Maybe you have a busy week coming up, a friend has offered to help, or someone wants experience in your industry and says they're happy not to be paid.

The tricky part is that, in Australia, calling someone a "volunteer" doesn't automatically make the arrangement lawful. If they're really doing work for your business, the Fair Work Act 2009 and any applicable modern award may require you to treat them as an employee and pay them properly.

The good news is this doesn't have to be complicated. The key is working out what the person is actually doing, who benefits, and whether there's an employment relationship in practice.

Can A Business Use Volunteers?

Usually, a for-profit business should be very cautious about using volunteers because unpaid work can easily become unlawful employment.

True volunteering is most commonly seen in charities, community groups, sporting clubs and other not-for-profit settings. In that context, someone may give their time freely to support a cause, without expecting wages.

For a commercial business, the Fair Work Ombudsman will look past the label and ask what is really happening. If the person is helping your business operate, serving customers, doing admin, creating content, packing orders or covering shifts, that's likely to look like work that should be paid.

A few factors that can point towards an employment relationship include:

• you control when, where and how the person works
• the person performs productive tasks that your business benefits from
• the work would otherwise be done by a paid staff member
• there's an ongoing roster or regular pattern of work
• the person is expected to attend or may be criticised if they don't
• the person receives something that looks like payment, even if you call it an allowance

On the other hand, a one-off helping hand with no obligation, no roster and no real business output may be lower risk. But for most for-profit businesses, if someone is doing useful work, the safer starting point is to assume they should be paid.

What Counts As Unpaid Work Under Fair Work?

Unpaid work can be lawful in limited situations, but it becomes a problem when the arrangement is really employment without pay.

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, employees are entitled to minimum wages, the National Employment Standards and any applicable modern award or enterprise agreement. You can't contract out of those minimum entitlements by agreeing with the person that they will be a volunteer.

This means a written agreement saying "you agree to volunteer" won't fix the issue if the day-to-day arrangement looks like employment.

Fair Work will usually look at the whole picture, including:

• Purpose: Is the main purpose to help the person learn, or to get work done for your business?
• Benefit: Who gets the main benefit from the arrangement?
• Control: Are you directing the person like staff?
• Obligation: Does the person feel they must attend or keep working?
• Length: Is it a short observation period, or has it become regular work?
• Productive Output: Are they contributing to your revenue, customers or operations?

Say you run a cafe in Brisbane and your neighbour's son offers to "volunteer" every Saturday for a month to learn about hospitality. If he is taking orders, clearing tables and helping with food service for 6 hours each Saturday, your cafe is getting a real business benefit. Even if he is happy to help for free, that arrangement is likely to carry Fair Work risk.

If the right classification is employee, you may also need to think about award coverage, casual loading, leave, payslips, superannuation obligations and record-keeping. Employee records must generally be kept for 7 years.

When Is An Unpaid Trial Or Internship Allowed?

An unpaid trial or internship can be allowed, but only if it stays within narrow limits and doesn't become productive work for your business.

Unpaid Trials

An unpaid trial is usually only appropriate where the person is demonstrating the skills needed for the role, and only for as long as reasonably necessary to assess those skills.

For example, if you run a hair salon, it may be reasonable to ask a candidate to demonstrate a specific technique under supervision for a short period. It would be much riskier to ask them to work a full Saturday serving paying clients, sweeping floors and answering phones as a "trial".

There's no fixed national time limit that makes an unpaid trial safe. The question is whether the trial is genuinely for assessment, or whether you're getting productive work from the person. If they're doing tasks that benefit your business beyond a skills demonstration, you should consider paying them.

Internships And Work Experience

An unpaid internship may be lawful if it's a genuine learning arrangement and there's no employment relationship. It may also be lawful if it's a vocational placement that's required as part of an education or training course and meets the Fair Work Act requirements.

A genuine vocational placement is usually arranged through a school, TAFE, university or registered training organisation. It should be linked to the course and approved as part of the student's study requirements.

If an intern is doing regular work that your business relies on, such as managing social media, contacting leads, writing client materials or covering shifts, you're moving into higher-risk territory. Calling them an intern doesn't remove minimum wage obligations if the substance is employment.

What Are The Risks If You Get It Wrong?

If you get the arrangement wrong, you may need to backpay wages and entitlements, and your business may face Fair Work penalties.

The practical risk is usually not just one week of unpaid wages. Once someone is found to be an employee, you may need to work out what they should have received over the full period, including:

• minimum hourly rates under the relevant award or the national minimum wage
• casual loading, if they were really a casual employee
• penalty rates, overtime or allowances, if an award applies
• annual leave or personal leave, if they were permanent rather than casual
• superannuation contributions, where required
• payslips and employment records

Since 1 January 2025, intentional wage underpayments can also be treated as a criminal offence under the Fair Work Act. That doesn't mean every genuine mistake is criminal, but it does mean deliberate "unpaid" arrangements deserve real care.

There can also be non-legal fallout. A former worker may complain to the Fair Work Ombudsman, leave negative reviews, or raise concerns publicly. For a growing business, that can be a distraction you don't need.

