22-point action plan to boost volunteering

The National Strategy for Volunteering action plan, to be released today, lists 22 practical actions to boost volunteering, the result of work by government, peak bodies, researchers and volunteers.

Federal departments and agencies to sign onto the plan include the Department of Social Services, the Australian Sports Commission, the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, the National Office for Child Safety and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

They join a who’s who of Australia’s volunteer system, including state and national peak bodies, a “coalition of support” and organisations such as NFP legal support provider Justice Connect.

The action plan, to be released this afternoon, seeks:

• a new survey to track volunteering, new research, and the collation of official volunteering data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
• better connections between sport and volunteering
• better partnerships generally, aligning the strategies of states and territories
• tying federal funding to the national volunteering strategy
• a better advocacy process for volunteers
• improved working with children checks, and the creation of a volunteering “passport”
• to encourage employers to host volunteers, and the promotion of volunteer ambassadors
• new forums for better collaboration and knowledge
• better education for volunteers, including help to understand legal obligations
• new “share your story” and volunteering awareness campaigns.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth welcomed the plan, which was developed with federal funding and is expected to help address a fall in volunteer numbers worsened by the pandemic and economic challenges.

Minister Rishworth’s department is mentioned multiple times in the action plan as having a leading role in developing a national awareness campaign, scoping a “whole of government approach to volunteering”, encouraging the alignment of state and territory volunteering strategies, and helping align federal funding with the national strategy.

“We want to make sure that all Australians, regardless of circumstances, have the opportunity to contribute their skills and time to meaningful volunteering in a role that suits them and meets the demand for services delivered by volunteers,” Ms Rishworth said.

“The National Strategy for Volunteering and the first three-year action plan will help guide everyone in the sector to work together effectively and achieve this aim.”

Scores of organisations involved in volunteering, from federal level down to the grassroots, were involved in developing the action plan, which came about after national consultations involving 350 participants across 16 workshops held in Broome, Canberra, and many capital and regional centres in between.

The action plan ties into a 10-year national volunteer strategy with three focus areas:

• individual potential and the volunteer experience
• community and social impact
• conditions for volunteering to thrive.

The community sector has been invited to attend today’s launch event, which will feature an address by Minister Rishworth and an expert panel discussing the rollout of the plan.

The Smith Family CEO Doug Taylor ­– who chairs the National Strategy for Volunteering Council – praised the plan as a joint effort of many.

“It is a great example of what is possible when there is a clear guiding framework, and people feel empowered to act,” Mr Taylor said.

Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce said the action plan was a “shared opportunity”, declaring the strategy would be “achieved through the combined efforts of stakeholders across Australia”.

More information

View the action plan at the National Volunteering Strategy website

Attend the online launch here (12.15pm AEST, Wednesday, August 28)