Media Release: Our Unsung Heroes Older Australians Who Volunteer

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 which received more than 3,600 responses

Of those respondents, 50% said they volunteered some of their time.

That figure was further broken down to reveal that:

• 27% said they spend 5 hours or less per week doing voluntary work
• 12% said they performed 5-10 hours
• 9% said they did 10-20 hours
• 2% said they did 20 or more hours per week

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 CEO and Director of Research Professor John McCallum says this 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,” Professor McCallum said.

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.