The Cost of Volunteering: a Report on a National Survey of Emergency Management Sector Volunteers

 

Introduction by Hori  Howard Chair of the Australian Emergency  Management Volunteers Forum (AEMVF)

 

 

With the official release of the report on the The Cost of Volunteering: a Report on a National Survey of Emergency Management Sector Volunteers by the Attorney General, The Honourable Phillip Ruddock MP I would like to add some brief personal comments.

 

Firstly I would like to congratulate Anglicare on a most professional job, which we understand is the first of its kind anywhere. We had heard anecdotally that the cost of being a volunteer in the emergency sector is high, but we had no idea of the quantum. Some of our volunteers have been telling us that cost is becoming a limiting factor in their volunteering, and now we have the numbers to support their statements.

 

We must, continue to reiterate that our volunteers accept that there will be a cost to being a volunteer in the emergency sector, but it must be kept to a reasonable amount. They also absolutely reject any notion of a fee for service, because then they would no longer be volunteers.

 

All they seek is some recognition that they are paying for the privilege of assisting the community when emergencies occur, and are looking for some initiatives to keep the cost down.

 

With these remarks, I commend the report to you all.

 

Download the report: [PDF] hi res (6MB) | low res (1MB) 

 

 

 

 

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