Volunteering Queensland’s Submission to the 2021 – 2022 State Budget
In the 2021 – 2022 Queensland state budget, Volunteering Queensland is calling upon the Queensland Government to support the volunteer sector through a range of targeted funding initiatives. These programs are designed to tackle some of the most pressing concerns facing volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations: the ability to meet the challenge of extreme weather, enhancing volunteer recruitment and participation, and reducing risk and financial overheads by commissioning a study into volunteer insurance.
Recommendations
- Ongoing investment to sustain and enhance the essential Emergency Volunteering Community Response to Extreme Weather (EV CREW) program.
- Reinvigorate volunteering across the state with targeted recruitment campaigns and new partnerships with regional volunteer-enabling organisations, including:
- Launching a state-wide recruitment campaign, including online components and in-person expos and events. This campaign would focus engaging youth, new and lapsed volunteers, in partnership with neighbourhood centres, Volunteer Resource Centres and other local volunteer-enabling organisations.
- Supporting the state’s existing network of 10 Volunteer Resource Centres to continue the work they do enabling place-based urban and regional volunteer participation.
- A feasibility study into state-wide volunteer insurance cover to safeguard volunteers, mitigate risk and provide confidence to the sector.
Each recommendation has been presented to the relevant Minister and Department for that area. Volunteering Queensland will continue advocating for these funding initiatives through engagement with government bodies, collaboration with volunteer-involving organisations and outreach to the community.