Regulation of Volunteer Service

Title: Regulation of Volunteer Service
Promulgating Entities:State Council
Reference number: 令第685号
Promulgation Date: 2017-8-22
Expiration date: 
Source of text: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2017-09/06/content_5223028.htm

Table of Contents

Chapter I: General Provisions

Chapter II: Volunteers and Volunteer Service Organizations

Chapter III: Temporary Activities

Chapter IV: Promotion Measures

Chapter V: Legal Responsibility

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Regulation of Volunteer Service

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Regulations are drafted so as to protect the lawful rights and interests of volunteers, volunteer service organizations and the recipients of volunteer services; to encourage and to regulate volunteer services; to to develop the field of volunteer services, to cultivate and practice the core socialist values; and to promote the improvement of society and civilization.

Article 2: These Regulations apply to volunteer service activities, and activities related to volunteer services, carried out within the mainland territory of the People's Republic of China.

"Volunteer Service" as used in these Regulations refers to volunteers, volunteer service organizations, and other organizations voluntary and uncompensated provision of public interest services to the public or to other persons.

Article 3: The carrying out of volunteer services shall follow the principles of voluntariness, equality, integrity, and lawfulness; and must not violate social morals, or harm national security and the societal public interest, and must not harm the lawful rights and interests of others.

Article 4: People's governments at the county level or above shall place the field of volunteer service within the citizens' economic and social development plans, and reasonably arrange funding needed for volunteer service, and promote carrying out of widespread, multi-layered, and wide-ranging volunteer services.

Article 5: National and local guidance organizations on building spiritual civilization are to establish coordination mechanisms for volunteer service work; and will strengthen the overall planning, coordination and guidance, supervision and inspection, and publicity and spreading experience on volunteer service work.

The civil affairs department under the State Council is responsible for the entire nation's administrative management work on volunteer service; the civil affairs departments of people's governments at the county level or above are responsible for that administrative district's administrative management work related to volunteer service.

The relevant departments of people's governments at the county level or above are responsible for efforts related to foreign service in accordance with their own duties.

Labor unions, Communist Youth Leagues, Womens Federations,and other such relevant people's organizations and mass organizations shall complete work on volunteer services within the scope of their own work.

Chapter II: Volunteers and Volunteer Service Organizations

Article 6: "Volunteer" as used in this law refers to natural persons who participate in volunteer service through means such as their own time and knowledge, skills, physical strength.

"Volunteer Service Organizations" as used in these Regulations refers to lawfully established non-profit organizations that have carrying out volunteer service as their purpose.

Article 7: Volunteers may sign up and register basic personal information such as their identity information, service skills, service times, and contact methods themselves through the volunteer service information system designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, or register with volunteer service organizations.

The basic personal information provided by volunteers shall be truthful, accurate, and complete.

Article 8: Volunteer service organizations may adopt organizational forms such as social groups (社会团体), social service organizations, or foundations. Registration and management of volunteer service organizations is implemented in accordance with relevant law and administrative regulations.

Article 9: Volunteer service organizations may establish industry organizations in accordance with law, to give feedback on the industry's wants and promote industry communication and advance the development of the volunteer service field.

Article 10: Establish Chinese Communist Party organizations within volunteer service organizations, to conduct Party activities in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the Chinese Communist Party. Volunteer service organizations shall provide necessary requirements for Party organization activities.

Chapter III: Temporary Activities

Article 11: Volunteers may participate in volunteer service activities launched by volunteer service organizations and may also carry out their own volunteer service activities.

Article 12: Volunteer service organizations may recruit volunteers to to carry out volunteer service activities; and when recruiting shall explain the true, accurate and complete information related to the volunteer service, and give notice of risks that might occur in the course of service.

Article 13: Organizations or individuals requiring volunteer services may submit applications to volunteer service organizations and shall provide true, accurate, and complete information related to the volunteer service, and explain risks that may occur during the course of volunteer service. Volunteer service organizations shall conduct a verification of relevant information and promptly respond.

Article 14: Volunteers, volunteer service organizations, and recipients of volunteer service may sign agreements as necessary, clarifying the rights and obligations of parties, agreeing upon issues such as the volunteer services' content, methods, timing, location, work conditions, and safety measures,

Article 15: Volunteer service organizations will arrange for volunteers to participate in volunteer service activities appropriate to their age, knowledge, skills and physical condition; and must not request that volunteers provide volunteer service that exceeds their abilities.

