The State Emergency Service has seen a steady rise in its volunteer program, with NSW residents taking action to support their local communities in emergencies and weather events.
There was a recorded number of 11,329 SES volunteers in 2025, which is a 6.4 per cent boost from last year’s number of 10,645.
SES Shellharbour volunteer, Nikki Ristoski said the volunteer registration has increased over the past year for the SES Shellharbour Unit.
“We do get lots of applications; the community is seeing more members out there in orange and understanding what we do,” Ms Ristoski said.
(Source: NSW SES)
Due to weather events occurring throughout the year in New South Wales, it has led to the community taking action in volunteering.
“There definitely has been an increase. SES currently have around 11,000 volunteers across NSW,” Ms Ristoski said.
“We do see a lot of community members wanting to join during weather events.”
(Source: NSW SES)
Minister for Emergency Services, Jihad Dib has expressed his appreciation for the work of volunteers and the need to nurture them so that they remain in service.
“Our volunteers are the community – they live, work and raise families in the very places they protect,” Mr Dib said.
“We continue to invest in the SES to ensure they have the facilities and tools they need to help keep NSW safe.”
Younger volunteers area also joining the ranks of the rescue service, showing that there is a future for the continuation of stability in service numbers.
NSW SES volunteer, Richard Hart has acknowledged the increase in younger volunteers, particularly towards the end of last year.
“Across the state, more than 11,000 volunteers have thrown up their hand, with a growing youth presence within the service increasing by 12 per cent last year,” Mr Hart said.
“We’ve got an intake happening again in July this year.”
There has also been an increase of 20 per cent between 2024 and 2025 within the SES social media, which has the potential to further impact volunteer numbers due to more media attention.
“When we’re operational, we see a great interest from the media to want to put orange all over the media so that we can actually showcase what we are doing,” Ms Ristoski said.
“Seeing all that stuff is a great promotion for the SES to actually engage with new people to sign up as volunteers.”
(Source: NSW SES)
The next volunteer open day will be at the Community and Volunteer Expo 2026 at the RSL Memorial Hall in Moruya on June 12.
Additional reporting: Caleb Arkapaw and Aaron Corby
