Volunteering Australia plays a leading role in strengthening the national evidence base for volunteering. By working closely with government agencies and sector partners, we help ensure that national data collections accurately reflect the scale, diversity, and impact of volunteering in Australia.
Volunteering Australia is committed to excellence in research, data analysis, and evidence‑informed leadership. This work underpins our national advocacy and supports policy and practice that helps us better understand Australia’s volunteering ecosystem, our collective impact and assists volunteering to thrive.
Working with the ABS to capture National Volunteering Data
One of our key achievements is influencing the development of the expanded and refreshed General Social Survey. This survey is a vital national source of data on volunteering behaviour and participation rates across the country. The enhanced time‑series dataset is the result of extensive consultation between Volunteering Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, ensuring that future data will better capture how Australians volunteer and how volunteering is changing over time.
In partnership with the State and Territory Volunteering Peak Bodies, we also successfully advocated for volunteering to be included in the Measuring What Matters framework. This inclusion ensures that volunteering is recognised as a key indicator of national wellbeing and is monitored as part of Australia’s long‑term social and economic progress.
