WWOOF P/L has operated in Australia since 1981 and has become a smorgasbord of Australia’s organic farms, permaculture and alternative lifestyle properties, offering travellers from Australia and overseas a taste of rural life.

Host Profiles include contact details, a detailed property description, work to be done, and meal and accommodation arrangements, availability calendar and messaging links. WWOOFers search the website or their App, choose Hosts to contact, and arrange a mutually agreeable time to visit.

WWOOFers live and work with Host families just as relatives or friends do when visiting. The minimum stay is 2 nights (to prevent WWOOFers eating, sleeping and leaving the next morning), the maximum stay is up to the Host and WWOOFer.

We receive so much positive feedback from our WWOOF Hosts about their wonderful experiences, but there can also be problems, WWOOF Hosting is not for everyone.

Carefully consider the following issues BEFORE deciding to become a Host as you may need to deal with them if they arise.

• WWOOFers are often unskilled
• some have never left their home country, or the city
• some have never worked outside
• WWOOFers sometimes book in, then don’t arrive
• cultural, lifestyle, personality and language differences can lead to misunderstandings

Good communication between Hosts and WWOOFers is essential. With patience, understanding and compassion, it can be a worthwhile and memorable experience for most WWOOF Hosts.

Please read the Host Guidelines Obligations carefully. You can apply online to become a Host and set up your own profile. It is important to be totally up-front with the information about your property to prevent surprises and complaints. Many of our Hosts are very unusual, and this adds to the diversity of the WWOOF Program, so don't be shy about the things you offer that set you aside from 'the norm'! Your Host profile will be on our website and on the WWOOF App.

To find WWOOFers, post regular advertisements in our Notice Board on our website. Please keep your profile accurate and up-to-date. WWOOFers search the website and WWOOF App for hosts, so be sure to include key words in your profile rather than generalisations. For example, rather than "we have many different animals", "we have pigs, horses, goats, chickens, ducks, bees and sheep" will ensure your profile comes up in many different WWOOFer searches.

WWOOF Newsletters will be posted on our website and emailed to members along with important notices.

There are important visa regulations regarding work that WWOOF Hosts need to be aware of.

The Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA, formerly DIBP) allows visitors to Australia to WWOOF on Student, Visitor (formerly Tourist visa) and Working Holiday visas.

Work is defined by DHA as, "an activity that, in Australia, normally attracts remuneration". This means any activity that normally attracts payment, irrespective of whether you are paying money or giving some other kind of reward, (eg food and accommodation) it is still deemed to be work.

If you are going to offer "work" as defined by DHA you must ensure the WWOOFer has a visa that entitles them to "work". You can check this by ensuring their visa/passport is stamped appropriately. If they possess a Working Holiday Visa (WHV), 6 months is the maximum time they are allowed to work at any one establishment.

If you need to check on a WWOOFers visa there is a free, online facility, VEVO, that allows an employer to check visa entitlements of a non-Australian passport holders' visa. You need to register to use VEVO and will need the WWOOFers permission to check their visa details. You will need their: name, date of birth, passport number and passport country of issue.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DHA change the rules from time to time about what activities are allowed on visas, it is important to confirm with DIBP that the type of visa your WWOOFer holds does allow volunteering in exchange for food and accommodation.

Visitor (Tourist) Visas and Student Visas

WWOOFers with a Visitor visa (subclass 600) Tourist stream (Tourist visa), Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601), an eVisitor (subclass 651) or Student Visa must not do any work that would normally be done by a paid worker, but are allowed to do voluntary work in exchange for their meals and accommodation.

• WWOOFing must be a part of their holiday, not the main reason for it.
• WWOOFers on this visa should do work that a Host would not normally pay someone to do.
• On Visitor visas any work must be genuinely voluntary and must be work that would not otherwise be undertaken by an Australian resident.
• This principle also applies for those intending to undertake WWOOFing with commercial operators (such as large organic beef farms).
• DIBP say that WWOOFers on a Tourist visa need to be careful about the Hosts they visit as commercial Hosts are more likely to give them work that they may consider is in breach of the conditions of their visa, we recommend they consider WWOOFing mainly on non commercial properties, hobby farms etc.
• WWOOFers undertaking work with commercial organisations risk being in breach of Visitor visa conditions which do not permit work.
• The Visitor visa does not offer the wide scope of options that are available to those who are holders of Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visas which permit work.

