Other population groups
Everyone in the community should have the opportunity to be involved in sport regardless of their individual characteristics.
Estimated rates of playing and volunteering in sport-related activities, at least once per year, for Australians aged 18 years or over by different groups, in 2024: 39, 67
Volunteers in sport are more likely to:
- Have children in their household. 8, 25
- Be male. 15, 39, 48, 63
- Be aged between 35 and 54 years. 13, 63
- Be employed, especially those who have higher annual household incomes. 8, 15, 25, 39, 48, 63
Certain population groups are under-represented as sport volunteers, including:
- People with disability, special healthcare needs, or self-reported health problems. 25, 39, 48, 49, 63
- Lower socio-economic or income households. 8, 25, 39, 48, 49
- Sexuality or gender diverse participants. 50
To be sustainable it is important for sport organisations to ensure that everyone in the community has the opportunity to be involved in sport regardless of their background, socio-economic status, or abilities. 7
Resources and reading
- The volunteer capacity of community sports clubs to support women and girls in sport, opens in a new tab, Change Our Game, (2023). The aim of this research project was to investigate community sports clubs’ volunteer capacity - including management, retention and recruitment - to engage women and girls in participating and volunteering in community sport. The insights from this research can help sports organisations and local clubs identify areas of improvement in growing volunteer capacity to support women and girls’ participation in community-level sport. Some key findings include:
- Women’s willingness to volunteer, and the volunteer roles they perform in local sports, are influenced by many societal, organisational and individual factors, with gendered roles and stereotypes continuing to be one of the biggest barriers. E.g., women generally volunteer in team manager roles rather than coaching or executive committee positions. This is particularly the case in sports traditionally dominated by men with few women volunteers.
- In some clubs, women are still not widely accepted to be president of a club, nor coach of a men/boys’ team/sport and are thus reluctant to put their hand up.
- Supportive behaviours from men at clubs (including players) are important in enabling women to play sport, such as men taking on roles on game day (e.g. scoring or running the canteen).
- There are varied attitudes of club volunteers towards supporting opportunities for women and girls to play sport.
- Parents play an important role in supporting girls to play sport, in particular dads with daughters, who seemed enthused to fill volunteer roles for girls’ teams, to enable opportunities for girls
- Some clubs display deep-rooted gender stereotypes, where boys’ player pathways are perceived to be more important than girls’ pathways.
- Inequities in resourcing teams, for example clubs’ focus on the category with the highest number of teams (i.e. having more men’s/boys teams).
- To support women and girls community sports clubs should consider actions such as: Addressing inequalities in team resourcing, developing specific strategies to increase women in volunteer roles, have policies supporting women in leadership roles in the club, support younger women to build confidence and capability, create a welcoming and inclusive club culture.
- Non-playing roles and volunteering, opens in a new tab, data visualisation report, Australian Sports Commission, (updated April and October annually). The AusPlay volunteering module collects information about involvement in non-playing roles by adults (aged 15+) in sport and physical activity, and whether payment or other compensation was received for undertaking these roles. All results (except when year on year comparisons are displayed) are based on aggregated data collected from the start of the AusPlay volunteering module in July 2019, including data up to the latest AusPlay release.
- Volunteering inclusion for people from CALD backgrounds, opens in a new tab, Carissa Jedwab, Volunteering Australia, (July 2023). There is a strong social and economic case for building culturally and linguistically diverse* (CALD) communities’ inclusion in structured forms of volunteering within organisations (‘formal volunteering’). Positive benefits such as improved social and cultural integration has been shown to have direct correlation to successful settlement of new arrivals, as well as building confidence, English language skills, and practical experience within an Australian workplace. Volunteers also impart valuable cultural capital that is of benefit to individuals, groups and volunteer involving organisations.
