Lifeline community service anyone?

[zilo]

My wife has just signed up to be a volunteer with the Lifeline community service.

I am astounded to see that they want us to pay a total in excess of 500 dollars for the training program..as a VOLUNTEER.

has anyone else encountered this?


http://www.lifeline.org.au/About-Lif...urse/blog.aspx

[usernametaken]

I'm sure your wife could approach a community minded business for sponsorship through the course.

But yes, it suprised me to see you needed to pay at all.

[Uwish]

My ex wife use to do it, most likely still does.
I think its a critical service, and yes it sucks you have to pay.
But it makes a massive difference to peoples lives.

[poppa smurf]

helping people costs.......I do it because I like to help people, my chosen field costs a helluva lot more than $500 for training but I pay it willingly

either you want to do it or you don't, to do it properly you must be trained, .....someone has to pay

to me it is a small price for the sheer pleasure I get out of giving a little something back for the fantastic life me and my family enjoy

do it and reap the rewards that giving and helping can bring

[gcg2503]

An ex of mine used to volunteer at Lifeline

She had to pay as well but it wasnt near $500 - but it was a while ago

Definitely a much needed service to have in scoiety

Se would debrief with me after many a shift - made many of my problems seem like a picnic. Some people have had a very hard life who use this valuable service.

[Bossxr8]

Is it tax deductable?

[gcg2503]

Sadly I would say not.

Expenses can only be used a tax deduction where they are used in deriving assessable income.

As she is not getting paid you can't claim the $500 as a deductable expense.

http://www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/cont....htm&page=4&H4

Please check with your accountant

[FGII-XR6]

you could probably get away with classing it as a charitable donation seeing it is to be used for charitable volunteer work

Originally Posted by gcg2503

Sadly I would say not.

Expenses can only be used a tax deduction where they are used in deriving assessable income.

As she is not getting paid you can't claim the $500 as a deductable expense.

http://www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/cont....htm&page=4&H4

Please check with your accountant

[dave351cid]

i had the same idea as "usernametaken" in that if you cant afford to pay for the training yourself then approach some business`s or friends who may sponsor.

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

you could probably get away with classing it as a charitable donation seeing it is to be used for charitable volunteer work

Will the receipt state it is a donation?

I doubt it.

Onus is on the taxpayer that all deductions / donations can be substantiated with documentary evidence substantiating the claim.

As I said before, double check with your friendly accountant.

[Ford_The_Win]

It's because it's an extremely difficult job that requires a lot of patience, resilience and a thick skin. Because of this, attrition (drop out) rates are very high. Lifeline operators need to be trained before they can start taking calls and a lot of people find the training itself too challenging. Lifeline makes volunteers pay for their own training because they would go broke if they forked out money to train people who quit after a few weeks.

[FGII-XR6]

if an expense can be proven to be for charitable purposes it is an eligible deduction it does not need to say it is actually a donation. you can even claim things like travel expenses for getting to and from the volunteer work if it is for a registered charity

Originally Posted by gcg2503

Will the receipt state it is a donation?

I doubt it.

Onus is on the taxpayer that all deductions / donations can be substantiated with documentary evidence substantiating the claim.

As I said before, double check with your friendly accountant.

[Mickxr8]

Just remember stuff like this come delection time ? , All our services esp the ones that govco ignores need to be bought up ? , Not stirring the pot but missus does pretty much this , paying to get taught lifeline skills wtf ! ,

[gcg2503]

People usually volunteer their time and services as they feel a genuine need to help others

They may be social work students or ordinary people like you and me

In my ex's case she did it to help those in need whilst also bolstering her skills. Look at it as an investment in ones self.

In her case it bolstered her empathy, conflict and dispute resolution skills.

This in turn helped her immensely down the track in her career.

[Mickxr8]

People are just not signing up anymore coz of this b s*** , our volunteer fire brigade , our SES etc all are bleeding to death now ..

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by Mickxr8

People are just not signing up anymore coz of this b s*** , our volunteer fire brigade , our SES etc all are bleeding to death now ..

For the record it doesnt cost you a cent to join and train with the volunteer fire brigade or SES

I wonder if this cost for life line is a BS cost to weed out people who arnt comitted? I know that was a big problem with the RFS, you would have people after the big fires were on the news wanting to join and be o na truck that afternoon, its amazing how much a delay of 3 months before they start training sorts the weat form the chaff

[MITCHAY]

It is pretty stupid as there are probably people who could offer the time but could not afford to pay the training.

It probably has an impact on the take up rate apart from talking to someone on the phone about all their problems.