ACC is a no-fault scheme that covers most accidental injuries, including injuries to people who are volunteering. That is a strong foundation, but it was designed around earners, and many of the people who keep charities running are not earning. The gaps matter most to exactly the volunteers organisations rely on most.
What ACC Does Cover for Volunteers
A volunteer injured in an accident while helping your organisation can claim ACC in the same way as anyone else for treatment and rehabilitation. The limits appear when the injury stops someone from working, causes harm that is not physical, or happens overseas.
The Gaps That Catch Organisations Out
Weekly Compensation
According to ACC's weekly compensation page, to receive weekly compensation a person needs to be an employee, self-employed or a shareholder-employee, and ACC pays up to 80% of their income. A volunteer who also has a paid job may therefore receive weekly compensation based on that income. A retired volunteer, a student, or a parent at home full time generally has no income for ACC to replace, so they receive treatment support but no weekly payments. For many charities that describes the most active part of the volunteer base.
Mental Injury
ACC's cover for mental injury is narrower than its cover for physical injury. Its work-related mental injury policy requires the injury to have been caused by a single, sudden event that occurred in the person's employment, and the policy does not address volunteers. A volunteer who experiences psychological harm after attending a traumatic event, without any physical injury, should not assume ACC will respond. That matters for organisations whose volunteers work in rescue, crisis support or disaster response.
Volunteering Overseas
ACC's page for residents injured overseas says it can cover an injury that happens overseas for people ordinarily resident here, generally on trips of less than six months. It does not pay overseas treatment costs, emergency travel or disrupted travel plans, and ACC itself says travellers still need travel insurance. Charities sending volunteers offshore should arrange travel and personal accident cover for each trip.
Serious and Permanent Injury
Where an injury is serious or fatal, ACC's support depends on the person's circumstances, including whether they were earning. Personal accident policies instead pay benefits set out in the policy schedule, such as lump sums for death or permanent disablement, which do not depend on the volunteer's income.
What Volunteer Personal Accident Insurance Provides
Policy benefits vary, but cover commonly includes:
- a weekly benefit at a level chosen by the organisation, payable regardless of the volunteer's earnings
- lump sum benefits for death or permanent disablement
- contributions towards some costs that ACC does not meet
- in some policies, cover for volunteering activities overseas
Age limits, waiting periods and the definition of who counts as a volunteer differ between wordings, so read the schedule before relying on it.
Who Should Consider It
Any organisation that relies on volunteers should consider this cover, particularly where volunteers do physical work, work in remote places, or are largely retired or not in paid employment. That includes registered charities, community groups, sports clubs, churches, conservation groups and social service providers.
Where This Sits in 2026
Officer duties under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 are now explicit, so a committee that knowingly leaves its volunteers unprotected is making a governance decision rather than an oversight. Registered charities have also just been through the first round of governance reviews required by the Charities Act 2005, which is a natural point to check whether volunteer protection has ever been formally considered. And changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act take effect on 1 April 2027, which we cover in what volunteer groups need to know about the health and safety changes.
If your organisation has never priced this cover, Get a Quote and a specialist will be in touch within one business day. For more on benefit structures and how blanket cover works, see our volunteer accident insurance page.
Sources: ACC, Weekly compensation; ACC, If you're a New Zealander injured overseas; ACC, Work-related mental injury policy. Checked 10 October 2026.
About the Author
The CharityInsurance Crew — the CharityInsurance crew are your friendly insurance geeks on a mission to make specialist cover simple and accessible for every NZ charity, sports club, and community organisation.