The proportion of people who participated in voluntary work in 2019 was higher for people who had attained a Bachelor degree or above, or an advanced diploma (33% and 32%, respectively), compared with those who had a primary or secondary school qualification (25%).
Couples with children were more likely to volunteer than other family compositions, such as single individuals (37% compared with 23%).
People living in households with higher incomes were also generally more likely to volunteer. The proportion of people who participated in voluntary work was highest for people living in households in the third and fourth quintile of gross household income (both 33%), and second highest for the highest quintile of income (30%), compared with those in the lowest and second lowest quintiles (23% and 26% respectively).
Volunteers in Australia are generous with their time. In 2019, 30% of people who volunteered in the previous 12 months had contributed 21 to 99 hours during that period, and over a quarter (28%) contributed 100 or more hours. Almost 2 in 5 (38%) volunteers had been volunteering for more than 10 years, and women were more likely than men to have been volunteering for that period of time (43% compared with 33%).
In 2019, almost two-thirds (61%) of people who volunteered did so for one organisation, 25% for 2 organisations and 15% for 3 or more. The most common types of organisations were sports and recreation (39%), religious groups (23%), education and training (22%), and welfare/health (12%). The most common reason for people’s first involvement with unpaid voluntary work was that they knew someone involved or were asked to volunteer.
Informal volunteering
In addition to voluntary work for organisations, people may participate in informal volunteering, which is the provision of unpaid work and support to non-household members, excluding family members. Examples of informal volunteering include providing transport or running errands, unpaid childcare for a friend or neighbour, and providing emotional support. About one-third (33%) of the Australian population aged 15 and over participated in informal volunteering in the four weeks prior to the GSS 2019.
For the purposes of the GSS, unpaid work undertaken for anyone within a person’s household falls outside the scope of informal volunteering and is referred to as informal caring (ABS 2018). Formal volunteering is distinct from informal caring, but informal volunteering can be closely related to informal caring. For more information on informal caring, see Informal carers.
Impact of COVID-19 on volunteers
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has limited the communal and social activities of many Australians. To reduce the risk of infection, different levels of formal restrictions have been in place, and these may have affected how or when people volunteer.
The proportion of Australians volunteering has declined since the onset of COVID-19. In April 2021, close to 1 in 4 (24%) people had undertaken voluntary work in the previous 12 months, compared with 1 in 3 (36%) people in late 2019 (ANU 2021). This study also reported that social contact is one of the key motivators for people to volunteer (opportunities for which were severely limited during the pandemic), and that people who stopped volunteering during the pandemic had greater reductions in life satisfaction than people who had not volunteered.
The Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey conducted by the ABS also indicated a decline in volunteering because of COVID-19. In March 2021, over 1 in 5 (21%) respondents had participated in unpaid voluntary work for an organisation or group in the last 12 months, compared with 26% of respondents before March 2020. More than 1 in 3 (36%) respondents did not undertake unpaid voluntary work because of COVID-19 restrictions. Reasons included that people could not participate in person, were not sure how to volunteer, and their previous volunteering group had stopped or reduced their operations due to COVID-19 (ABS 2021).
In the four weeks before March 2021, people aged 18 and over were more likely to participate in informal volunteering than volunteering through an organisation or group (27% and 15%, respectively). More than 2 in 5 (43%) people aged 18 and over provided unpaid help to people living outside of their own household. Of those who could not provide unpaid help, 15% wanted to minimise their exposure to people to protect their health and others.
New COVID-19 outbreaks in 2021 are likely to have similar impacts on volunteering as seen in 2020. For information and advice on volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic, see the Volunteering Australia website and the Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey.
Overall, the proportion of Australians who participate in voluntary work has fluctuated over time. Between 2006 and 2010, more than 1 in 3 (34%–36%) people aged 18 and over reported volunteering through an organisation in the previous 12 months. In 2019, this decreased to 29%. On the other hand, people providing informal volunteering (unpaid work or support to people living outside their household) in the 4 weeks prior to the survey increased from 49% in 2010 to 53% in 2019 (Figure 2).