- Volunteering in Australia 2022: The volunteer perspective, opens in a new tab, Nicholas Biddle, Charlotte Boyer, Matthew Gray, et al., Volunteering Australia, (October 2022). The focus of this report is the volunteer perspective. We explore the characteristics of volunteers and volunteering and how this has changed over the last decade and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The research draws on several data sources, including the ANUpoll series of surveys with the most recent data collected in April 2022.
- NSW Multicultural Volunteering Report 2022, opens in a new tab, The Centre for Volunteering (NSW), (2022). The purpose of this research is to explore the meaning and lived experience of multicultural volunteering in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Whereas there is an emerging body of Australian and international research on the volunteer experiences of specific ethnic and cultural groups, there is no significant literature on the collective experience of those who do not predominantly identify as Anglo-Australian. This study reveals a number of new insights that will confirm with evidence and occasionally challenge the assumptions of those familiar with and new to multicultural volunteering.
- Pathways to culturally diverse volunteering towards COVID-19 recovery: research report, opens in a new tab, Mursha Gapasin, Thu-Trang Tran, Marijke Fotia, Volunteer West, (November 2021). The efforts and resources that facilitate volunteering in culturally diverse communities are less known. The Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing through the local Brimbank Melton Area commissioned Volunteer West to conduct a focused study to better understand the critical success factors for volunteer engagement among culturally diverse groups. The chosen cases were the Victoria State Emergency Service and the Dal Baba Bidhi Chand Sikh Temple.
- Volunteering in sport - 2021, Australian Sports Commission, (October 2021). This report presents high-level information on nonplaying roles across all sport and physical activities. It then focuses on those in organised sport since this is where the vast majority occur. It examines whether these roles are all taken on by volunteers, who gets involved the most, what roles they take on and in which sports. The report also draws on other research projects conducted by the ASC that have identified different volunteer types and what drives them to become involved.
- General Social Survey, opens in a new tab, Australian Bureau of Statistics, (June 2021), latest release. During the time that the GSS was conducted in 2020, initiatives were in place to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and support the economy. Because of changed methodology and the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the Australian population, care should be exercised when making comparisons with previous years. This report provides a breakdown of the volunteer characteristics [see Table 9 for more details on Voluntary work/Unpaid work or support by personal characteristics].
- The Future of Sport Volunteering Insights Report - 2021, Australian Sports Commission, (April 2021). While the sport sector has suffered from fragmentation and a lack of clear roles and responsibilities, there is a strong recognition across the sector that things must change. COVID-19 has shaken the sector with immediate concerns about the return of volunteers to sport. For many, this is the burning platform for change that is needed. While this report has been commissioned by the Australian Sports Commission, it is designed for everyone, whether you are a National or State Sporting Organisation, community sport club or a volunteer seeking to make change.
- Active Lives: Adult Survey, November 2019/20 Report, opens in a new tab, Sport England, (April 2021). Based on people having volunteered at least twice in the last 12 months Sport England found that men continue to be much more likely to volunteer in sport and activity (64% male; 36% female). This is in contrast to more general volunteering where men and women were equally represented. The roles undertaken also differ by gender, with women much less likely to referee or umpire, or coach or instruct, compared to men. Conversely, women are more likely to organise fundraising for sport and provide other help. The report also found that people from lower socio-economic groups were less likely to volunteer (making up only 11% of volunteers although they make up 31% of the population), and people with a disability, who make up 21% of the population, account for only 14% of volunteers.
- Longitudinal Study of Australian Children 2018 Annual Report: Chapter 11, Here to help: How young people contribute to their community, opens in a new tab, Constantine Gasser, Tracy Evans-Whipp, Growing up in Australia, Australian Institute of Family Studies, (December 2019). The purpose of the study is to provide data that contributes to our understanding of children’s development within Australia’s contemporary social, economic and cultural environment. The first wave of data collection was in 2004, with subsequent main waves every two years. Using data collected in 2016, this chapter describes the types of voluntary activities that adolescents at 12-13 and 16-17 years and their parents participate in. The chapter also looks at the frequency and amount of time that adolescents spend volunteering, and the characteristics of adolescents who participate in these activities.
