April, 2026

The Volunteering Research Papers were an initiative of the National Strategy for Volunteering Research Working Group. These research papers aimed to capture evidence on a range of topics related to volunteering and outline key insights for policy and practice. All research papers were peer reviewed, and the insights directly informed the development of the National Strategy for Volunteering.

Volunteering Research Papers

  • Re-engaging Volunteers and COVID-19 Report

    February, 2021. New Volunteering Australia data shows volunteering is not ‘snapping back,’ even as COVID restrictions lift, with nearly three quarters (72%) of survey respondents saying their volunteer programs were not fully operational. During the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, two out of three volunteers (65.9%) stopped volunteering, equating to an estimated loss of 12.2 million hours per week.  

  • The experience of volunteers during COVID-19

    May, 2020. Volunteering Australia commissioned the Australian National University (ANU) Centre for Social Research and Methods to undertake analysis of the experience of volunteers during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their analysis draws on the ANUpoll which involves a regular survey of around 3000 Australians that produces nationally representative results. The decline in paid work because of COVID-19 has been the focus of much analysis, however this research is the first analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on volunteers and volunteering across Australia.

  • Continuity and change – volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic

    December, 2021. A research paper from Volunteering Australia that aims to provide a more detailed portrayal of the volunteering experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound implications for the volunteering ecosystem as we have witnessed a dramatic decline in volunteering. Whilst this data is without doubt cause for concern, it is not the full story.

  • Volunteering during the first year of COVID-19

    May, 2021. Volunteering Australia has been working in partnership with the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM) to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volunteering. New data suggests that voluntary work has been impacted harder by the COVID-19 recession than paid work. Research shows a much greater decrease in the proportion of Australians who undertook volunteering than the decline in the proportion of Australians in paid work.

  • Aged care Census factsheet

    The factsheet provides a summary of key statistics from the 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census conducted by the Australian Government Department of Health.

  • Key volunteering statistics factsheet

    This document provides key statistics about volunteering in Australia. This factsheet presents both official data, produced by the Australian Government, and unofficial data collected by other organisations. A key source of data utilised is official statistics produced by the ABS, specifically the General Social Survey
    which includes a series of questions about volunteering.

  • Youth volunteering key statistics factsheet

    This document provides key statistics about youth volunteering in Australia and was released in July 2024 in honour of National Student Volunteer Week. The data presented here is taken from several sources, specifically Volunteering in Australia research undertaken in 2022 to inform the development of the National Strategy for Volunteering, the General Social Survey (GSS) 2019 and 2020, the Household Impacts of COVID-19 surveys (the February, March, April, and June waves).

  • Volunteering and gender: changes during the COVID-19 pandemic factsheet

    This fact sheet provides key statistics about volunteering in Australia by gender. The main source of data is the General Social Survey (GSS) which includes a series of questions about volunteering.