Article 16: Where volunteer service organizations arrange for volunteers to participate in volunteer service activities and require specialized knowledge or skills, they shall conduct relevant training for volunteers.

The carrying out of volunteer service activities, shall implement standards and rules formulated by the State or industry organizations. Where laws or administrative regulations require professional credentials for carrying out volunteer service activities, volunteers shall lawfully obtain the relevant credentials.

Article 17: Volunteer service organizations shall provide volunteers participating in volunteer service activities with the necessary conditions, resolve resolve difficulties encountered by volunteers in the course of volunteer service, and preserve volunteers' lawful rights and interests.

Before volunteer service organizations arrange for volunteers to participate in volunteer service activities where personal injury might occur, they shall purchase accidental personal injury insurance for the volunteers.

Article 18: Volunteer service organizations carrying out volunteer service activities may use volunteer service symbols.

Article 19: Volunteer service organizations arranging for volunteers participation in volunteer service activities shall faithfully record the volunteers' basic personal information, volunteer service situations, training situations, commendation and reward situations, evaluation situations and other information, and shall follow uniform data standards in entering them into the volunteer service information system designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to bring about interconnectivity and internetworking of data.

Where volunteers need records and proofs of volunteer, volunteer service organizations shall provide free and faithful records based on their volunteer service.

The civil affairs department of the State Council, together with relevant units, is to formulate measures on recording volunteer service and the issuance of proofs of volunteer service.

Article 20: Volunteer service organizations and the recipients of volunteer service shall respect the personal dignity of volunteers; and must not disclose or reveal their relevant information without the volunteer's consent.

Article 21: Volunteer service organizations and volunteers shall respect the personal dignity of the recipients of volunteer services, and must not violate the personal privacy of service recipients or collect compensation from them either directly or covertly.

Article 22: Volunteers accepting volunteer service organizations' arrangements to participate in volunteer service activities shall follow their management and accept necessary training.

Volunteers shall provide volunteer services as agreed upon. Where volunteers cannot provide volunteer services as agreed upon, they shall promptly inform the volunteer service organization or the recipient of the volunteer services.

Article 23: The state encourages and support state organs, enterprises, public institutions, people's organizations, social organizations, and the like to establish volunteer service teams to carry out professional volunteer service activities; and encourages and supports volunteers with specialized knowledge or skills to provide specialized volunteer service.

The State encourages and supports public service organizations to recruit volunteers to provide volunteer services.

Article 24: Where major natural disasters, accidental disasters and public health incidents or other emergencies occur, relevant people's governments shall establish coordination mechanisms to provide information on needs and to guide volunteer service organizations and volunteers to promptly and orderly carry out volunteer service activities.

Volunteer service organizations and volunteers carrying out volunteer service activities responding to emergency incidents shall accept the unified commands and coordination of the emergency command body established by the relevant people's governments.

Article 25: Organizations and individuals must not compel and appoint volunteers and volunteer service organizations to provide volunteer service, and must not carry out for-profit activities by exploiting the name of volunteer service.

Article 26: Any organization or individual discovering that a volunteer service organization has violated the law may make a complaint or report to the civil affairs department, other relevant department or volunteer service industry organizations. The civil affairs departments, other relevant departments, or volunteer service industry organizations shall promptly investigate and handle complaints and reports they receive, and for those that they lack authority to handle, they shall inform the complainant or information to make a complaint or report to the department or industry organization that has authority.

Chapter IV: Promotion Measures

Article 27: People's governments at the county level or above shall, in accordance with the social and economic development situation, formulate policies and measures to promote of the development of the volunteer service field.

People's governments at the county level or above and the relevant departments thereof shall, within the scope of their own duties, provide guidance and aid for volunteer service.

Article 28: The State encourages enterprises, public institutions, basic level mass autonomous organizations, and other organizations to provide venues and other facilitation of volunteer service.

Article 29: Schools, households, and society shall cultivate young people's awareness and capacity for volunteer service.