Let's go back to the Brisbane cafe example. If the cafe has someone work 6 hours every Saturday for 4 weeks, that is 24 hours of work. If the person should have been classified under the relevant hospitality award, the cafe may need to backpay the applicable award rate, plus any casual loading or weekend penalty rates that applied. If other "volunteers" were used in the same way, the problem can multiply quickly.

What Are Safer Alternatives To Volunteers?

The safer alternative is to choose the right legal structure for the help you actually need.

If your business needs someone to do real work, there's usually a better option than calling them a volunteer.

Hire An Employee

If you need regular help and you want to control the work, an employee is often the cleanest option.

You might use:

• Casual employment: helpful where hours genuinely change and there's no firm advance commitment to ongoing work
• Part-time employment: useful where you need regular weekly hours
• Fixed-term employment: suitable for a defined project or temporary need, subject to Fair Work rules that limit some fixed-term contracts

You'll need an employment contract, award classification check, payroll setup, payslips and workplace policies that suit the role. If the person is casual, recent Fair Work changes mean you should also be careful about how the roster is described and managed.

Engage A Contractor

A contractor may suit project-based work where the person runs their own business and has real independence.

For example, you might engage a freelance graphic designer to create a logo, or a marketing consultant to set up an email campaign. You should use a contractor agreement or statement of work that covers scope, fees, IP ownership, confidentiality and termination.

Be careful not to use a contractor label for someone who is really working like an employee. Sham contracting can create its own Fair Work issues.

Offer A Genuine Learning Placement

If the aim is training or exposure, structure it as a genuine learning opportunity with a clear work experience agreement rather than free labour.

That usually means:

• the person mainly observes or shadows your team
• any tasks are closely supervised and educational
• the placement is short and clearly defined
• your business doesn't rely on the person to perform normal work
• where relevant, the placement is arranged through an education provider

If you're unsure which option fits, get advice before the person starts. It's much easier to set this up properly at the beginning than to fix an underpayment issue later.

What Should A Volunteer Or Internship Agreement Include?

A written agreement helps, but it only works if the actual arrangement is lawful and matches what happens day to day.

For a for-profit business, you should be especially careful with any volunteer agreement or document that calls someone a volunteer. Templates can miss the details that matter, so have the agreement tailored before you use it.

A useful agreement outline might include:

1. Parties: name your business and the person, including any education provider if it's a placement
2. Purpose: explain whether the arrangement is observation, training, work experience or a vocational placement
3. No Employment Relationship: state the intention clearly, while recognising this won't override the real arrangement
4. Activities: list exactly what the person may and may not do
5. Hours And Dates: set a clear start date, end date and any attendance expectations
6. Supervision: name who will supervise the person and how feedback will be given
7. Expenses: explain whether reasonable expenses will be reimbursed and what approval is needed
8. Confidentiality: protect customer information, pricing, systems and business know-how
9. Intellectual Property: deal with ownership of anything the person creates
10. Work Health And Safety: cover safety rules, induction and reporting incidents
11. Ending The Arrangement: explain how either side can stop the arrangement

If the person will be creating anything for your business, such as photos, website copy, designs, code or social media content, don't skip the IP clause. Without the right wording, your business may not own the material outright.

Also think about privacy. If the person can access customer data, staff information or business systems, you should limit access and make confidentiality obligations clear.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

The biggest mistake is assuming that consent makes unpaid work lawful. Even if someone agrees to work for free, your business may still need to pay them if the arrangement is really employment.

Other common traps include:

• Using "volunteers" to cover busy shifts: if they're filling a business need, they likely need to be paid
• Letting unpaid trials run too long: a trial should be limited to demonstrating skills, not doing a shift
• Giving interns real KPIs: sales targets, content quotas or customer service duties can point towards employment
• Relying on a handshake: unclear arrangements are much harder to defend later
• Forgetting awards: many junior, hospitality, retail, clerical and trade roles are covered by modern awards
• Ignoring records: if you do pay someone, keep proper records and payslips from day one

A practical way to check the risk is to ask yourself this: if this person didn't show up, would I need to pay someone else to do the work?

If the answer is yes, it's probably not a volunteer role.

You can also use this simple step-by-step check before bringing anyone into your business:

1. Write down the tasks you want them to do.
2. Identify who benefits most from those tasks.
3. Check whether the role is covered by a modern award.
4. Decide whether the correct structure is employee, contractor, volunteer arrangement or learning placement.
5. Put the right agreement in place before they start.
6. Keep records of hours, payments, supervision and any training provided.

Key Takeaways

• A for-profit business can rarely rely on "volunteers" for productive work without Fair Work risk.
• If someone is doing work your business benefits from, they may need to be treated and paid as an employee.
• Unpaid trials should be short, supervised and limited to demonstrating skills.
• Internships are safest when they're genuine learning experiences or approved vocational placements.
• Employment contracts, contractor agreements and tailored placement agreements are usually safer than informal unpaid arrangements.
• Set the arrangement up properly before the person starts, because fixing underpayments later can be costly and stressful.

If you'd like help with choosing the right arrangement, preparing your employment contracts, setting up a contractor agreement or reviewing a volunteer or internship document, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.