- Adolescents with special health care needs had lower odds of volunteering for sport and recreation groups (27 percentage points lower) than those without special health care needs, suggesting that their health care needs might limit their capacity to volunteer in activities of this type.
- Adolescents from high-income families (top third) had higher odds of volunteering for sporting and recreation groups (about 30 percentage points higher), and lower odds of volunteering for church or religious groups (45 percentage points lower) than adolescents from low-income families (bottom third). This may be associated with the cost of participating in particular activities, e.g., cost of uniforms.
- Volunteering and Settlement in Australia: A snapshot, opens in a new tab, Volunteering Australia, Settlement Council of Australia, (May 2019). Volunteering Australia and the Settlement Council of Australia have conducted a National Survey on Volunteering and Settlement in Australia to inform our findings. Motivations to volunteer differ for everyone, however respondents were largely looking to contribute to society, make friends, improve their English or gain local work experience. Other key findings include:
- Volunteers in Victoria, opens in a new tab, State of Victoria, Ministerial Council for Volunteers, (June 2017). [Download link] This report was developed to provide a contemporary narrative for volunteering. It also provides a summary of the known social benefits, economic value and current trends. Findings from this report highlight key trends, challenges and opportunities for volunteering, and have informed the development of strategic priorities to strengthen and support the volunteer sector in Victoria. Some key findings included:
- Volunteering Insights Report, opens in a new tab, Gemba for Sport New Zealand, (November 2015). This report was commissioned to better inform the New Zealand sport sector; having three objectives: (1) understanding the underlying drivers and the level of engagement; (2) viewing sport as seen by its consumers; and (3) providing detailed analysis of key measures. Data was weighted by age, gender and location according to the latest New Zealand Census. Key insights provided in this report follow:
- Sport and Physical Recreation: a statistical overview, Australia 2012, opens in a new tab, Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2012) Final report (ceased). This report provides information on the demographics and motivations of sport volunteers. Volunteers in sports organisations reported a variety of reasons for volunteering, with the three main reasons being: (1) to help others in the community (53% of volunteers); (2) personal satisfaction (46%); and, (3) personal or family involvement (46%). Other key points from the report include:
- There appears to be an association between rates of volunteering and socio-economic status – lower rates of volunteering being associated with socio-economic disadvantage.
- Lower rates of volunteering are also associated with self-reported health problems.
- Do Women Perceive a Payoff from Working without Pay? A Gender Comparison of Perceived Career Outcomes of Sport Volunteering, opens in a new tab, Katrin Scharfenkamp, Pamela Wicker, Tim Thormann, et al., sustainability, Volume 14(19), 11907, (September 2022). Gender equality among volunteers and in the labor market are essential for social sustainability. This study examines whether women value benefits of sport volunteering for their job market situation significantly differently than men. Based on signaling and social role theory, we hypothesize that women are more likely to value sport volunteering as a job market signal and as useful for career options than men. According to human capital and ecological systems theory, we hypothesize that this link depends on women’s age and national gender equality. An online survey targeting volunteers in European football clubs (in seven countries; n = 16,989) was conducted. Logistic regressions are estimated to analyze the factors affecting respondents’ agreement that sport volunteering ‘looks good on their CV’ or ‘allows to explore new career options’. The findings show that women are significantly more likely to value sport volunteering as a job market signal but are significantly less likely to explore new career options than men. While older women are significantly less likely to agree, women living in more gender equal countries are more likely to agree. Our findings indicate a link between the male dominance in sport volunteering and the job market, which is determined by social sustainability.
