Strong Governance
AVI is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards and delivers best practice in international development as demonstrated through our various memberships, affiliations and governance structure.
The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) is the peak Council for Australian not-for-profit aid and development organisations. AVI is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct, which is a voluntary, self-regulatory sector code of good practice. As a signatory we are committed and fully adhere to the ACFID Code of Conduct, conducting our work with transparency, accountability and integrity.
Our complaints handling policy can be found on our website. If you are not satisfied with the response and believe our organisation has breached the ACFID Code of Conduct, you can lodge a complaint with the ACFID Code of Conduct Committee at code@acfid.asn.au. Information about how to make a complaint can be found at www.acfid.asn.au
AVI is the first (and so far the only) Australian volunteering organisation to contribute and sign onto the International Forum for Volunteering for Development to improve the industry globally and stamp out voluntourism.
In 2019, AVI was selected to host Forum’s global annual conference for members (IVCO2020) and AVI’s CEO, Mel Gow, currently sits on the Board of Forum.
AVI is also proud to be part of the UN Global Compact. The world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative that call on companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.
AVI, alongside over 12,000 companies in over 160 countries align our practices for a sustainable and inclusive future while we work to help communities build stronger futures after the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the broad-based support of all participant countries of the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Global Compact remains the single, global normative authority and reference point for action and leadership.
Global Best Practice
We have robust policies and practices in place regarding safety and security, child protection, prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, anti-corruption and fraud and diversity and inclusion, all of which are publicly available online.
Board Sub-Committees for Rigour and Transparency
The Board has overall oversight of the governance of AVI and maximises its scrutiny through its sub committees.
Committees comprise Directors plus independent members who extend and complement the Board’s skills, while also providing a measure of external objectivity. AVI has in place the following committees to oversee its governance processes:
- Finance, Audit and Risk Management (FARM) Committee;
- Quality & Governance Committee
- People & Culture Committee
