New South Wales (NSW)

Volunteers, opens in a new tab, NSW Government, Office of Sport, (accessed 12 September 2023). Online resources for clubs.

NSW Volunteering Strategy 2020-2030, opens in a new tab, NSW Government, (July 2020). The Strategy sets out a ten year plan for the NSW volunteering sector, with a focus on growing, valuing and investing in the future of volunteering. In NSW it is estimated that there are over 2 million people who volunteer their time to help others, contributing at least 240 million hours. Their presence and efforts increase social inclusion, and deliver a range of important or essential services to those living in NSW. The Strategy also highlights 'sport based volunteering; as a major avenue for members of the community to get involved in community life. Volunteering in sport can build local connections, increase physical activity, improve health and wellbeing, and reduce social isolation.

• NSW Volunteering, opens in a new tab, NSW Government website, (accessed 12 September 2023). Online resources for finding volunteering and training opportunities, as well as resources for organisations, state of volunteering report and stories from volunteers.

The Centre for Volunteering NSW, opens in a new tab. The Centre for Volunteering is the peak body in NSW promoting and supporting volunteering and community participation. The Centre also has a service-delivery arm, the School of Volunteer Management, which is a registered training organisation. The Centre connects people and organisations through referral, training, resource development, information and education services.

NSW State of Volunteering Report, opens in a new tab, Institute of Project Management for NSW Government and The Centre for Volunteering, (July 2021). This in-depth analysis showcases the characteristics of volunteers, volunteering and volunteer-involving organisations. It produces a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the social, cultural and economic impacts of volunteering on communities in NSW. Some of the key findings include:

• Volunteers contributed over 1.5 billion hours in 2020, with individuals volunteering for an average of 5.6 hours every week.Approximately 4.4 million NSW residents also gave of their time ‘informally’ to other, non-household or non-family members in 2020, through acts such as domestic work, transport and child-care.
• New South Wales volunteers on average pay over $1,900 a year to volunteer. On average, only 20.2% of volunteers are reimbursed approximately 38.7% of their outof-pocket expenses. This means on top of their valuable time and skills, volunteers themselves are donating approximately $5.56 per hour to volunteer.
• Ultimately, across the 12 months of 2020, the value of volunteering to New South Wales was approximately $127 billion. This is the sum of commercial benefits worth $53.1 billion and civic benefits valued at $74.1 billion. This figure includes the $64.8 billion it would cost to replace the labour that volunteers contribute to New South Wales and represents a net return of approximately $3.30 on every dollar invested by all stakeholders.