Overview
The 2025 New South Wales State of Volunteering Report is an important piece of ongoing research for the volunteering sector in NSW.
Commissioned by The Centre for Volunteering with funding support from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, the report presents a detailed examination of the characteristics of volunteers and volunteer management in NSW. It explores the strengths and challenges in the volunteering sector, and the immense contribution of volunteering to the state.
The key insights from the report have also been presented in an infographic format that summarises the essential information from the 2025 NSW State of Volunteering Report.
The 2025 NSW State of Volunteering Report adds to the strong base of research from which we can advocate for the sector, understand its needs, and develop resources to support the vital work that volunteers do across the state.
Background
The 2025 NSW State of Volunteering Report builds on the previous research that The Centre for Volunteering has conducted. This allows us to observe the changes in volunteering over the past five years, reinforcing the strength and resilience of volunteering in NSW.
The 2025 Report discusses key aspects of how volunteering is operating in NSW, the value of volunteering and the contribution of the sector to NSW communities, and the experiences of volunteer managers as they work in the sector. The current report makes comparisons to data from the past five years, where most useful for our current research, and you can view the 2021 NSW State of Volunteering Report and 2023 NSW State of Volunteering Report if you would like the full context for how volunteering in NSW has developed.
Key Findings
In 2025, 4.9 million people over the age of 15 gave time as a volunteer. This is significant, because it shows a return to pre-COVID volunteering rates.
This also shows the scale of volunteering in NSW. These 4.9 million volunteers collectively contributed 1.3 billion hours of their time to their communities in NSW, an average of roughly 22.7 hours each month.
In 2025, volunteers in NSW contributed an immense $205.3 billion dollars to the NSW economy through their time, service, and forgoing other opportunities to help their communities. This represents a huge return on the investment in volunteering from across the state, with $5.60 in measurable value returned for every dollar invested in volunteering.
However, the costs to volunteers have also increased, with the average out-of-pocket cost to a volunteer per hour rising from $14.68 in 2023 to $15.45 in 2025. This is an average of $4,200 in expenses that volunteers incur each year in the course of their volunteering work. Volunteer-involving organisations also incur costs averaging to $4.80 per volunteer hour.
Acknowledgements
This research would not be possible without the support and participation of the NSW volunteering sector, and the generous support of the NSW Department of Justice and Communities. We particularly wish to thank the members of the project steering committee for their support and insight, and all people who participated in the surveys.
Project Partners
Contact
For more information on our research | e. [email protected] | t. 02 9261 3600
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