Volunteering In Australia - some statistics

 

Around 131,000 people in Tasmania are volunteering, ie doing what they love. They are a vital part of every community and contribute so much to our society.   (source - Volunteering Tasmania)

Want to know some interesting statistics that came out of the 2006 and 2010 Australian Census regarding volunteering?  Read on... 

• 36% of the adult population volunteered - around 6.1 million people
• The estimated number of volunteers in Australia doubled between 1995 to 2010 from 3.2 to 6.4 million.
• Women volunteered slightly more than men (40% to 36%)
• People aged in the 45-54 year age bracket  represented the highest rate of volunteering.
• 9.4% of young people - about 593,700 people aged 18-24 had participated in voluntary work - most commonly for groups related to sport and recreation. 
• The four groups for which people most commonly volunteer are sport and recreation, education and training, community and welfare and religious groups.
• The four most common tasks performed by volunteers are fundraising, preparing and serving food, teaching/providing information and administration.
• The volunteer workforce in Australia was estimated to provide over $14.6 billion of unpaid labour in 2006-2007 (ABS Satellite Accounts)
• The total annual hours volunteered in 2006 were 713 million.
• There are over 5000 not-for-profit organisations operating in Tasmania.

Why do they do it?

The difference I make to the community and the sense of purpose it gives me were the two most frequently mentioned things volunteers valued most about their volunteering experience in the National Survey of Volunteering Issues (Volunteering Australia, 2011, p9)


References:

Volunteeringaustralia.org (2011) The latest picture of volunteering in Australia. [online] Available at: http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/Volunteering-Facts/-Statistics/The-latest-picture-of-volunteering-in-Australia-.asp [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012].

Volunteeringtas.org.au (2012) Volunteering in Tasmania: The Facts – Volunteering Tasmania. [online] Available at: http://www.volunteeringtas.org.au/policy-and-research/volunteering-in-tasmania-the-facts/ [Accessed: 28 Nov 2012].

Volunteeringtas.org.au (2012) For Volunteers – Volunteering Tasmania. [online] Available at: http://www.volunteeringtas.org.au/for-volunteers/ [Accessed: 27 Oct 2012].