Tuesday 28 August
Media Statement

New report milestone for voluntary sector

A new report revealing that non-profit institutions and their volunteers contribute a massive $6.95 billion to the New Zealand economy has been welcomed today by the Statistics Minister Clayton Cosgrove and the Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban.

The Ministers spoke in Wellington this morning at the launch of the Non-Profit Satellite Account report released by Statistics New Zealand. Organisations attending the event include the NZ Historic Places Trust, the Cancer Society, the Family Planning Association, the NZ Red Cross, the YMCA, and the Wellington City Mission, as well as the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s Ambassador Danyon Loader.

Mr Cosgrove said the report marks a number of milestones for New Zealand.

"It is the first time that we have had an official measure of the economic contribution that non-profit institutions make – from how many exist, to their income and expenditure and how many people they employ," he said. "It is also the first time that we have measured the value of the unpaid labour given by volunteers to non-profit institutions."

Mr Cosgrove said the report shows that non-profit institutions and the unpaid labour given to them equates to 4.9% of New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) at a market rate. The report also shows that there were 97,000 non-profit organisations in New Zealand as of October 2005.

“More than one million New Zealanders volunteer for these non-profit institutions and work extremely hard. Kiwi volunteers work an average of 5.1 hours per week compared with 3.2 hours in Australia and 3.1 hours in Canada. This is a fantastic effort.”

Minister Laban said the report is valuable for organisations and individuals working within the non-profit sector.

"We know that non-profits make a huge contribution to New Zealand’s economic and social well-being. Now for the first time, we can go some way to measure this fabulous contribution," she said. "Better information about the sector will lead to more informed debate, policy and decision making."

Mr Cosgrove said while the success of non-profit organisations relies on the hard work and dedication of volunteers, the government has an important role to encourage and support the sector.

The data in the Non- Profit Satellite Account report is sourced from 2004, which is the most recent year for which comprehensive information is available. It is anticipated that this data, which has been prepared to meet international standards, will be updated and published on a regular basis from this time on. The Not- Profit Institutions Satellite Account 2004 is available on www.stats.govt.nz
Two other recent initiatives by the Labour-led government have been well-received by non-profit organisations.
A Budget 2007 initiative to make a large number of Statistics New Zealand products available at no charge means that even Digital Boundaries files worth more than $25,000 are now free. More than four million dollars worth of products have been snapped up in the six weeks since the scheme began to roll out.
The Salvation Army has said having access to more social data will enhance the quality of social policy research done by non-profits, and also contribute to better planning for the development and delivery of social services and programmes.

Budget 2007 also laid down the foundation for a stronger culture of charitable giving by removing the $1,890 tax rebate threshold that had applied to donations made by individuals and the 5 percent deduction limit on donations made by companies and Maori authorities. This will take effect from April 2008.

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