The Albanese Labor Government has launched an awareness campaign today to encourage young people to consider taking up a volunteer role to strengthen the nation's volunteering sector.
The campaign, called Hanging out to help out, will shine a light on the benefits of volunteering by challenging assumptions and highlighting the positive personal impacts for younger Australians.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of volunteering among young people ages 15-18 and showcases the diverse range of volunteering options, that it can be fun, done with friends and the personal development that results.
Advertising will be live from 20 October 2024 to 30 June 2025 across social media, digital video (YouTube music), digital audio (streaming and podcasts) and search activity.
Formal volunteering in Australia has been declining since 2010 and dropped sharply in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 83 per cent of volunteer-involving organisations saying they need more volunteers.
Research shows there is currently limited awareness among 15-18-year-olds of the need for young volunteers, and limited understanding of the flexible and variable aspects of volunteering.
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth will today launch the campaign at the Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club in Adelaide.
Minister Rishworth said volunteering brough so many benefits to all those involved and particularly ensuring more young people could take up on volunteering opportunities was so important.
"Young people are the future of volunteering, they can make such a big difference in their communities and gain lifelong skills while making friendships along the way", Minister Rishworth said.
"We know from research that people who participate in volunteering activities prior to entering the workforce makes a substantial difference in their participation rate for the rest of their lives."
"Through this campaign, we want young Australians to consider the personal benefits of volunteering and the positive impact it can have on mental health and community participation, and social involvement more generally."
The campaign will direct those interested in volunteering to potential opportunities near them and information on how they can access them.
The Albanese Government is investing over $81 million through its Volunteering and Community Connectedness programs through 30 June 2026 to support volunteering.
Last year The National Strategy for Volunteering, funded by the Department of Social Services, was launched which provides a blueprint for the next 10 years that will enable volunteering in Australia to thrive by providing strategic objectives for the sector and all governments to work towards.
