Around 75 per cent of us over 15 years of age volunteered in 2023 – that’s almost 280,000 people. Photo: Sophia Brady.
The Treasurer’s mid-year budget update in February revealed the state of the Territory’s finances are in worse shape than anticipated, signalling the need for tough decisions. However, these decisions must not come at the expense of the community sector, which plays a crucial role in providing many essential services to Canberrans and involves and supports our many local volunteers.
During last year’s election, the ACTforCommunity campaign highlighted the fact the community sector has not seen a meaningful increase in funding for years. We know that the funding organisations do receive does not cover the full cost of service delivery.
And while people give their time with no financial gain, volunteering is not free – it comes with a cost for individuals and the organisations that involve them.
Many community sector organisations are already making hard decisions to reduce services or turn away clients. Others are considering whether to close their doors. Sustainable funding to the community sector is vital to enable organisations to meet the growing demand for services and continue supporting our community.
This funding crisis impacts organisations that involve and rely on volunteers. Volunteers are found in all areas of our society, from organising school events and putting out the equipment for the kids’ sporting team at the weekend, to cleaning up after storms, working with Landcare, feeding Canberrans through street pantries and soup kitchens, contributing to major Canberra events such as Floriade, and guiding people through our museums and galleries.
Canberra needs a vibrant community sector and volunteering ecosystem to build healthier and more resilient individuals and communities. It is inspiring that Canberrans volunteer in record numbers.
Around 75 per cent of us over 15 years of age volunteered in 2023 – that’s almost 280,000 people. Of these, two-thirds volunteered to help others. Volunteers make up more than 80 per cent of the size of the private sector workforce and over two-thirds the number of public sector personnel. And yet, formal volunteering is in decline, and investment is needed now to reverse that trend.
The volunteering workforce contributes significantly to the ACT economy: for every dollar invested by the community, volunteering returns $5.40 and provides more than $14.1 billion worth of social, cultural and economic benefits to the Territory.
Volunteering is time willingly given for the common good and without gain. But one of the biggest issues facing the volunteering sector is that, on average, volunteers have to spend $12.76 for every hour they volunteer, and the volunteer-involving organisation pays $11.41 per volunteer hour. This financial strain is unsustainable for long-term volunteering involvement in the ACT.
For organisations that rely on volunteers, research shows that they have not recovered from the downturn in volunteering during COVID, and key barriers to people volunteering are the cost-of-living crisis and lack of time. These challenges are happening while demand for services has surged.
One illustration of this is in food relief, where local food relief organisations told VolunteeringACT that they have experienced a rise in demand of between 25 and 75 per cent in the past year alone. Many smaller community pantries and other grassroots groups receive no government funding but rely heavily on volunteers and are struggling to service this growing need.
The ACTforCommunity campaign calls for a significant injection of funds into the community sector to try to address these issues. This funding would assist to attract and retain staff and volunteers, build organisational capacity and provide funding for essential training for staff and volunteers.
VolunteeringACT’s budget submission also calls for key investments into volunteering to support safe, ethical, inclusive and sustainable volunteering, aligned with the ACT Volunteering Strategy 2024-2034.
The community sector is crucial to providing support and early intervention to people experiencing hardship in a thoughtful, accessible, inclusive and often trauma-informed manner.
This sector is the critical safety barrier, providing support and intervention before things reach crisis level and acute intervention is needed.
As the ACT Government prepares its June budget, the community sector will be paying close attention. The decisions the government makes will play a key role in ensuring vital services continue. This is an important moment.
Jean Giese is the CEO of VolunteeringACT and has worked in senior roles in the community industry for more than a decade. Jean is an avid volunteer herself and provides stewardship through her role on various governing boards and committees. VolunteeringACT is the peak body for volunteering and provides community information services in the Canberra region. It also delivers programs for people experiencing disadvantage and isolation, people with disabilities, and people needing support for mental wellness.
