Essential Report
Type of volunteering engaged with
Q. Which, if any, of the following types of organisations do you currently volunteer for?
Age | Employment Status | ||||||
Total | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | In paid employment | Not in paid employment | Retired | |
Organisations providing support services, such as volunteer fire services, animal rescue and other charities | 16% | 25% | 11% | 12% | 18% | 10% | 13% |
Sports clubs or arts-based organisations | 14% | 22% | 10% | 10% | 17% | 10% | 9% |
Volunteer organisations linked with schools (e.g. reading support) | 11% | 16% | 13% | 5% | 16% | 6% | 5% |
Organisations promoting causes, such as environmental groups, political campaigns | 10% | 18% | 9% | 5% | 14% | 6% | 6% |
Church or faith-based organisations | 9% | 11% | 9% | 8% | 10% | 7% | 9% |
Community organisations, such as Scouts or historical societies | 9% | 14% | 5% | 7% | 10% | 6% | 10% |
None of these | 59% | 44% | 64% | 66% | 53% | 71% | 62% |
Base (n) | 1,090 | 341 | 374 | 375 | 592 | 243 | 222 |
- 41% of participants volunteer at one of the listed organisations – with organisations providing support services (16%) most frequently selected.
- 18-34 year olds, university educated and participants working in paid employment are more likely to volunteer for any listed organisation.
- Capital city residents and those with dependent children are more likely to volunteer at an organisation linked with schools (13% and 18% respectively) or promoting causes (12% and 14%) than non-capital city residents (both 7%) and those without dependent children (7% and 8%).
- Greens voters are most likely to volunteer for an organisation providing support services (27%).

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