General News
18 January, 2026
Inquiry report backs vollies
A LEADER of the Far North’s volunteering sector is delighted the Queensland Government has endorsed in principle all the recommendations of an inquiry into volunteers with relatively short timelines for implementation.
The Queensland Government will develop a 10-year volunteering plan for release in 2026, involving stakeholder engagement, defining a strategic vision for the volunteer sector up to and beyond the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The volunteering plan will be designed in collaboration with the volunteer sector and other relevant stakeholders.
FNQ Volunteers president Annette Sheppard said within 15 minutes of the minister’s announcement “the department head phoned to give us the news and asked for our continuing involvement in developing the strategies, in particular the proposed volunteer hub network”.
“As one of four volunteer resource centres in Queensland, FNQ Volunteers will play an integral role in the development and implementation phases of the plan,” she said.
“Our inquiry submission arguing for the Volunteer Hub Network was supported by the Local Government Association and others as a way to support volunteering at the grass roots and to build volunteering capacity across the regions and in remote areas.
“We are appreciative of this opportunity and will be working closely with local volunteer involving organisations and the volunteering community to feed into the strategies.
“Of particular importance will be the issues around spontaneous volunteering during and post disasters.
“Currently there is no coordinated approach to emergency volunteering and volunteers are at risk should they sustain an injury or become implicated in disputes over property insurance.”
Ms Sheppard said there needed to be appropriate insurance and policies in place to ensure volunteers were protected.