Schools of higher learning and secondary vocational schools may include student participation in volunteer service activities within their administration of practicum credits.

Article 30: All levels of people's government and their relevant departments may lawfully use methods such as purchase of services to support operation and management of volunteer services, and follow relevant state provisions to disclose relevant circumstances to the public, such as a directory of service purchasing projects, service standards, and funding budgets.

Article 31: Where natural persons, legal persons and other organizations donate assets for use in volunteer service, they are to receive tax benefits in accordance with law.

Article 32: Volunteers or volunteer service organizations that make outstanding contributions in the development of the field of volunteer services,are to be given commendations and awards by the relevant departments of people's governments at the county level or above in accordance with laws, regulations or relevant State provisions.

Where all other conditions are equal, the State encourages enterprises and other organizations to preferentially hire volunteers with positive volunteer service records. Recruitment of public officials and hiring by public institutions may include volunteer service in the content of their examinations.

Article 33: Local people's governments at the county level or above may, on the basis of actual conditions, employ measures to encourage public service institutions to give preferential treatment to volunteers with good volunteer service records.

Article 34: People's governments at the county level or above shall establish and improve systems for gathering and releasing charity information.

Article 35: Media such as radio, television, press, and the web shall actively conduct publicity and education activities about volunteer service, spread the culture of volunteerism, and carry forward the spirit of volunteerism.

Chapter V: Legal Responsibility

Article 36: Where volunteer service organizations disclose volunteers' relevant information or violate volunteer service recipients' personal privacy, they will be given warnings and ordered to make corrections by the civil affairs departments; where corrections are not made within the time allowed, they will be ordered to stop activities for a period of time to make corrections; and where circumstances are serious, have their registration certificates canceled and a public announcement made.

Article 37: Where volunteer service organizations and volunteers accept compensation or indirect compensation from the recipients of volunteer services, the civil affairs departments are to give warnings and order the compensation returned; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of between 1 to 5 times the value of the compensation is to be given to the relevant organization or individual.

Article 38: Where volunteer service organizations do not record volunteer information or issue proofs of volunteer service in accordance with law, they will be given warnings and ordered to make corrections by the civil affairs departments; where corrections are not made within the time allowed, they will be ordered to stop activities for a period of time, and this may be reported to the public and relevant units.

Article 39:Organizations or individuals who carry out for-profit activities in the name of volunteer services are to be handled in accordance with law by departments such as for civil affairs, industry and commerce,and so forth.

Article 40: Where civil affairs departments and other relevant departments of people's governments at the county level or above, or their staffs, have any of the following situations, the relevant departments at the level above or the supervisory organ order corrections; where a punishment should be given, the organ for hiring and terminations, or the supervisory organ, gives sanctions to the persons who are directly in charge and other directly responsible personnel:

(1) forcibly assigning volunteers or volunteer service organizations to provide service;

(2) failure to perform oversight and management duties in accordance with law;

(3) Other conduct abusing professional powers, dereliction of duties, or improper conduct for personal gain.

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Article 41: Where basic level mass autonomous organizations or units holding public interest activities, and public service institutions carrying out public interest activities, need volunteers to provide volunteer services, they may cooperate with volunteer service organizations, with the volunteer service organization recruiting volunteers, and may also recruit volunteers themselves. Where they recruit volunteers to provide volunteer service themselves, it is carried out with reference to the provisions of these Regulations on volunteer service organizations carrying out volunteer service activities.

Article 42: Where they recruit volunteers to provide volunteer service themselves, it is carried out with reference to the provisions of these Regulations on volunteer service organizations carrying out volunteer service activities.

Groups established inside urban and rural communities or units with the consent of the basic level mass organization or that unit, may carry out volunteer service activities within that community or unit.

Article 43: Foreign [non-mainland] volunteer service organizations and volunteers carrying out volunteer services within the mainland shall comply with these Regulations and the relevant laws, administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China, and the relevant state provisions.

Organization of domestic [mainland] volunteers to leave the mainland to carry out volunteer services within the mainland shall apply these Regulations and the relevant laws, administrative regulations of the People's Republic of China, and the relevant state provisions; the carrying out of volunteer services outside the mainland shall comply with the laws of the local country or region.

Article 44: This Regulation shall become effective on December 1, 2017.