Overview

In undertaking the State of Volunteering 2025, funded by a grant from the State Government, Volunteering Victoria sought to develop a deep, nuanced picture of volunteering across Victoria.

Volunteering Victoria reviewed existing research, commissioned national researchers to run two surveys (a public survey with 2,541 respondents and a Volunteer Manager survey with 326 participants), and conducted 24 focus groups with 225 people. Data analysis, including in-depth qualitative work, was carried out by the University of Western Australia to inform the report’s findings.

Volunteering Victoria engaged researchers responsible for the national State of Volunteering Research to undertake two surveys between September and November 2024:

• 2024 Public Survey of Victorian residents, soliciting the responses of over 2,500 Victorians
• 2024 Volunteer Manager Survey
  • collecting the insights of 326 leaders in the field Volunteering Victoria
  • held 24 focus groups across Victoria between October 2024 and January 2025
  • Over two hundred, Leaders of Volunteers and non-volunteers generously shared their insights, challenges, and ideas for the future.

State of Volunteering 2025 Report

Data analysis and tabulation of both the surveys and focus groups was undertaken by researchers from the University of Western Australia. This included a significant and deep analysis of the qualitative focus group data, providing a detailed evidence base that informed the findings presented in the full report which can be found here - 2025 State of Volunteering Report.

An overview of the key findings can be found here – The Executive Summary.

If you would like the key takeaways on a specific topic? Our ‘Snapshots’ break down the research into bite‑sized summaries, highlighting key themes and trends from the data. Information can be viewed here - https://www.volunteeringvictoria.org.au/state-of-volunteering-vic/

Deep dive sessions have been recorded revealing data via video in short sessions. These can be viewed here - https://www.volunteeringvictoria.org.au/next-steps-sovr/

State of Volunteering 2020 Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of volunteering in Victoria and is available for dowload: State of Volunteering Victoria 2020 - Full Report