We want to hear from you

We want to hear from you

Help us to inform advocacy on improving systemic issues facing the volunteering community by telling us your story and/or having your say.

Your responses will be de-identified when being used for purposes of advocacy.

Do you give permission for a Volunteering Tasmania staff member to contact you about this survey?

If you would like to speak to a VT staff member directly, please phone (03) 6231 5550 or email team@volunteeringtas.org.au

Yes

What is your role?

Select

Do you lead volunteers in a paid or unpaid capacity?

How many volunteers do you lead in your role?

Topic

You may select multiple topics to respond to.

Volunteer Management Expenses

14.8% paid for by the volunteer manager
11.7% paid for by the volunteer manager but later reimbursed by the organisation
73.6% paid for by the organisation

The 2023 State of Volunteering Research (SOVR) found that roughly 15% of volunteer managers/ coordinators were paying out of pocket for program costs without being reimbursed.

Has this been your experience or observation? If yes, what kinds of costs have these out-of-pocket expenses been?

Is there anything else you'd like to share on this topic? Comment below

Volunteer Manager/ Coordinator/ Leader

In the 2023 SOVR, volunteer managers indicated the most significant changes to the volunteering sector in the last 3 years have been: 

Amount of training volunteers need 
The direct and indirect costs to volunteers 
Volunteers want more flexible hours 
The hours people want to volunteer 
The number of people who want to volunteer

Has this been your experience or observation? Can you tell us what some of the challenges and opportunities have been?

What does you or your organisation/ group need to accommodate the top 5 changes to the volunteering sector moving forward?

To support you in your role working with volunteers, what kind of training would you be interested in? (relevant to volunteer management/coordination)

If other, please specify

What would you like to learn?

How do you want this to be delivered?

You may select multiple responses.

In person (group classroom)

Online (group classroom)

Self-paced

Mixed delivery

How do you want to be assessed?

You may select multiple responses.

In the classroom

In the workplace

Through a project

Mixed assessment

Is there anything else you'd like to share on this topic? Comment below

Organisational Structures

In the SOVR 2023, volunteer managers indicated that these were the most significant issues in their work:

Volunteer health and safety – 89.3%  
Volunteer retention – 82.7%  
Organisational culture, inclusion and diversity – 78.1%  
Volunteer management – 77.3%  
Volunteer recruitment – 76.0%

Do you feel adequately equipped (by your training, organisation/ group and the broader volunteering industry) in these areas of volunteer management/ coordination/ leadership?

Yes

Please explain how this has impacted your volunteer program?

What would make the most significant difference in supporting you to carry out your role in the next 5 years?

Is there anything else you'd like to share on this topic? Comment below

Insurance

The 2023 SOVR also found that the greatest external issue for volunteer managers is risk, insurance and legal requirements, with 70.5% of volunteer managers identifying this as very important. We’re interested to understand your experiences in this area.

How confident do you feel in your knowledge about the insurance coverage your organisation provides to its volunteers?

Do your volunteers ask you questions about the types of things they’re insured for?

Yes

Have you encountered any challenges, gaps or barriers associated with volunteering insurance? If so, what are they?

Is there anything else you'd like to share on this topic? Comment below

Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework

The 2023 SOVR, found that 32.5% of volunteer managers perceived a decline in the number of young people wanting to volunteer over the past three years. In contrast, young Tasmanians continue to volunteer at higher rates than any other age group.

Do you feel/ are you prepared to support young people (aged 12 to 25) to volunteer with your organisation/ group? If yes, why? If no, why not?

What are the top 3 barriers to engaging young volunteers?

As you may know, the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework was rolled out this year. It requires different organisations to comply with a range of measures designed to increase the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.  How has that impacted your program/organisation?

Have there been barriers to implementing the Framework?

Are you confident in your knowledge about the Framework? And the requirements of you and your volunteers?

Is there anything else you'd like to share on this topic? Comment below

Please share your challenge, opportunity or experience in as much detail as you are comfortable with. We appreciate you sharing your story.

Send me a copy of my responses