Following a rigorous and inspiring 12-month co-design journey, Australia has a new shared agenda for a reimagined future for volunteering. This strategy document, co-created by stakeholders from across the volunteering ecosystem, provides a blueprint for the next ten years that will enable volunteering in Australia...

This report measures the social impact of 'Meals on Wheels' and the importance of meaningful customer and volunteer connection, further supporting the essential role the service plays within almost every Australian community.

This document outlines the aims of the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) and sets out the roles and responsibilities of CVS auspices and network members, volunteers, aged care service providers, care recipients, the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Department of Social Services.

In 2021, the Australian government announced the development of a National Strategy for Volunteering, with the design of this strategy being led by Volunteering Australia. The ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods is undertaking research to support the development of the strategy, with this...

The Debian survey, held in 2016, marked the first stage of an inquiry into the relationship between volunteer work in free and open source software and broader dimensions of work and employment. This report outlines the key findings from the research.

Community Visitors are volunteers who play a vital role in safeguarding the rights of people with disability and fostering their inclusion in the community. This report includes changes and challenges to the community visitors program during the Covid-19 restrictions.

Sport Australia has taken the next steps towards building a more collaborative, cohesive and contemporary approach to volunteering in sport with the release of this insights report and new national plan for the future of sport volunteering.

This paper provides data on changes to volunteering and voluntary work since COVID-19, and the impacts of these changes in Australia.

Volunteers across Australia make a remarkable contribution to their communities. However, last year's COVID-19 restrictions hit volunteering hard. Volunteering Australia conducted a survey at the end of 2020, asking how the sector was faring. This report outlines the findings.

This report discusses establishing and evaluating a training scheme for volunteers to support carers of people with dementia in two rural communities in Victoria, Australia.

This report presents the results of a qualitative study undertaken by BG Economics into the rescue and care of wildlife by organisations and individuals in the Black Summer bushfires.

This report provides the most contemporary overview of the value of volunteering in Victoria. The report shows the astounding economic value of volunteering, which is estimated to represent $60 billion of value to the state.

The 2017 Fire Services Statement articulated the Victorian government’s vision for the reform of the state’s fire and rescue services. This report outlines the government's commitment to the Fire Services Statement and a shared course of action.

Whether we call it formal or informal volunteering, giving, social action, mutual aid, or simply people helping people, the power of connecting and helping each other makes a huge contribution to society. This report includes an economic analysis of the value of people power and...

During the current COVID-19 crisis, volunteers have done their part in following the physical distancing requirements, at a large cost to themselves and to the communities that they serve. Finding a way to harness this volunteer workforce throughout the current pandemic is a vitally important...

Pacific peoples in New Zealand are more likely than the rest of the country’s population to engage in unpaid and voluntary work. For this reason, this literature scan has been undertaken to identify research published since 2010, on the nature of unpaid work that is...

This strategy document outlines the necessary foundations for volunteers and paramedic staff in country Western Australia to continue to provide high-quality ambulance services.

The Bushfires NT volunteer strategy 2019-2022 seeks to develop and enhance volunteer programs, align goals and provide future direction for Bushfires NT and volunteer bushfire brigades.

Yarra City Council recognises the importance of volunteering in the social, environmental, cultural and economic fabric of the local community. Volunteering also provides health and wellbeing benefits to the volunteers themselves. This strategy sets out Council’s vision for volunteering in Yarra over the next four...

Part of a Master thesis titled “Valuing Volunteers: Better understanding the primary motives for volunteering in Australian emergency service”, this discussion paper critically analyses the all-hazards risk management policy context within which Australian emergency services operate, in order to evaluate the efficacy and integrity of...

Part of a Master thesis titled “Valuing Volunteers: Better understanding the primary motives for volunteering in Australian emergency service”, this discussion paper explores the broader social and cultural contexts for volunteering, highlighting the implications of changing core values for future forms of civic participation, including...

This thesis, the Valuing Volunteers Study, aims to provide a better understanding of the primary motives for formal volunteering in Australian emergency services, through the empirical examination of the shared and contrasting values of a sample of emergency service volunteers.

This snapshot aims to synthesise a recent survey’s findings into useful data for Volunteering Australia, SCoA and their members and stakeholders, and identify possible themes for further research, policy development and advocacy.

This research identifies how rural communities in WA are addressing the challenges of recruiting and retaining volunteers at a time of unprecedented demographic change and increasing pressure on the rural volunteer workforce.