# Volunteers, internships and studentships Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/types-of-worker/volunteers-internships-and-studentships Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Starting employment Types of worker Volunteers, internships and studentships Types of worker Starting employment Rights and responsibilities Types of worker Understanding types of workers Employee or contractor? Permanent or fixed-term employment Casual employment Apprentices and trainees Triangular employment situations Volunteers, internships and studentships Screen industry workers Hiring Employment agreements Everyone Volunteers, internships and studentships Volunteers and unpaid interns are not employees and are not covered by employment law. Studentships are a type of scholarship and also not covered by employment law. Volunteers A volunteer is someone who does not expect payment for the work they do and must not receive any payment. It’s often clear when someone is a volunteer – for example, volunteering once weekly for a charity or community with no expectation of payment. It can be much more complicated when it comes to work experience, work trials and unpaid internships. A volunteer is not an employee Any person, whatever their age, who is employed by an employer to do any work for hire or reward under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). , so employment law does not apply to them, except for health and safety laws. If an employer has volunteers doing work for them, they must make sure that the volunteers do not expect payment of any kind. Payment does not include: paying back the volunteer for things they paid for as part of the volunteer work a koha or thank-you gift. Labour Inspectorate Position Statement – Work In A Business Operation Without Payment of Wages [PDF, 199 KB] Internships If someone agrees to an unpaid internship A period of structured and paid work experience within an organisation. , they are a volunteer A person who is not paid or otherwise rewarded for the work they do and does not expect to be. and employment laws do not apply to them. If an employer is thinking of having somebody do an unpaid work trial or internship, or work experience, they should: make it clear, in writing, that the position is a volunteer position, and that the person does not expect payment or other reward not get an economic benefit from the work done by the volunteer not have the volunteer do work that is integral to the business, such as work that an employee would ordinarily do limit the duration of work and the hours worked by the volunteer; the longer a person volunteers and the more hours they work, the more likely they are to be considered an employee. If someone agrees to a paid internship, they should be paid at least the relevant minimum wage. They will need to have an employment agreement and it should be for a fixed term for the length of the internship. The fixed-term employment agreement will need to set out the reason why it is a fixed period of time and not a permanent role. All the usual employment rights will apply to a paid internship. Minimum wage Employee rights and responsibilities Studentships Studentships are often used for students at universities involved in research. A studentship is a type of scholarship and is not covered by employment laws. The university does not have to pay someone the minimum wage The lowest amount an employee can be paid per hour. There are 3 types of minimum wage: adult, starting-out and training. There is no minimum wage for employees younger than 16 years old. for work they do as part of a studentship. If an employer is considering offering a studentship, they need to put in writing that the studentship is a voluntary arrangement. Published: 2 August 2023 Last modified: 2 December 2024 Written for: Everyone Share this page: Print this page: