LNP pledges inquiry as Qld volunteer numbers dive

Queensland volunteers are quitting in droves amid the cost of living crisis, time restrictions and an ageing workforce.

Queensland volunteers are quitting in droves as the cost of living, time restrictions and an ageing workforce combine to paint a bleak outlook for the state’s largest labour force.

Volunteering Queensland’s first major survey since 2021 has delivered grim findings for the sector, with participation falling 10 per cent in just three years to 1.8m people.

The number of Queenslanders who volunteer with an organisation has plunged 20 per cent while those who do it informally – helping a neighbour or collecting rubbish -has fallen 15 per cent.

It has sparked alarm bells within the sector and a pledge from the LNP to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the barriers to volunteering if it wins government in October.

Respondents to Volunteering Queensland’s survey cited time restrictions, cost and health reasons as barriers to volunteering.

The survey found the average cost for a person to volunteer was $15.57 per hour, three times the $4.76 per hour recorded in 2020.

About 64 per cent of Queenslanders aged 15 and over volunteered between July 2022 and July 2023, giving up a combined 719 million hours and delivering $117.8bn in benefits.

Some 30 per cent of respondents said they would like to volunteer more, possibly unlocking more than $10bn in additional economic benefits to the state over three years, the report noted.

Ann Leahy. Picture: Liam Kidston

Opposition volunteers spokeswoman Ann Leahy will use her speech at a Volunteering Queensland event on Tuesday to announce an LNP government would order a parliamentary inquiry to understand challenges facing the sector and how to overcome them.

Ms Leahy said the inquiry would “drive real change” to stem the increasing loss of volunteers since 2021.

“It appears that the barriers to volunteering are firming with participation, formal volunteers as a percentage of total volunteers and informal volunteering all declining since the previous survey,” she said.

Just one-in-four volunteer managers expect more people will be helping their organisation in the next three years.

Lifeguard services in Queensland rely heavily on volunteers during peak times.

“There is a strong case for better resource allocation to and knowledge sharing within the volunteering sector to leverage its full potential,” the report notes.

Those who perform the valuable work of managing volunteers identified additional barriers, such as a lack of appreciation or recognition, a feeling of loss of connection or interest, or just something as simple as a lack or loss of confidence.”

In an effort to reverse the trend, the advocacy groups is lobbying the Queensland Government to support the development of a Queensland Volunteering Strategy.

It is also calling for increased diversity and inclusion in volunteering to “future proof and strengthen” the sector.