ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the manner in which government policy impacts on volunteer activities in sport. It focuses on policies that have increased the compliance burden and complexity of volunteer tasks as well as policies that have been developed to foster volunteer involvement in sport. The chapter includes examples from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada with the aim of summarizing the central tenets of government policy affecting volunteers in community-based sporting systems. The chapter comprises four parts: first, the foundations of sport policy and the mechanics of developing sport policy; second, the nature of the relationship between the government and the nonprofit sport sector; third, a summary of current sport policy; and fourth, examples of policies designed to foster volunteer involvement and those that have increased the compliance burden for sport volunteers.
