The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) defines a volunteer as ‘someone who, in the previous 12
months, willingly gave unpaid help, in the form of time, service or skills, through an organisation
or group’. This definition therefore excludes informal carers, who provide direct care (see Chapter 2
‘Informal carers’), and unpaid work under compulsion because of employment (for example, work
for the dole) or as part of study commitments.
In 2010, an estimated 6.1 million people performed voluntary work for an organisation in the
preceding 12 months. Volunteering rates were highest among those aged 45–54 (44%) followed by
55–64 year olds (43%) and 35–44 year olds (42%) (ABS 2011: Table 1). Overall, women (38%) were
more likely to volunteer than men (34%).