People’s circumstances affected the percentage who volunteered (ABS 2011: Table 2):
• Parents in couple relationships with school-aged children were the most likely to be involved in
volunteering (fathers 51%, mothers 59%), followed by lone parents (fathers 43%, mothers 36%).
• People living in areas of high socioeconomic status were more likely to volunteer (41% for males, 45%
for females) than people living in areas of low socioeconomic status (26% for males, 30% for females).
• People from outer regional and remote areas had higher rates of volunteering than major cities
(41% compared with 34%).
Volunteering is associated with high levels of community involvement, trust and life satisfaction
(ABS 2011):
• More volunteers had attended a community event in the last 6 months than non-volunteers
(82% compared with 55%).
• More volunteers agreed that most people can be trusted (62% compared with 50%).
• More volunteers were delighted or pleased with their lives (48%) than non-volunteers (41%).
The activities attracting the highest rates of volunteering were sporting and physical recreation
groups (44% of all men volunteering, 32% of women) followed by religious groups (21% of men,
24% of women) and welfare and community services (18% of men, 25% of women) (Figure 2.5.1).
A considerable proportion of disability and other community services rely on the work of volunteers
to provide respite and companionship for their clients. Many volunteers also provide transport
services for those who are ageing or who have disability, using community buses and cars. A review
of Home and Community Care-delivered community transport demonstrates that extensive use of
volunteers is a major feature of the current service system, but that the pool of available volunteers
is reducing (DSS 2014). This review also found that transport is ‘embedded’ in the provision of other
community services, including domestic assistance and personal care, and centre-based day care,
among others. Much of this is delivered by volunteers.