The Federal Budget has allocated no new funding to reactivate volunteering despite the devastating impact of COVID-19. Two in three volunteers (66 per cent) stopped volunteering during the pandemic, amounting to an estimated loss of 12.2 million hours per week of volunteer work.
Volunteering Australia asked the Australian Government to support both a National Youth Volunteering Initiative and a Reinvigorating Volunteering Action Plan – an initiative vital to safely revive volunteering. We are calling on the government to give this further serious consideration in the immediate future.
Volunteering Australia welcomes the Australian Government’s recommitment to their current expenditure for both Volunteering Grants and Volunteer Management Support as part of last night’s Federal Budget announcement. Whilst welcome, it falls well short of what is needed.
