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About the Inquiry 

On 11 December 2024, the Legislative Assembly agreed to a motion that the Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee (committee) inquire into and report on volunteering in Queensland.

The terms of reference call upon the committee to inquire into and report to the Legislative Assembly by 18 September 2025 on:

1. The current state of volunteering in Queensland and the value it contributes, including benefits to volunteers, organisations, communities and the State;
2. The views of volunteers, prospective volunteers and the volunteering sector on the current barriers to volunteering, including excessive legislative and regulatory burdens and other restrictions adversely limiting active volunteers;
3. The current experiences, motivations and challenges for volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations and their recommendations for addressing challenges and improving the volunteering experience;
4. The unique challenges experienced by people from diverse backgrounds, genders, age groups, abilities and locations, and opportunities to improve volunteering participation, accessibility and experience for these groups;
5. The extent, effectiveness and efficiency of current government support at all levels for the volunteering sector in Queensland and sustainable opportunities for improvement;
6. Opportunities for the Queensland Government to leverage all portfolios to support growth in volunteering across Queensland, including through hosting the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games;
7. Opportunities to increase emergency response volunteering in Queensland, including how to optimise the engagement, support and integration of volunteers assisting with natural disasters and community recovery;
8. First Nations peoples volunteering, including in remote and discrete communities, and the role of First Nations volunteering in Closing the Gap; and
9. Any other relevant matters, including academic and other diverse sources, and any relevant reports and reviews at the national level and across other states and territories.

Further information

Further information including written briefings, correspondence, response to submissions, transcripts and answers to questions taken on notice will be published under the Related Publications tab as they become available.

Call for submissions

The committee invited submissions on any aspect of the Inquiry, from all interested parties. Submissions closed on Friday, 14 March 2025.  You can view submissions via the Submissions tab.

PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS

Information relating to public proceedings will be available here in due course.

Committee’s report

The committee is due to table its report on Friday, 18 September 2025. The report will be published here.

Timeline