The Office for Volunteers, acting on behalf of the Minister for Volunteers, works to provide the necessary networks, support, protection and promotion to grow volunteering rates in South Australia. In so doing, the Office is also responsible for influencing relevant Government policy and legislation which may impact on the sector and for advising the Minister on how to better address the rights of all parties involved in making volunteering services available to the wider community. Volunteer participation in South Australia was last evaluated in 2000 using participation figures provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This monitor revealed a participation rate among the South Australian adult population of 38%. This figure was slightly higher within regional SA (approximately 45%). The current South Australian Strategic Plan, however, establishes a targeted level of South Australians involved in volunteering as 50% by 2010.
To measure the change in volunteering rates since the 2000 monitor, and the effectiveness of existing programs in moving toward this target, the Office for Volunteers commissioned the ABS to design a questionnaire and Harrison Research to carry out a survey with a random sample of South Australians aged 15 years and over.
