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
Print Page