Overview
The Snapshot of Volunteering in Australia Report was collaboratively commissioned by all State and Territory Volunteering Peak Bodies to provide a detailed overview of volunteering in Australia.
The report is based on the surveys conducted around Australia in 2023 for each State and Territory’s State of Volunteering Report. The current Snapshot Report is a result of the efforts and collaboration of each of the State and Territory peak bodies in facilitating these surveys in their own jurisdictions, and in providing advice on the development and publication of the report.
The report outlines the current state of volunteering in Australia and considers the economic and social value of volunteering, while capturing the unique characteristics of the nation’s volunteer landscape and providing a deeper understanding of its importance.
Background
The 2023 State of Volunteering Surveys were conducted simultaneously in 2023 in each state and territory in Australia. This resulted in a dataset that is the largest population-representative survey of volunteering conducted since the COVID-19 pandemic, with data collected from 6,830 individuals and 3,948 volunteer managers in every state and territory in the country.
The Snapshot Report uses this dataset to aggregate the findings of each state and territory from 2023, providing insight as to the state of volunteering across Australia.
Key Findings
Across Australia, 14.1 million people volunteer, contributing 3.2 billion hours of volunteer effort to the nation. Volunteers continue to serve in their communities despite the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cost-of-living pressures that have impacted volunteering.
We also see significant social benefits to volunteering in Australia, with volunteering responsible for a 4.3% increase in wellbeing and a 14% increase in workplace productivity.
Volunteering contributes a staggering $566 billion to the Australian economy.. This represents a return of $5 for every $1 invested into volunteering.
These findings, and other key insights from the report, have been summarised in infographic form.
Acknowledgements
This report would not have been possible without the generous support and participation of the volunteering sector across Australia and the strong collaboration between each of the state and territory volunteering peak bodies. We particularly want to thank all people who participated in, and helped disseminate, the surveys that form the basis of this research.
