Community Contribution
How does your community keep its volunteer heart strong?
Map and publish your volunteering opportunities.
Plenty of people want to volunteer and do not know where to start. Map the groups in your town that rely on volunteers, so anyone can find where to start.
Why this action?
Why this is a challenge
Events, emergency services, aged care, sport and local committees in regional towns run on volunteers. In 2025, 22.6% of Australians volunteered through an organisation, down from 36.2% in 2010.
The rate is highest in remote areas (34%) and lowest in major cities (20.9%), so regional towns depend on volunteers more. Many groups rely on the same few people to fill their roles and committees.
How this action helps
Plenty of people want to volunteer and do not know where to start. A published list of the groups in a town that need volunteers shows newcomers, young people and anyone with time to spare where they can help. It spreads the load beyond the same few people.
How this action came about
The Community Contribution focus area was identified during the Ready Communities Flagship Program in Stanthorpe QLD, where many volunteer groups rely on the same few people to fill their roles and committees.
In the SIITR26 Impact Lab we learned: Volunteering holds regional communities together, but it can rely on the same people and those able to volunteer may not know how to get involved. How can we better know about local opportunities?
Sources: Volunteering Australia, General Social Survey 2025 at a glance (ABS General Social Survey 2025).
Key dates
- National action commences
- November 2026
- National action concludes
- April 2027
- Monthly webinars
- November, January, February, March, April
- Impact Report
- May 2027
Webinars
All webinars- November 2026Date coming soonCommunity ContributionGetting started: mapping your town's groups (1 of 5)Ready Communities
- January 2027Date coming soonCommunity ContributionBuilding your list (2 of 5)Ready Communities
- February 2027Date coming soonCommunity ContributionPublishing and promoting your list (3 of 5)Ready Communities
- March 2027Date coming soonCommunity ContributionLessons from town lists (4 of 5)Ready Communities
From Stanthorpe QLD to the nation
How this focus area developed
Host community
Ready Communities Flagship 2026, Stanthorpe QLDMany volunteer groups rely on the same few people to fill their roles and committees.
Challenge statement
May to July 2026How does your community keep its volunteer heart strong?
Local stories gathered.
Read the July convening insightsSIITR26 Impact Lab
September 2026Many people want to volunteer but do not know where to start, and there is no single list of opportunities.
National activation
November 2026 to April 2027Map and publish your volunteering opportunities.
Register as town lead
Transcripts and meeting insights
July convening insightsOne town. One list. A place for everyone.
Register as town leadFAQs
Who should register?
One lead organisation in each town. Clubs and groups send their details to their town's lead.
Our town already has a community directory. Can we use it?
Yes. Start from it and add to it. The list can be in any format.
What if two organisations want to lead in one town?
We will put you in touch so one leads and the other adds groups.
What counts as a group?
Any club, committee, service or organisation in your town that relies on volunteers.
What happens after we register?
You get a confirmation email. When your list is published, reply to that email with the link and we add it to this page.