Research Highlights $Billion Value of Volunteering

The economic value of volunteering to Victoria has grown by over 130 per cent in 15 years, according to new research from the University of Melbourne.

The Economic Value of Volunteering in Victoria report developed by Melbourne University, placed the economic value of Victorian volunteering at $16.4 billion in 2006, up from $7.1 billion in 1992.

Organised volunteering through volunteering organisations, together with informal volunteering and volunteers’ travel time, combine to give the total value of volunteering to the Victorian economy.

Regional Victorians contributed approximately $2 billion dollars to their communities in terms of organised volunteering through volunteering organisations, with Melburnians contributing around $2.8 billion – so per capita, volunteering is a strong contributor to regional Victoria.

Other key findings of the research include:

• Volunteers provided a volume of work equivalent to 260,500 jobs in 1992 rising to 359,100 in 2006. This is equivalent to an additional 13.4 per cent people employed in Victoria in 1992 and 14.2 per cent in 2006.
• There was a 16 per cent rise in the average total hours per adult of volunteering in Victoria between 1992 and 2006.
• In dollar terms Victorian adults, on average, increased their volunteering time and associated costs by 95 per cent, from $2,133 to $4,152 each year.
• Women in Victoria contributed an estimated $2.64 billion dollars of time and other inputs to volunteer organisations in 2006. In comparison, Victorian men's donation was 15 per cent less, about $2.25 billion.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan released the report saying it highlights the enormous contribution volunteers made to the state.

“By any standards these are significant contributions that make an enormous difference in our communities,” Ryan said.

Ryan said Victorians of various cultural and language backgrounds; the old and the young; and people of different abilities all played an important role through volunteering – from emergency services; health and ageing; education; social justice; heritage and culture as well as sport and recreation.