1143.0.55.001 - Directory of Culture and Leisure Statistics, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/08/2002   
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VOLUNTARY WORK

PURPOSE

To determine the extent of voluntary work undertaken in Australia, the characteristics of people who volunteer, the types of organisations they work for, and the activities they undertake. This includes voluntary work undertaken in the fields of sport and cultural activities.

DESCRIPTION

The Survey of Voluntary Work was conducted over four quarters as part of the Population Survey Monitor (PSM) collection. Questions about voluntary work were included on the PSM questionnaires for February, May, September and November 2000. Interviewers conducted a total of about 12,900 interviews Australia-wide during the four instalments of the survey. The questions asked referred to the 12 month period immediately preceding interview. The PSM covered all usual residents aged 18 years and over in private dwellings in both urban and rural areas of all States and Territories of Australia. However, persons living in remote and sparsely settled areas were excluded from the collection. All persons living in non-private dwellings were also excluded.

GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE

Australia

FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION

Irregular

DATA ITEMS

Participation

Indicates the number of persons who undertook voluntary work during the past 12 months.

Number of organisations volunteered for

Shows the number of organisations for which the person worked voluntarily during the past 12 months.

Type of organisation volunteered for

Specifies up to three types of organisation for which volunteer work was done in the past 12 months. Categories are:
Arts/culture
Business/professional/union
Community/welfare
Education/training/youth development
Emergency services
Environmental welfare
Foreign/international
Health
Law/justice/political
Religious
Sport/recreation
Other

Type of voluntary activity

Types of activities include:
Coaching/refereeing/judging
Fund-raising/sales
Management/committee work/coordination
Performing/media production
Teaching/instruction/providing information

Hours of voluntary work

Hours worked voluntarily for all organisations in the 12 months before interview.
These can be grouped into ranges such as:
Less than 20 hours
20-29 hours
30-39 hours
40-79 hours
80-139 hours
140-299 hours
300 hours or more


Length of time since first volunteered for organisation

Records the range of years into which falls the length of time elapsed since first volunteering for an organisation.
The ranges are:
Less than 1 year
1-5 years
6-10 years
10 years or more


Current reasons for being a volunteer

Includes reasons such as:
Personal satisfaction
Social contact
To be active
To learn new skills
To do something worthwhile
To help others/community
To gain work experience

Types of expenses incurred

Records the types of expenses incurred in the course of voluntary work.
The types of expenses are:
Phone calls
Postage
Uniform
Travel
Meals
Training
Other expenses
No expenses


Expenses for which reimbursement available

Records, for each type of expense incurred, whether reimbursement was available.

Geographic area

Data are available for Australia, States and Territories, and capital city/rest of State.


Demographic characteristics

Demographic characteristics for which information is available include:
Age
Sex
Marital status
Country of birth
Household type (person living alone, married couple living alone, etc.)

Socioeconomic characteristics

Socioeconomic characteristics for which information is available include:
Labour force status (employed, unemployed or not in the labour force)
Main activity for those not employed
Educational attainment
Occupation (ASCO Major Group)
Industry (ANZSIC Division and Subdivision)
Personal income

Other topics of interest

Other topics about which data were collected as part of the Population Survey Monitor for February, May, September and November 2000 were:

Household use of information technology
Participation in sport and physical activities

HISTORICAL DATA

The most recent data available are those obtained from the four quarterly PSM collections for the year 2000. The only earlier data available were collected as part of the Monthly Population Survey for June 1995. This used a different collection methodology and there were some differences in the data items, so the results are not strictly comparable with those from the PSM. A technical note to Voluntary Work, Australia, 2000 (Cat. no. 4441.0) investigates the differences between the results of the two surveys.

DISSEMINATION

Publications

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001, Voluntary Work, Australia, 2000, Cat. no. 4441.0, ABS, Canberra. Price $22.00. Also available for June 1995.
Cultural Ministers Council Statistics Working Group 2003, Australia's Cultural Volunteers, 2000. Available free of charge under 'Statistical information' on the CMC SWG web site at http://www.dcita.gov.au/swg.

Other

Consultancy report prepared by NCCRS for the Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport 2003, Australia's Sports Volunteers, 2000. Available free of charge on the Australian Sports Commission web site at http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2003/scors/Volunteers_2000.pdf (270k).

CONTACT

In the first instance, refer to To obtain data or further information in the Introduction to this directory.

Manager
National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
GPO Box 2272
ADELAIDE SA 5001

Telephone: Adelaide 08 8237 7399
Facsimile: Adelaide 08 8237 7366
Email: nccrs@abs.gov.au



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