I have a niece currently living in Australia who wishes to come to Chiang Mai for about one month and do charity work. She has asked me for advice on doing this and as I know little about the subject I thought I would turn to the experts on TV. Does she have to have a work permit and how would she go about obtaining one? Can anyone offer any sensible advise about finding a charity that might be interested? Any help would be appreciated.

You could try

http://www.chiangmaifriendsgroup.com/

Thanks Stuartd1, I have just signed up to the group and will see what happens.

To legally volunteer, she needs a non-immigrant visa and work permit. However, a few things to consider:

Few volunteer organizations offer this

One month doesn't allow sufficient time to process anyway

It's highly unlikely she will experience a problem volunteering without a work permit