Funding for Volunteering in Victoria Remains Static: Peak Body

The peak body for volunteering in Victoria says it’s disappointed and concerned that funding for volunteering, revealed in the Victorian State Budget, is to remain static over the next four years.

Volunteering Victoria says the budget does not provide financial support for volunteering infrastructure.

$5.2 million has been allocated over four years to fund the ongoing management of the organisations’s Volunteering Portal and the volunteer grants program.

Volunteering Victoria says this continued funding demonstrates recognition by the Baillieu Government of the important role volunteers play in delivering services and building stronger communities – contributions that were directly acknowledged by the Treasurer in his Budget Speech.

The Victorian Government has also announced the creation of two new initiatives to be managed by the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), – Multicultural Volunteer Awards, and a Volunteer Coordination Unit to manage volunteer services during crises.

Volunteering Victoria says it supports the proposal to acknowledge the enduring and important contribution made by Victoria’s diverse culture and language groups through dedicated awards and likewise, the experience of regional Victorians in this year’s floods which underscores the value of proposals such as the Volunteer Coordination Unit.

However it says funding levels for DPCD’s volunteering programs have not been increased to cover the cost of these new initiatives.

It says the continued contribution of volunteering to Victorian community life relies on

• the services, advice and assistance of local volunteer services;
• the networks that support managers and coordinators of volunteers;
• the ongoing development of tools and resources to support the practice of volunteering;
• and opportunities for professional development and training for everyone involved in volunteering.

Volunteering Victoria says while it welcomes the Government’s commitment to volunteering thus far it will continue to campaign for further support for the systems and structures that underpin volunteering in Victoria.