November 2002

Volunteers contribute billions to economy

The unpaid efforts of Victoria’s volunteers are worth around $10 billion a year to the economy.

The economic impact of volunteering was calculated in Giving Time: The Social & Economic Value of Volunteering in Victoria, researched and written by Melbourne University’s Households Research Unit under Dr Duncan Ironmonger.

Minister for Senior Victorians Christine Campbell released the research at a function to honour the people who contributed to the International Year of Volunteers in 2001.

She also released another report, Good Governance for Voluntary Committees of Management, to help committees function more effectively.

Ms Campbell said the research project was funded by the Government and for the first time draws together data to provide a comprehensive picture of volunteering in Victoria.

‘Victoria’s volunteers provide magnificent support and their contribution to community life is invaluable.

‘This report shows that the $10 billion monetary value placed on their contribution is equivalent to an extra 7.6 per cent on the whole Victorian gross state product.

‘The report also shows volunteer numbers are increasing in Victoria.

‘Between 1995 and 2000, the total number of volunteers aged between 35 and 64 increased by a massive 40 per cent, while volunteers aged between 18 and 34 increased by 34 per cent.

‘In 2000, 32.8 per cent of the population—or 1,153,200 Victorians—did some work or helped out in a voluntary capacity. This is higher than the national average, and is an outstanding contribution.

‘We contribute 106 million hours of volunteer labour each year to a diverse range of organisations from sporting clubs and welfare agencies to hospitals and environment groups.

‘But the value of volunteering is much more than numbers or dollars.

‘It is a significant and lasting contribution to the social fabric of our communities and, without this selfless support, many organisations could not survive.’

The research project provides a detailed profile of the motivations, age, employment status and country of birth of Victorian volunteers.

It revealed the number of non-Australian-born volunteers increased by nearly 70 per cent between 1995 to 2000.

Of the 106 million hours of volunteer labour each year, 46 million were devoted to community and welfare organisations, 35 million to education, training and youth development and eight million to health organisations.

Ms Campbell said regional Victoria has a larger number of groups relying on volunteers and a higher participation rate of volunteers than Melbourne.

‘The idea that volunteer organisations are declining has been eliminated by the vibrancy, abundance and diversity of the 47,000 volunteer-based organisations identified by the research project.’

• The two reports are available on the internet at http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/pdpd/.