Volunteering is dropping in Queensland. Can the 2032 Games really help?

Fewer Queenslanders are volunteering year-on-year, but the spike in numbers the 2032 Brisbane Games are expected to bring might not be the saving grace it has been touted as, a governmental inquiry has found.

The inquiry into volunteering in Queensland, released on Thursday, found the number of volunteers fell by about 200,000 people between 2020 and 2023, with those remaining “increasingly being expected to give more”.

“Those who remain are increasingly burdened by rising expectations, financial costs, and regulatory hurdles,” the report read.

Essential service providers, including Meals on Wheels Queensland and Neighbourhood Centres Queensland said they were concerned they wouldn’t have the required numbers to function.Credit: Getty Images

To draw in new long-term volunteers, the state is hoping to leverage the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but the report has cautioned the Games will bring fresh issues, as volunteer numbers were not a “zero-sum game”.

“While the Games can galvanise a new era of volunteering, [it] could also be accompanied by the potential for a temporary drain on existing community volunteer programs and a dissipation of interest after the Games have finished,” the report committee noted.

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“An event-specific surge does not necessarily compensate for the loss of a trained, committed, and long-standing volunteer base from essential services.”

Those essential service providers, including Meals on Wheels Queensland and Neighbourhood Centres Queensland said they were concerned they wouldn’t have the required numbers to function.

The report also warned volunteering could decrease after the 2032 Games, pointing to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, after which increased volunteer participation didn’t translate across organisation types.

“This outcome is attributed to a lack of a structured legacy plan, with resources and attention remaining concentrated on elite sporting events rather than grassroots engagement,” the report read.

Finding participation also slumped at local sports clubs after the 2018 Games, the committee warned new volunteers could be turned away from poor experiences.

It said those who felt less valued than paid workers, or were particularly inconvenienced – such as suffering last-minute schedule changes or excessive travel times and distances – might not volunteer again.

“The psychological contract between a volunteer and an organisation is built on a foundation of respect and recognition ... the intrinsic reward of volunteering is not transactional; it is deeply emotional,” the report read.

The inquiry into volunteering in Queensland recommended a well-structured plan for volunteers before, during, and after the 2032 Games, but said the government also needed to take permanent actions now to draw in new volunteers.

With older volunteers ageing out of their ability to help, submissions to the inquiry noted fewer younger people were volunteering year-on-year.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane told the committee more than 40 per cent of Queenslanders said they had “no time” to volunteer.

“Many potential volunteers, particularly those balancing work, family, and study commitments, struggle to find opportunities that align with their availability,” the Archdiocese said.

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Meals on Wheels Queensland said: “insurance premiums in Meals on Wheels’ group scheme have on average increased by 225 per cent over the past two years.”

The report recommended reducing barriers to entry such as subsiding volunteering activities, reducing the cost of insurance and government fees, and creating a “volunteering passport” to transfer skills across organisations.

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