International Volunteer Day, held on 5 December 2025, helps to raise awareness of the important role of volunteers worldwide.
As a volunteer-based organization, NATA can deliver the critical service of accreditation thanks to the skills and expertise offered by its 3,000+ network of volunteer Technical Assessors (TA).
While it is the skills and expertise of these TAs that play a critical role in accreditation, it still takes a certain type of person to take time from their busy schedule and volunteer for NATA.
Having been a volunteer TA for close to 20 years, Anthony Neary from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads has found that volunteering is much more than technical knowledge.
“The real difference comes from your people skills, your ability to communicate clearly, listen, and show respect,” he said.
Neary views assessments as an opportunity to help laboratories and individuals improve, so he likes to focus on the person in front of him and support them to understand the “why” behind the requirements.
“Strong technical knowledge is essential,” he said. “But if, as an assessor, you also bring empathy and a genuine desire to help, you can reduce the stress of an already stressful environment, open up honest communication, and work together to get to the root cause of any issues.”
BHP’s John Kelly says the trait of a great volunteer is one that can put others before themselves.
“They work selflessly to help others in their community,” he said. “I get a great sense of satisfaction sharing my knowledge with others who have not had the same learning opportunities that I had in my early career.”
Nev Blyth – now retired but an active TA, feels that volunteering as a sustainable and mutually beneficial activity, needs to attract skilled people that have a personal investment and belief in the importance of the activities they are supporting.
“In other words, a belief in and commitment to the ‘vision’,” he said.
Blyth points out that volunteers also must feel that they are benefiting from the relationship.
“The volunteer must feel that their contributions are meaningful, valued, and relevant, whether that may be from technical skill development, networking, or simple collegiate friendship,” he said.
On-the-Job Training
Does one have a natural talent for volunteering? Or does one simply pick it up while doing the volunteering?
Blyth admits that his time as a TA helped him frame what it means to be an effective participant in a functional volunteering relationship.
“I have always believed in the importance of quality assurance and control, and as a former lab operator and manager, the importance of providing a quality service across the business operation has always been front of mind,” he said.
Neary said he had a trait for volunteering before he became a TA, but what volunteering for NATA did was help to strengthen and refine it.
“In my day-to-day role, I manage a large team of technical staff, so I naturally approach assessments as an opportunity to lead and coach, not just to check compliance,” he said.
Neary adds that the soft skills of supporting, listening, and, at times, respectfully challenging people so they can grow, are just as important as the technical ones.
“When things don’t go to plan, I focus clearly on explaining any gaps or deficiencies in a way that helps them understand how to improve,” he said.
Since Kelly has a history of volunteering in many other aspects of his life, he said it felt natural to volunteer for NATA.
“When growing up, I was helping out with fundraising activities during my own school years, participating in working bees at my children’s school, being the Secretary of my children’s swimming club, and even setting up road closure signage for local triathlon course,” he said. “This has made me never forget that it is always better to give than receive.”
Always More to Learn
Even if someone has years of experience and skills in a discipline, that does not mean that being a TA with NATA does not have a learning curve.
When looking back to when he started as a TA, Blyth would have liked to have known more about the role of the Lead Assessor and the underpinning structure of ISO/IEC 17025.
“A lot has changed across the 30 years that I have been an active TA, and I still have a bit of fondness for the old ‘class of test’ taxonomy structure,” he said, “The benefits of good note-keeping cannot be understated as well, particularly when revisiting old assessments to answer queries that may arise.”
When Neary started as a TA, he admits he was “very black and white” about compliance with test methods and audit criteria.
“If I could go back to when I first started as a TA, I’d remind myself that I’m there to help the company and the individual improve, not just to point out what’s wrong,” he said.
While Neary emphasises that technical rigor remains important, over time he has learned that how one deals with people can be just as important as findings themselves.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into building my people skills and communication, and I’ve seen a real change in how my assessments are received,” he said. “When you take the time to explain the ‘why’, listen to their point of view, and show that you genuinely want them to do well, there’s usually much better buy-in and a stronger focus on improvement.”
Something that Neary has also seen help is shifting the mindset around assessments from “looking for problems” to “looking for opportunities to improve”.
“As TAs, our role is to identify shortfalls so that individuals and companies can strengthen their systems, build confidence in their work, and ultimately achieve better outcomes,” he said. “People come first, so if you focus on supporting the person in front of you, the process gets better, the systems improve, and the outcomes are stronger for everyone.”
NATA is always looking for great volunteers. If you think you have what it takes, start your journey here.