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CFA sheds staggering number of volunteers in less than a decade

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Article image for CFA sheds staggering number of volunteers in less than a decade

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) has shed almost 10,000 volunteers since 2013-14, new data reveals.

In 2013-14, the CFA had 38,335 operational volunteers. That figure has now fallen to 28,936.

CEO of Volunteering Australia, Mark Pearce, says volunteering numbers plummeted across the board when COVID-19 hit, and they haven’t recovered.

Press PLAY below to hear why fewer people are volunteering

“Prior to 2019, around about 36 per cent of Australians volunteered,” he told Tony Jones, filling in for Neil Mitchell. “When COVID hit, that number fell by 66 per cent — two in every three volunteers stopped volunteering.”

Mr Pearce says younger Australians are “probably more involved in community than any of us think”, but they’re volunteering informally, not through organisations.

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