FACTBase Bulletin 35 - Volunteerism and Social Capital in Metropolitan Perth: A Preliminary Assessment

This paper focuses on a simple, yet important measure of social capital – the proportion of people who participate in volunteer work and activities that provide “assistance to other individuals, groups and the wider community” (ABS, 2004:55).

Key Findings

• The spatial distribution of volunteerism in Greater Perth reveals that the central metropolitan suburbs that are wealthier, healthier, better educated and older have higher rates of social volunteerism.
• While females have higher volunteerism rates than males in Greater Perth, both genders have declined in the amount of social volunteerism efforts between 2006 and 2011.
• Overall, greater Perth’s volunteer rate has grown 18.5% from 2006 to 2011, which is the second highest growth rate behind Grater Brisbane at 25.5%.
• Volunteer efforts by age in greater Perth were similar to that of Australia, yet in 2011 the volunteer participation rate for people aged 15-19 was above the national rate of participation.