July 2015

Volunteering - snapshot from the ABS General Social Survey

Introduction This note provides a short summary of findings with respect to volunteering as published in the ABS General Social Survey 2014. Of particular interest is: 

Comparison of volunteering by state



Volunteering rates between demographic groups



Relationship between volunteering and income/education



Identifying the propensity of various household groups to volunteer

Volunteering Snapshot from the GSS 2014

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Description of data and definitions Data The fourth General Social Survey was conducted with Australians aged 15 years older. The GSS measures resources that reflect the wellbeing of individuals and communities, with social capital being a particular focus.

Definition In the General Social Survey a volunteer was defined as someone who, in the previous 12 months, willingly gave unpaid help, in the form of time, services or skills through an organisation or group.

Total volunteers In 2014, 5.8 million people aged 15 years and over, participated in voluntary work. In 2010, 6.4 million people aged 18 years and over had undertaken some form of voluntary work, up from 5.0 million in 2002.

Total volunteers ('000) (a)(b) 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000

6,419 4,989

5,791

5,421

3,000 2,000 1,000 0

2002

2006

2010

2014

(a) The General Social Survey volunteer statistics were expanded to include persons aged 15 and over in 2014. Previous surveys (2002, 2006, and 2010) only included statistics for persons aged 18 and over. (b) 2014 figures exclude those persons who were compelled to do voluntary work because of employment or study commitments for example, work for the dole. If the 2010 figure were adjusted to exclude persons compelled to volunteer the number of persons would be 6,084 thousand.

Volunteering Snapshot from the GSS 2014

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Geographical comparisons State and Territory Volunteering rates differ significantly by state with volunteering more common in the Australian Capital Territory (36.8%), South Australia (36.7%) and Tasmania (36.6%) than in Queensland (26.9%) and the Northern Territory (28.7%).

Volunteer rates by state

Volunteer proportion (%)

40 36.7 30

30.6

32.3

34.2

36.8

36.6 28.7

26.9 20 10 0

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Capital city and balance of state Volunteering was more common among those living outside the capital cities. The volunteer rate was 29.9% in the capital cities compared with 34.2% in areas comprising the rest of the state or territory.

Volunteer rate by capital city/balance of state

Volunteer proportion (%)

35 34.2

30

25

29.9

Capital City

Volunteering Snapshot from the GSS 2014

Balance of state

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Demographic comparisons Sex Across Australia, women are more likely to volunteer than men (33.5% compared with 29.1% in 2014). The total volunteer rate increased from 34.4% in 2002 to 38.2% in 2010. 2014 data indicates that this rate has now declined to 31.3%.

Volunteer rate by sex and total (a)(b) Volunteer proportion (%)

50 40 30

33.7 35.1 34.4

38.0

32.8

35.4

36.6

39.8 38.2 29.1

20

33.5

31.3

10 0

2002

2006 Male

2010

Female

2014

Persons

Age Volunteer rates were high for people aged 15-17 years (41.6%) and 35-44 years (39.3%). Volunteer rates were lowest for the more elderly age groups (75-85 years and 85 years and over) as well as for people aged 18-24 years (26%).

Volunteer rate by age Volunteer proportion (%)

50 40

41.6

39.3

30 26.0

20

31.7

27.5

34.6 29.3

25.5 18.9

10 0

15-17 years

18-24 years

25-34 years

Volunteering Snapshot from the GSS 2014

35-44 years

45-54 years

55-64 years

65-74 years

75-84 years

85 years and over

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Household composition Couples with children (37.5%) were more likely to be involved in voluntary work than lone persons (24.8%) or couples with no children (28.5%).

Volunteer proportion (%)

Volunteer rate by household composition 40 37.5

30 28.5

20

27.4

24.8

22.8

10 0

Couple only one family household

Couple with Single person Lone person children one with children household family one family household household

Person in other households

Education The volunteering rate increases with level of education. People who have completed a Bachelor degree or above were more likely to volunteer (40.7%) than someone without a non-school qualification.

Volunteer rate by education Volunteer proportion (%)

50 40

40.7

30

32.1 24.6

20 10 0

Bachelor Degree or above

Advanced Diploma/Diploma or below

No non-school qualification

Income Volunteering increased with household income. People earning in the lowest quintile had a volunteer rate of 23% compared with people in the highest quintile who had a volunteer rate of 39%.

Volunteering Snapshot from the GSS 2014

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Volunteer rate by income Volunteer proportion (%)

50 40 39.0

30 20

29.8

29.1

Second quintile

Third quintile

33.4

31.8

23.0

10 0

Lowest quintile

Fourth quintile

Highest quintile

Not known or not stated

Labour force comparisons Labour force status People employed part time had a higher volunteer rate (38.4%) than those employed full time (29.9%) or unemployed (30.5%). Retirees have the lowest volunteer rate (27.4%).

Volunteer rate by labour force status Volunteer proportion (%)

50 40 30 20

38.4 30.5

29.9

27.4

30.0

10 0

Full-time employed

Part-time employed In Labour Force

Volunteering Snapshot from the GSS 2014

Unemployed

Retired from work

Other

Not in the labour force

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