Volunteering Statistics

Who volunteers?

• 5.4 million adult Australians (34%)
• Slightly more women (36%) than men (32%)
• 44% of those aged 35 to 44 yrs volunteer, the highest participation level of any age group
• 34% of people in full-time and 44% of people in part-time work

• QLD and the ACT have the highest volunteering rates at 38%
• 36% of the population volunteers in Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory
• The volunteering rate in rural and regional areas is higher (38%) than in the cities (32%)

• 46% contributed less than 50 hours in the past 12 months
• 8% contributed at least 400 hours in the past 12 months
• A median of 56 hours per year or 1.1 hours per week

• Four most common types of agencies in which people volunteer:
• Sport / physical recreation (26%)
• Community / welfare (19%)
• Religious groups (17%)
• Education / training (10%)

• Fundraising (48%)
• Preparing & serving food (31%)
• Teaching / providing information (28%)
• Administration (26%)

• To help others or the community (57%)
• Personal satisfaction (44%)
• To do something worthwhile (36%)
• Social contact (22%)
• To be active / use skills (16%)

• While more people are volunteering, many are doing so for less time
  
• 713 million hours were volunteered in 2006
• Volunteer time is currently valued at $24.09 per hour (Ironmonger, 2009)
• Volunteering contributes approximately $15.7 billion to the Australian economy

(Sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 'Voluntary Work Survey' 2006.)