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Volunteering Activity Across Australia QUESTION 51: Volunteering Activity Across Australia WHITE PAPER becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 1 Question 51: Volunteering Activity Across Australia Written and prepared by Be Collective International Pty Ltd May 2018 28 Thistlethwaite St, South Melbourne VIC 3205 [email protected] becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 2 Volunteering In Australia EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Every five years on Census night, people across Australia are asked to sit down and take time out of their evening to complete the questionnaire that tells us about our make up as Australians. The data provides insight, informs our sense of identity and is used to inform policy, funding, community, government and corporate decision-making, and understanding of our community. On 9 August of 2016, the 17th Australian Census took place. The 2016 Census, with Question 51, was only the second census to explore volunteering, the previous being 2011, and hence has started to provide a longitudinal perspective on volunteering in Australia. Upon the release of the ABS data on volunteering in late December 2017, Be Collective analysed the results of Australians’ response to Question 51 on their volunteering activity in the previous 12 months. The characteristics of Australian volunteers were identified by considering the influence of items such as geography, age, gender, education, country of birth and employment. Be Collective also compared these factors, where possible, to the 2011 Census data to understand trends. In summary, 3.6 million Australians volunteer. Favourably, this is an increase of 1.3% from the 2011 Census. On the whole, people who live outside of Australia’s major cities were more involved in volunteering compared to their city counterparts. Between 2011 and 2016, people born in Sub-Saharan Africa not only volunteered more than the average Australian, they increased their volunteering rate the most. And, although women still volunteer more than men, men are closing the gap. Children from private and Catholic schools volunteer more than their government school counterparts, while their teachers are the most active volunteers in Australia by employment sector. Between 2011 and 2016, people employed in the private sector increased their volunteering significantly to join their public sector colleagues. Australia’s best performing local government area for volunteering is in Kimba, South Australia. Volunteering in Australia is thriving. By including a question about volunteering in the past two censuses, our community has recognised the vital role that volunteering has in Australia and positions analysis of volunteering contribution in years to come. The latest ABS data shows an increasing trend of volunteering, the importance of volunteering in local communities, and intimates that volunteering reflects stories to be celebrated and opportunities realised of people giving their time for the greater good. Data gives us power. becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 3 Volunteering has increased 3.6 1.3% million from 2011 - 2016 Australians Volunteer People born in Sub-Saharan Africa volunteer more than the average Australian People outside a major city are more involved than city dwellers becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 4 The gender gap Women still volunteer more is closing than men Finance professionals are catching up, rising Teachers are the 3.6% in volunteering most active participation volunteers in Australia between 2011 - 2016 becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 5 Contents Volunteering Across Australia .........................................................07 Volunteering By State and Territory ....................................................08 Volunteering By Community Type ......................................................09 Volunteering By Local Government Authority ...................................11 Volunteering Comparison By Geography 2011 to 2016 ....................15 Volunteering By Gender ..................................................................16 Volunteering Growth By Gender .........................................................17 Volunteering Comparison By Gender 2011 to 2016 ..........................17 Volunteering By Age .......................................................................18 Volunteering By Age ............................................................................19 Volunteering By People Under 20 Years of Age ................................19 Volunteering Comparison By Age 2011 to 2016 ................................21 Volunteering By Education .............................................................22 Volunteering By Highest Education Attained ....................................23 Volunteering By Educational Institution Type ....................................25 Volunteering By Work .....................................................................27 Volunteering By Employment Status ..................................................28 Volunteering By Private and Public Sector .........................................29 Volunteering By Industry ......................................................................31 Volunteering By Occupation ...............................................................33 Volunteering By Income 2011 ..............................................................34 Volunteering By Income 2016 ..............................................................34 Volunteering By Ethnicity................................................................35 Volunteering By Region of Birth ..........................................................36 Volunteering By Comparison Australians and New Zealanders .......36 Volunteering By Indigenous Status .....................................................37 Question 51: Volunteering Across Australia ...................................38 becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 6 Volunteering 3.6 ACROSS AUSTRALIA Million+ Australians volunteer Volunteering is an enriching part of Australian life, strengthening local communities, growing social connections and networks, and providing significant health benefits. In the General Social Survey from 2014, the ABS estimated a total of 743 million hours of volunteering took place, with an estimated social impact of $26,057,010,000 – that’s 26 billion*. The following data is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census, which captured self- reported figures of volunteering in the 12 months preceding Census night on 9 August, 2016. Question 51 on the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census asked: “In the last twelve months did the person spend any time doing voluntary work through an organisation or group?” with a yes/no option to answer. Respondents were asked to “include voluntary work at sporting teams, youth groups, schools and religious organisations, but to exclude working in a family business, paid employment, work to qualify for government benefit, to obtain an educational qualification and work due to a community or court order”. Be Collective studied the datasets provided by the ABS regarding Australians response to Question 51 on Census night, and cross-referenced this data to create geographic, gender, age, education, culture and work-based analysis of volunteering in Australia. Important to note, volunteering reported in the Census specifically excludes volunteering to support learning, in workplaces and to qualify for government benefit. Informal volunteering is also difficult to calculate especially when it includes caring for loved ones. Hence there is a difference in volunteering reporting in the 2011 and 2016 Censuses in comparison to the ABS General Social Survey 2010 (36% of Australian population 18 years and over) and the recent Giving Australia 2016 report (43.7% of adult Australians). *This figure comes from catalogue 4159.0 of the ABS http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Latestproducts/4159.0Main%20 Features152014 where 743 million hours is multiplied at a rate of $35.07/hour The AUD GDP was estimated in 2014 to be 1892.73 Trillion, or 1,892,730,000,000,000. GDP was calculated from USD figures using conversion rates in March 2018. https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 7 VOLUNTEERING BY STATE AND TERRITORY Other Territories 25.6% NT 17.1% QLD 18.8% WA 19% SA 21.4% NSW 18.1% ACT 23.3% VIC 19.2% 19% Australians TAS Volunteer 21.2% Australia’s Other Territories (including Christmas, Jervis and Norfolk Islands) have the highest rate of volunteering in Australia at 25.6%. This is closely followed by the ACT with 23.3% of residents volunteering. States with volunteering above the national average are Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. becollective.com Volunteering Activity Across Australia 8 VOLUNTEERING BY COMMUNITY TYPE 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% ACT NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA OT Major Urban Other Urban Bounded Locality Rural Balance * In this instance, Bounded Locality refers to towns, villages, populated places and local government towns. The full ABS definition of areas can be found here: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/1217.0.55.001 In terms of distribution of community type, rural and Apart from Rural and Bounded Northern Territory smaller towns had the highest volunteering rates. (16.4% and 13.3% respectively), Major Urban areas Across Australia, the highest volunteering community across Australia performed much
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