- Development of a model of diversity, equity and inclusion for sport volunteers: an examination of the experiences of diverse volunteers for a national sport governing body, opens in a new tab, Eric Legg, Erika Karner, Sport, Education and Society, Volume 26(9), pp.966-981, (2021). This study explores the meaning of inclusion among Black, Brown and Indigenous Persons of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQI+ volunteers of a national sport governing body. Volunteers perform essential roles within sport organizations, and increased diversity, equity, and inclusion is central for justice and performance reasons. However, limited research exists which critically examines the experience of volunteers from traditionally underrepresented populations. This study seeks to fill that gap. Improving diversity and inclusion within NGBs is not only likely to improve organizational performance, but also addresses issues of good governance and social justice. Semi-structured interviews coupled with narrative inquiry were employed to collect and analyze data. Findings suggest that volunteers experienced inclusion, or lack thereof, across four layered systems – personal, interpersonal, organizational and community. Within those layers, we identified the following subthemes: unique experience and viewpoint, personal responsibility, assimilation (individual); political/social capital, mentors (interpersonal); required commitment, inclusion not embedded in organizational cultural (organizational); implicit bias, microaggressions (community). From this model, we suggest characteristics of inclusive and non-inclusive organizations across a continuum of inclusion. Furthermore, the presented model fills a gap in existing literature and provides guidelines and specific actionable areas for organizations to develop environments that are more inclusive.
- Building Inclusive Communities in Youth Sport for Lesbian-Parented Families, opens in a new tab, Dawn Trussell, Journal of Sport Management, Volume 34(4), pp.367-377, (June 2020). This interpretative study examines the complexities of lesbian parents’ experiences in organized youth sport programs. Specifically, it seeks to understand youth sport as a potential site for social change that facilitates a sense of inclusive community for diverse family structures. Using thematic analysis, the author examines perspectives of nine participants from Australia, Canada, and the United States. Emphasis is placed on how the lesbian parents (a) negotiate heightened visibility, sexual stigma, and parental judgment; (b) foster social relationships through participation, volunteerism, and positive role models; and (c) create shared understanding toward building an inclusive sport culture. The findings call attention to the importance of intentional and unintentional acts (by families as well as sport organizations) that create a sense of community and an inclusive organizational culture. The connection of lesbian parents’ experiences to broader concepts, such as sexual stigma and transformative services, are also examined within the context of youth sport.
- Individual and contextual determinants of stable volunteering in sport clubs, opens in a new tab, Torsten Schlesinger, Siegfried Nagel, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Volume 53(1), pp.101-121, (2018). This article addresses factors that influence voluntary sport club (VSC) members’ loyalty to voluntary engagement. The question asked is an issue of VSC volunteers’ commitment whether they decide to quit or continue their engagement. A multilevel approach was used that considered both individual characteristics of volunteers and corresponding contextual features of VSCs to analyse members’ voluntary commitment. Different multilevel models were estimated in a sample of 477 volunteers in 26 Swiss and German VSCs. Results indicated that members’ stable voluntary activity is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as having children belonging to the club, strong identification with their club, positively perceived (collective) solidarity and job satisfaction. In addition to these factors, the findings confirm the significance of the contextual level. Stable volunteering appears to be more probable in rural VSCs and clubs that value conviviality. Surprisingly, the results reveal that specific measures to promote volunteering have no significant effect on voluntary commitment in VSCs.
- Modelling the decision to volunteer in organised sports, opens in a new tab, Hallmann K, Sport Management Review, Volume 18(3), pp.448-463, (August 2015). The decision to volunteer can be considered a form of private consumption choice. Individuals have time at their disposal which they can be devoted to work or leisure; volunteering is only one of many choices. Considering both the decline in voluntary service and the necessity for most non-profit sporting clubs to recruit volunteers, it becomes essential to understand the drivers of volunteering. The theoretical model presented by the author contains factors from four domains: (1) demographics (age, gender, cultural background); (2) economic indicators (employment status, income, human capital); (3) sociological indicators (community engagement); and, (4) psychological indicators (preferences and experiences). The strength of each factor is estimated using a mathematical model.
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