The role of Volunteering Australia
Volunteering Australia is the national peak body working to advance volunteering in the Australian community. Its role is to represent the diverse views and needs of the volunteer community while promoting the activity of volunteering as one of enduring social, cultural and economic value.1
Further information about the work of Volunteering Australia can be found on the organisation’s website.
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Working in partnership
The Australian Government recognises the critical role that volunteers play in Australian community life. Volunteering delivers a number of key social and economic benefits.
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs supports the work of Volunteering Australia in its role as a peak body through National Secretariat funding of around $271,000 a year.
In 2009-10 the Department is also contributing a total of over $476,000 towards a number of services and activities, including National Volunteer Week, the National Conference on Volunteering scheduled for October 2010, operation of the National Volunteer Skills Centre, and maintenance of the GoVolunteer website.
This funding of Volunteering Australia complements the Australian Government’s Volunteer Management funding of over $5 million for volunteer resource centres across Australia, and $21 million in Volunteer Grants for community organisations to assist their volunteers.
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Review of Volunteering Australia
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs regularly undertakes program and funding reviews. Reviews can help assess how well a program is working and why, and can contribute to improved program design, better informed decision making and more efficient use of resources.
In 2009 the Department commissioned a review of the effectiveness of its funding of Volunteering Australia. The review was informed by extensive consultation with key stakeholders, and included forums in each capital city, written submissions and an online survey.
The outcome of the review showed that Volunteering Australia remains highly valued by the sector for its representative and advocacy roles. National Volunteer Week and the National Conference on Volunteering are key events for the volunteering community.
The review highlighted potential gaps in the way that volunteers are supported; in particular, the need to consider the emerging needs of the volunteer community in relation to recruitment, skills development and training. At the same time, emerging technology is providing new opportunities for volunteering. Technology has the potential to create new forms of networking and social connectedness, and can minimise the barriers of time constraints, geography and physical limitations.
Key findings of the review, agreed by Government, are:
- that Volunteering Australia and the Department should clarify their respective roles and expectations, build a stronger relationship and develop a more collaborative partnership
- that the Government should continue to fund Volunteering Australia to provide representation on volunteering
- that the Government should engage more effectively with Volunteering Australia about the rationale, importance and implications of its strategic review and organisational repositioning, as far as it affects its effectiveness as a representative body
- that the Government should adopt a more strategic approach to the funding of projects and programs to support the development of volunteering. The development of the National Volunteering Strategy should precede any decisions about funding of new projects and programs, and should inform the focus and priorities for funding.
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Towards a National Volunteering Strategy
Some of these key issues are being explored as part of the development of the National Volunteering Strategy. The Government is developing the National Volunteering Strategy to be released ahead of 2011, which will mark the 10-year anniversary of the United Nations Year of Volunteering celebrated in 2001. The National Volunteering Strategy will reflect a transformational agenda for the next decade, promoting new ways to deepen and strengthen Australia’s volunteer movement.
As the peak body representing volunteering issues in Australia, Volunteering Australia will play a vital role in informing the development of the Strategy. Further information on the progress of the National Volunteering Strategy is available on the Government’s Social Inclusion website.