National Seniors Australia report: Older volunteers make a difference in the world

A new report from National Seniors Australia reveals a snapshot of the number of older Australians who volunteer, why they volunteer and the types of voluntary work they do.

The report "I make a difference in this world with what I do": Older Australians and Volunteering, is the result of a survey of more than 3600 people.

Of those respondents who said they volunteered, two per cent did more than 20 hours, nine per cent did 10 to 20 hours a week, 12 per cent did five to 10 hours and 27 per cent did five hours or less.

The survey also revealed that there was not a great distinction between the amount of volunteer work done by those who had permanently retired from paid work to those who hadn't.

However, it did reveal that those who engaged in volunteering were more likely to be positive and satisfied with how they spent their time.

National Seniors chief executive John McCallum said the research is important because so much volunteering goes unrecognised.

"Because it's unpaid, volunteering is often invisible and not recognised in terms of its economic benefit, productivity and contribution to society as a whole and that creates a huge injustice to those people who give up their time to work."

Senior Australian of the Year, Val Dempsey who was awarded the honour for her tireless volunteering work says there are so many areas Australians can help with their time, effort and good will.

"No, it's never really easy to step forward but the rewards, the special moments that provide personal growth and awareness are yours to treasure and are waiting for you to enjoy and share," said Val.

The types of organisations respondents volunteered for included those that help groups of people in need such as victims of domestic violence, the homeless or asylum seekers; organisations that serve a cause beyond helping disadvantaged people, such as helping animals, institutions such as community centres, schools, universities and TAFEs, churches and hospitals and identity-based communities the respondent belongs to that is related to their age, religion, sexuality, gender, culture, nationality, profession, disability or health condition.

COVID was the most common reason people raised for not doing voluntary work, while others said their own disability or health, prevented them from undertaking volunteering.

Professor McCallum also noted the difficulty in trying to quantify volunteer work because many people who do unpaid work such as caring, don't consider themselves as volunteers.

"It's somewhat ironic that we had more than 60 people who said they didn't have time to do more voluntary hours, or not do any at all because they are too busy caring for a loved one," he said.