• New report: ‘The future of sport volunteering’ reveals a deep insight into the current state of sport volunteering in Australia
• National Sport Volunteering Plan announced to improve sector collaboration and enhance the volunteer experience

Sport Australia Acting CEO Rob Dalton said: “We know from our recent Community Perceptions Monitor survey that only 53% of adults who volunteered in sport before COVID-19 were back volunteering by March 2021, and while there has been steady improvement in volunteers returning to sport in recent months, this is a critical time to ensure we are doing everything we can to attract and retain volunteers in sport.

“In partnership with Volunteering Australia we recently conducted workshops with the key sport, government, and volunteer bodies, as well as engaging community sporting clubs, not for profit organisations, academics, and experts from outside the sports industry to gain a deeper understanding of the volunteer experience and build a framework and a vision for the future.

“Our vision is for people from all walks of life to see and realise opportunities to contribute to individual, club and community goals in a way that suits them. To achieve this, we have drawn from our research to develop a plan with the support of the sector to modernise and future-proof our volunteer offering,” Mr Dalton said.

Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck said: “We are a sporting nation and without our 3.1 million sport volunteers it simply wouldn’t be possible for our community sporting clubs to function.

“Volunteers not only galvanise our local communities, but they are also the backbone of the sports industry. It is vital that our current volunteers are valued and supported and that newcomers are easily able to find and get involved in volunteering opportunities that suit them,” Minister Colbeck said.

The research report highlights several opportunity areas for the sport sector to consider such as better collaboration between community sport clubs to drive operational efficiencies and reframing the perception of volunteering to enhance its value proposition. The opportunities are focused on action at the community sport level, while outlining the role for sport and volunteering bodies to enable this action.

The National Sport Volunteering Plan outlines Sport Australia’s role in leading and supporting sport to navigate the evolving volunteer landscape. The impact of the national plan will be assessed annually over an initial four-year period.

‘The future of sport volunteering’ Insights Report and National Sport Volunteering Plan can be viewed here.