Oceania
Australia.
Australian law is made mostly by states and territories. The Northern Territory Criminal Code makes it an offense to callously fail to rescue a person urgently in need, and civil liability laws in several jurisdictions protect people who help in emergencies. The federal tax law allows deductions for gifts to listed recipients, and the federal government funded a National Strategy for Volunteering.
Is there a legal duty to help a stranger?
Varies by regionSection 155 of the Northern Territory Criminal Code Act 1983 makes it an offense for a person able to provide rescue, resuscitation, medical treatment, first aid or succour to a person urgently in need, whose life may be endangered if it is not provided, to callously fail to do so, with a maximum of 7 years imprisonment. The sources checked did not verify a comparable offense in other jurisdictions.
Are people who help protected?
Varies by regionA 2007 Queensland Parliamentary Library brief describes Good Samaritan civil liability laws in all jurisdictions except Tasmania, including Part 8 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), section 31B of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) and section 8 of the Personal Injuries (Liabilities and Damages) Act (NT); current texts should be checked. In Queensland, section 16 of the Law Reform Act 1995 protects medical practitioners, nurses and prescribed persons giving emergency care in good faith without gross negligence and without fee, and the Civil Liability Act 2003 protects prescribed public safety entities and their workers under ss. 26 and 27.
How the government promotes giving and service
Ways to give and volunteer
Australia has a national regulator and a public register of charities, so you can check almost any charity in a minute. Many community services are run by religious bodies, which this list does not recommend.
Check a charity before you give
The free national register run by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, where you can search a charity by name or ABN and see what it does.
Give your time
Give money, blood or a donation
In an emergency or a crisis
Before you act
- After bushfires and floods, scam appeals and fake charity collectors appear, so check the charity on the ACNC register and give directly on its own website.
- Door-to-door and street collectors should carry identification and a permit, and you can ask them for their charity name and verify it before giving.
- Volunteering on a working holiday or tourist visa has limits on unpaid work, so confirm with the organization and the Department of Home Affairs before you start.
This list does not cover state-level volunteer programs, local sporting and school groups, or giving from Australia to charities overseas. Checked 2026-10-28. Listing an organization is not an endorsement, and none of them has endorsed this site. Some official sites block automatic checks, so a link may need a second try.
One thing worth knowing
The Northern Territory is the one jurisdiction found here with a criminal offense for callously failing to rescue, paired with a separate offense for obstructing those who give aid.
What this does not mean
Rules differ by state and territory, and the Good Samaritan summary relies partly on a 2007 parliamentary brief and a Queensland statute version from 2017, so current law may differ. The official federal honours pages could not be retrieved, so no honours are described. Nothing here is legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice, and it does not rank countries. No government named here has endorsed this site. Not reviewed by a lawyer. Statutes were read in public sources and may have changed. Last checked October 26, 2026.