Older Australian sexual and gender diverse volunteers during COVID-19: community connectedness and changes in volunteering

COVID-19 exacerbated inequities for Australian LGBTQ+ older adults and impacted their ability to stay engaged in civic activities. This research note examines the extent to which voluntary activity changed for Australian LGBTQ+ older adults during COVID-19 and whether community connectedness predicts volunteering both pre-COVID and during COVID-19. We recruited an online sample of Australian LGBTQ+ older adults. 525 participants completed the survey, with 341 participants reporting data on volunteerism and connection to the LGBTQ+ community. The analysis revealed statistically significant differences between time, but not gender and sexuality, nor between gender and sexuality and time. Pairwise comparisons reveal that volunteering was statistically significantly higher pre-COVID than during COVID for these Australian LGBTQ+ older adults. COVID-19 changed volunteerism among older LGBTQ+ Australians. Over a third reported volunteering at least once a week or more prior to COVID. The sample saw an overall reduction of about 10% of volunteering during COVID-19, which is consistent with other national reports of a pandemic-related reduction in volunteering among older Australians. The findings of this study suggest that, while volunteering plays an important role in the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, these participants were possibly willing to sacrifice the benefits of staying physically connected to the community to protect their own welfare, which may have implications for the social and political engagement of LGBTQ+ Australians.