Parliamentary Inquiry into Volunteering

A Parliamentary Inquiry is when Parliament decides to send an issue to a Committee of MPs to examine an issue in depth. It receives submissions from the community, holds public hearings, and provides a report with recommendations back to the Parliament. The government then has up to six months to provide its response to the recommendations.

Apart from being a good opportunity to inform our elected representatives, it is also a great way for those with an interest in the topic to hear other people’s views and ideas. Submissions and transcripts of public hearings are put online (with occasional exceptions), so everyone can examine them.

Approximately two-thirds of Queenslanders over 15 years old are volunteers, that’s 2.8 million people out of 4.3 million. Volunteering happens in every part of the state and underpins every sector of society. If we can improve the number and effectiveness of volunteers, it will massively improve our communities in a multitude of ways. But if numbers continue to decline, retention rates fall and under-investment in volunteering continues, the harm to our social fabric will be incalculable – particularly for people and communities in need.

Volunteers are a bedrock which keeps our communities functioning – the golden thread which weaves through our social fabric, adding colour to the rich tapestry of our communities and holding it all together. It matters to all of us. It rarely gets adequate attention because is the invisible glue hiding in plain sight.

If you have volunteers involved in your organisation or need more of them, if you work with groups who do, or if you are a volunteer yourself, this Inquiry especially matters to you.

The Committee has been asked to inquire into and report to the Legislative Assembly by 18 September 2025 on:

• • The current state of volunteering in Queensland and the value it contributes, including benefits to volunteers, organisations, communities and the state;

• • 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;

• • The current experiences, motivations and challenges for volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations and their recommendations for addressing challenges and improving the volunteering experience;

• • 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;

• • The extent, effectiveness and efficiency of current government support at all levels for the volunteering sector in Queensland and sustainable opportunities for improvement;

• • 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;

• • 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;

• • First Nations peoples volunteering, including in remote and discrete communities, and the role of First Nations volunteering in Closing the Gap; and

• • 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.

Ann Leahy, who at the time was Shadow Minister for Volunteers, promised in May 2024 that if elected, the LNP would establish an inquiry looking at opportunities and barriers to volunteering. The LNP decided this would be on their list of early priorities if they won government, which is why this Inquiry has been initiated so soon after the election. The government moved a motion in Parliament to establish the Inquiry, which was supported by all parties & MPs.

The Inquiry is being conducted by the Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee, which is responsible (among other things) for volunteering matters. The MPs conducting the Inquiry are listed on the Committee’s webpage. There are 3 LNP members & 3 ALP members. 

The Committee is Chaired by Mr James Lister MP from Southern Downs, and the Deputy Chair is Mrs Margie Nightingale from Inala. 3 of the Committee’s members are based in regional & rural electorates, and 3 are from electorates in the SEQ metropolitan area.

While only the six MPs on the Committee are formally conducting the Inquiry, you can always talk to any of your Council, state of federal elected representatives about volunteering issues in your area. You can also ask them to promote local volunteering and encourage local volunteer groups to participate in this Inquiry.

While this is common, it is not automatic. The Committee will present its final report, including any recommendations, to the Parliament. The government is required to respond to these recommendations within three months. They are not required to adopt all of the recommendations, although normally their response would include reasons explaining their decisions.

No this is not required, although many Committee reports are adopted unanimously by all members of the Committee. If they wish, any member of the Committee can add additional comments or recommendations, or include comments in the final report dissenting from the majority view on certain matters.

This is completely up to the government of the day, and the nature of the recommendations. A simple recommendation may able to be implemented immediately, a proposal requiring funding may need to go a whole-of-government process that is part of formulating each year’s Budget expenditure, a suggested program may need to be run as a trial or rolled out over a long period, or adopting an agreed principle or approach may be aimed at continuing permanent implementation.

Absolutely! If you are part of a sector which has a peak body, umbrella organisation or a head office, please make sure they know about the Inquiry, encourage them to contribute something on behalf of their wider sector or organisation, and – should you wish – let them know what you are planning to provide to the Inquiry. The more input the Inquiry receives, the better. It is up to you and to each organisation how much time you can spend on a submission to the Inquiry, but even sending in a single page of ideas or information based on your own activities or knowledge is helpful.

• anything compulsory like mutual obligation, work for the dole etc.
• community service as part of a Court order or sentence
• activity that is required to complete as part of a gaining a qualification

In short, if it’s legally required or you will suffer a loss if you don’t do it, it is not volunteering.