Minister seeks to strengthen communities through volunteering

11 February 2008 | Minister for Fair Trading, Youth and Volunteering

Minister for Volunteering Linda Burney today responded to Victorian research on volunteering fresh from a meeting in Cooma with a culturally diverse volunteering group.

Ms Burney said she believed research undertaken by Ernest Healy from Monash University's Centre for Population and Urban Research did not give the full picture about levels of volunteering in migrant communities.

"I believe there is far more to the migrant volunteer story than Healey reports," Ms Burney said.

"Other researchers in the field recognise the ABS census statistics used by Healey dramatically under-represent the levels of volunteering in Australia.

"The research, to be published this week, quotes 2006 Census data – but data collected from a single question, as in the census, can't accurately capture the full extent of voluntary work.

"We know enormous numbers of people, including those of non-English speaking backgrounds, generously give their time informally within their communities. These people frequently don't acknowledge that what they're doing is volunteering."

Ms Burney said one outstanding role model is Mary Mamour of Blacktown. Ms Mamour was selected as NSW's 2007 Volunteer of the Year (from 170 nominations statewide) for inspirational work with her Sudanese community, bridging the gap between refugees, service providers and the local community.

Mark Lyons, Professor of Social Economy at the University of Technology Sydney and a recognised expert on volunteering and the not-for-profit sector, said the ABS Voluntary Work Survey, also undertaken in 2006, more accurately portrays the levels of volunteering among Australian- and non-Australian-born groups.

"The Voluntary Work Survey shows that nationally 36.2 per cent of adults born in Australia engaged in volunteer work in the previous 12 months compared to 25.9 per cent of migrants from non-English speaking countries," Professor Lyons said.

"We also need to ask whether Healey considered other factors that play a critical role in the levels of volunteering. We know that income and education levels, age and the amount of spare time people have after work strongly influence the rate of volunteering. It may be that factors that predispose people not to volunteer may be over-represented among new migrants."

Ms Burney also raised the issue of evidence that suggests people from migrant backgrounds may not always be welcomed into the voluntary sector.

"This can be as simple as small volunteering organisations feeling they may not have the
resources to manage volunteers with poor English skills," Ms Burney said.

"On the other hand, organisations like the Monaro Family Support Service here in Cooma show how a community organisation can successfully engage multicultural volunteers, reflecting the long history of immigration to the area.

Lynne Dalton, CEO of The Centre for Volunteering in NSW, the peak body in NSW
representing over 300,000 volunteer organisations, is also concerned about the lack of acceptance of non-English speaking volunteers.

"More than half the people who attend the Centre's 'Bridge to Volunteering' seminars are from non-English speaking backgrounds," Ms Dalton said.

"Our staff often have difficulties finding a volunteer placement for these enthusiastic people because many not-for-profit agencies are not always willing to engage volunteers whom they think may need additional language support."

Ms Burney said she was hosting a Forum in Sydney on 28 March focusing on issues relevant to diversifying the volunteer workforce.

"I think it's important to stress the contribution of volunteers not born in Australia is enormous, even though they may not be captured in the official statistics which only reflect participation in the formal volunteering sector," Ms Burney said.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald's article: Fewer volunteers in migrant suburbs

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Phyllis Sakinofsky
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