Centrelink and volunteering

While battling with the tedious job search training rigmarole in the last week I sent an email to Centrelink regarding their policy on volunteering and paid work. I would much rather volunteer than go through the wringer of interviews for paid work of any kind. Centrelink (or the govt) clearly doesn’t like to subsidise volunteers, their agenda is to get people into paid work, but the government also likes to make noises occasionally about the importance of volunteers, so it’s always going to be a grey area. I’ve just received a response to my email in the form of a phone call from someone who told me that voluntary work can only be with an organisation registered with Centrelink as a volunteer organisation. I asked for examples and she mentioned the Sally Army ‘or something like that’. Does this mean that Centrelink discriminates between large, established organisations and smaller, fledgling ones such as the Campaign for Fair Trade? (assuming such an organisation exists – I know something like it does). Further, she claimed that ‘under mutual obligation’ people in the 40-49 year old bracket are ‘permitted’ to do 150 hours of volunteer work every six months, which is 11.5 hours per fortnight. However, I haven’t yet signed a mutual obligation agreement, though I have signed a preparing for work agreement. It’s all a bit confusing. The website under mutual obligation (which doesn’t ‘come into force’ until you’ve been on Newstart for 6 months – I’ve been on it for 4 or 5) puts it a bit differently. Mutual obligation actually requires you to do 150 hours (or more, depending on age and the type of activity undertaken) of ‘work for the dole’ (where volunteering comes in) or a training course, or part-time work or ‘some other activity’. I think it’s in connection with work for the dole that the organisation has to be registered with Centrelink. So what organisations are registered with Centrelink? I’m particularly interested in the fair trading org as well as Trees for Life – bit of bushwalking. Also would like to know if I can volunteer for work for the dole, before my time as twere. I’m sure I can, but I think that this stuff is all over and above the looking for full-time paid work, which they’ll still hassle you over, though probably not as much.