The Epoch Times
The Epoch Times
AD
The Epoch Times
Support Us
Social Issues

Australia in Need of More Young Volunteers

COVID plus the cost-of-living crisis has meant the vountary sector is struggling. A new campaign aims to encourage young people to step up.
Australia in Need of More Young Volunteers
Volunteers prepare food hampers for flood-affected residents at the Hawkesbury’s Helping Hands community organisation in the suburb of South Windsor in Sydney, Australia, on July 6, 2022. Jenny Evans/Getty Images
Rex Widerstrom
Rex Widerstrom
10/21/2024|Updated: 10/21/2024

Volunteering in Australia has been declining since 2010 and dropped sharply in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, 83 percent of organisations that rely on volunteers say they need more.

Volunteer Australia, the national peak body, estimates that 36 percent of adults gave their time to community organisations prior to the pandemic. By April 2021, that had dropped to 24.2 percent, and although it had picked up to 26.7 percent a year later, a lack of volunteers is still hampering the delivery of a range of community services.

Rex Widerstrom
Rex Widerstrom
Author
Rex Widerstrom is a New Zealand-based reporter with over 40 years of experience in media, including radio and print. He is currently a presenter for Hutt Radio.
Author’s Selected Articles

WA Ambulance Ramping Tops 5,100 Hours a Month, AMA Urges National Fix

Jul 04, 2025
WA Ambulance Ramping Tops 5,100 Hours a Month, AMA Urges National Fix

Wong Says Australia and US Recognise Importance of AUKUS Amid Concerns Over Review

Jul 03, 2025
Wong Says Australia and US Recognise Importance of AUKUS Amid Concerns Over Review

Fiji PM Says Chinese Military Base in the Pacific ‘Not Welcome’

Jul 02, 2025
Fiji PM Says Chinese Military Base in the Pacific ‘Not Welcome’

Aboriginal Victorians Were Victims of Genocide, Commission Finds

Jul 01, 2025
Aboriginal Victorians Were Victims of Genocide, Commission Finds
Related Topics
Australia
volunteering
community organizations
third sector
Save
The Epoch Times
Copyright © 2000 - 2025 The Epoch Times Association Inc. All Rights Reserved.