National Volunteer Week is on from 18 to 24 May under the theme Your Year to Volunteer.
National Volunteer Week provides an opportunity to recognise the millions of Australians who give their time, skills and care to communities across the country. The Week also invites more people to volunteer across Australia.
Volunteering Australia is leading this year’s campaign. The organisation’s General Social Survey found that 9.5 million people volunteered in 2025, through formal volunteering, informal volunteering or both.
Despite rising cost-of-living pressures and increasing demand for support services, many Australians continue to volunteer. Across the country, volunteers are continuing to support the people, organisations and causes that help communities thrive.
Work is already underway to strengthen and support volunteering across Australia through the National Strategy for Volunteering, which focuses on making volunteering more inclusive, accessible and sustainable for the future.
CEO of Volunteering Australia, Mark Pearce, says that at a time when communities are facing increasing pressure, volunteers continue to play an essential role across Australia and should not be taken for granted.
“Despite the pressures many Australians are experiencing, people are volunteering and, in fact, are contributing more hours than before,” said Pearce.
“Your Year to Volunteer is both a recognition of what already exists and an invitation. There is no single way to volunteer. What matters is that people can take part in ways that work for them.”
Australians are encouraged to make 2026 your year to volunteer by exploring opportunities through state and territory Volunteering Peak Body websites, GoVolunteer.com.au or by building on the ways they already contribute within their communities.