Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to talk about the generosity of Western Australians. The generosity of Western Australians was revealed just recently in the 2023 Western Australia state of volunteering report.

We know what the benefits of volunteering are to our community, but I want to highlight some important data points that were revealed in that report. That data showed that increased volunteering rates lead to a number of benefits across the economy and our broader community. For instance, the WA report indicates that over $4.6 billion of WA's gross state product is comprised of the volunteering sector—an amount comparable to the contribution of the accommodation and food services industry. There was also an extraordinary increase in the total economic benefits of volunteering in WA, rising from $39 billion in 2015 to $63.9 billion of volunteering effort in 2020-23—a $3.1 billion increase each year. That reflects a 470 per cent return on investment for volunteering in WA last year alone. Think about that—a $4.70 return for every dollar invested in volunteering.

Of course, we know that volunteering has important social benefits. It brings greater wellbeing and happiness an awareness of wider social issues, greater pride in people's companies and workplaces, the development of greater understanding and empathy, and the procurement of teamwork and communication skills. These are great virtues for the people who choose to volunteer, but they're also great virtues for our whole community. I want to applaud Volunteering WA for the work that it does in encouraging, motivating and sustaining such an important contribution not just to the economy of Western Australia but to the wellbeing of every Western Australian.