DHA say this about Visitor Visas - Tourist stream:

This visa lets you:

• have a holiday or visit family and friends in Australia

• study in Australia for up to three months

• work as a genuine unpaid volunteer, but only if an Australian resident would not otherwise be paid to do the work (you can be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses such as meals and accommodation).

See Visitor visa (subclass 600) Tourist stream, on the Visa Holders tab, under the heading What this visa lets you do.

eVisitor (subclass 651)

DHA say this about eVisitor Visas (subclass 651):

Volunteer work tourism schemes
In general, an eVisitor does not allow you to work in Australia. However, you may be able to work as a volunteer if:

• your main purpose in visiting Australia is tourism, and the voluntary work is incidental to tourism
• the work is genuinely voluntary and you are not paid for it, other than for meals, accommodation or out-of-pocket living expenses
• the work would not otherwise be done in return for wages by an Australian resident.

See eVisitor Visas (subclass 651), on the About eVisitor Holders tab, under the Heading What the eVisitor lets you do

Can I work as a volunteer while on an eVisitor?

• Voluntary work is only allowed on tourist eVisitor in very limited circumstances. You may be able to work as a volunteer whilst on a tourist eVisitor if:
• your main purpose in visiting Australia is tourism, and any voluntary work remains incidental to tourism,
• the work involved would not otherwise be undertaken, in return for wages, by an Australian resident, or
• the work is genuinely voluntary and no remuneration is received in return for the activities. It is acceptable, under the conditions of an eVisitor, to receive meals, accommodation and/ or reimbursement of out-of-pocket living expenses in return for voluntary work.

Working Holiday Visas

WWOOFing IS allowed on ALL Working Holiday Visas!

DHA say:

“In recognition of the many legitimate and worthwhile agencies that employ volunteer workers to deliver valuable community services, Working Holiday visa holders will still be able to perform volunteer work should they wish to do so. The work will simply not count towards eligibility for a second visa.”

IMPORTANT! Changes to rules for Second Working Holiday Visa applications came into effect on 31/8/2015.
Volunteer work no longer counts towards the 88 days needed for visa extension applications unless WWOOFers were already with a WWOOF Host or had pre-arranged a WWOOFing stay with a Host. In these cases days can be counted until 30th November 2015 only.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

We rely heavily on feedback from all members to maintain the integrity of the WWOOF program. All complaints must be in writing, with names, membership numbers and dates. We verify the identity of a WWOOFer or host making a complaint, but treat this information as confidential.

If we receive a complaint, we will contact the member about whom the complaint was made to follow up the issues raised. We will require the member to provide us with contact and membership details of other members they have hosted or visited.

Failure to provide these details will result in the member’s registration being cancelled.

We are aware that many problems arise due to personality conflicts and we always take this into account when dealing with complaints. We also take into consideration the length of time a Host has been in the program and the number of WWOOFers they Host.

GENERAL COMPLAINTS

For complaints about unsuitable accommodation, food, inaccurate Host entries, unreasonably long working hours etc., we will ask for details of other WWOOFers who have visited the Host. We ask these WWOOFers about their experiences with the Host.

First complaint: We inform the Host of the complaint, discuss the issues raised and request a reply in writing, and contact other WWOOFers who have visited the Host for their feedback. If the complaint is verified, we will discuss changes that will need to be adopted by the Host and, if appropriate, alter the Host’s profile to better reflect conditions on the property.

Second complaint: we inform the Host again, discuss why this issue is still a problem and what can be done to resolve the problem, and warn the Host that a third complaint will result in the Host’s registration being cancelled.

