United Future supports the vital role that volunteer and community agencies play in our society. These agencies often have the expertise, networks and strong community focus to deliver services most effectively, as the Royal Commission on Social Policy found.

United Future will:

• Focus on developing supportive and mutually beneficial partnerships between the Government, the community, and voluntary agencies, including greater cooperation between agencies at a local and regional level.
• Increase the tax rebate on donations from individuals to charitable organizations from $630 per annum to $6,300 per annum as a first step, with a comparable increase for companies.
• Ensure that government departments keep voluntary agencies up to date with policies that affect their work, and foster policy development networks with voluntary and cultural groups.
• Introduce a community volunteer tax rebate of up to $500 per annum (based on 100 hours work per year) for those who give up their time to work for recognised community agencies and charities.
• Involve people over 55 to assist with early childhood, school, after school and school holiday activities, in return for a community volunteers' rebate on taxes.
• Allow students to reduce their loan debt if they work for at least 100 hours as a volunteer for a registered charity (up to a maximum of $500 per annum).
• Pay premiums to not-for-profit agencies who find sustained employment for the unemployed, with higher rates available for placing clients facing greater barriers to employment.
• Establish Family Support Service Co-ordinators that help families to access government and non-profit agencies providing services such as budget advice, addiction treatment, parenting education, anger management courses, counselling, employment training, and maternity, child care, mental health and child health services.
• Ensure that charities can access imputation credits on company dividends so that such income is exempt from income tax.
• Ensure that the work of the Charities Commission is directed towards fostering the vitality and success of the sector and encouraging philanthropy and generosity by New Zealanders.
• Establish overseas aid at 0.5% of GDP, moving toward the accepted international millennium goal of 0.7% by promoting a multi-party accord.
• Ensure that tax rebates are available for donations to private charities involved in international aid and development.
• Explore further ways of encouraging greater social participation in voluntary organisations, e.g. establish a national register of skills on offer by retirees that can be available to community agencies, and seek the active involvement of employers and unions in this process.
• Establish an annual Volunteer of the Year Award to recognise the work of volunteers at both a national and regional level.
• Encourage young people to become involved in voluntary activities.
• Review the compliance costs imposed on voluntary agencies by legislation, such as occupational health and safety regulations.

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