Third complaint: we will cancel the Host’s registration.

COMPLAINTS REGARDING HEALTH AND SAFETY OR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

If we receive a complaint about health and safety or inappropriate behaviour, including sexual harassment, we will contact the Host to inform them of the complaint and advise that their Host registration has been suspended pending resolution of the complaint.

The Host’s profile will be removed from the WWOOF Website and App. This may seem harsh; however, when there is a concern raised about health and safety or sexual harassment, we must err on the side of caution, as we have a duty of care towards our members.

If the Host disputes the complaint, the Host will be required to provide the refutation in a written statement along with details of other WWOOFers who have visited the Host. We will then contact these WWOOFers and ask about their experiences with the Host.

If similar concerns are raised we will cancel the Host’s registration immediately. If the complaint is resolved to our satisfaction, the Host’s membership will be reinstated.

If we receive a second similar complaint at any time in the future, the Host registration will be cancelled immediately.

NOTE: WWOOF cannot condone the breaking of State and/or Federal laws. WWOOF reserves the right to cancel a Host’s or WWOOFer’s registration immediately if we believe the Host’s or WWOOFer’s actions may bring the name of the WWOOF program into disrepute.

Hosts  Obligations

When registering as a Host, you agree and confirm that:

You are responsible for your own account security and you will not share your account details with any other person;

You will use your real name, address and contact details;

All other information you provide will be accurate and true;

Any WWOOFer you accept will genuinely benefit from the cultural exchange.

As a registered Host, you acknowledge that:

You are using WWOOF P/L entirely at your own risk and we expressly exclude all liability for any loss or damage you, your family, your reputation, your business or your property may suffer as a result of using WWOOF P/L

WWOOF Hosts must comply with the relevant rules and laws in your jurisdiction (if any) especially with regard to tax & insurance, Workcover, Occupational Health and Safety legislation, including the provision of all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

WWOOF is a worldwide movement linking volunteers with organic farmers and growers to promote cultural and educational experiences based on trust and non-monetary exchanges, helping to build a sustainable global community.

WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) started in England in 1972 when the first WWOOFers spent a weekend helping on an organic farm in exchange for their keep. The organisation was initially called Working Weekends on Organic Farms, but was changed to Willing Workers on Organic Farms in 1982 after people asked “why only weekends?”

Today there are over 55 WWOOF groups all over the world, including Switzerland, Germany, France, Japan, UK, USA, Austria, Korea, New Zealand and Canada. All WWOOF groups are independent, but operate in a similar way, by putting people into contact with each other. Throughout the world the WWOOF philosophy is the same; WWOOF hosts provide food and lodging to travelers and students in exchange for between 4 and 6 hours work per day.

Lionel Pollard began WWOOF Australia in 1981. The WWOOF Office is located in W Tree in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, East Gippsland in Victoria and currently employs three people.

WWOOF Hosts all over Australia were originally listed in the Australian WWOOF Book, which was updated and printed twice each year from 1981 until 2017. The WWOOF Australia App was launched in August 2015 and replaced the WWOOF Book, with the final edition being printed in July 2017. The App provides up to date host contact details, a profile of each property, the work to be done, meal  types and accommodation. WWOOFers simply browse through the hosts or search for a specific interest and location, choose a place they would like to go and contact the host to arrange a mutually suitable time to visit. The choice may be based on geography (close to a route they are travelling); philosophy (such as bio-dynamic farming practices); cultural (many of our hosts speak other languages as well as English) or it may just sound like an interesting place to visit. WWOOFers live and work with the host families in the same way as relatives and friends do when they visit.

In October 2017 the WWOOF Website platform was launched with Host and WWOOFer Profiles, messaging, forums, noticeboard, map and list searches and availability calendars for all members. In 2018 an upgraded WWOOF App will reflect the features of the WWOOF Website, allowing WWOOFers to also search for Hosts while they are off line.

For contact details of WWOOF groups and information about WWOOFing in countries without a WWOOF Group, see WWOOF International.