Bunnings - Community

Bunnings has a longstanding commitment to support the communities in which it operates by engaging with local community groups through facilitating fundraising opportunities, product and gift card donations and providing hands-on support.

During the financial year, Bunnings’ traditional areas of support continued to bring communities together with sausage sizzles, hands-on activities and in-store fundraising, creating a positive impact for community groups, customers and team.

Bunnings contributed and helped community organisations raise more than $61.1 million through more than 79,000 activities throughout FY2024.

Major donations were made to a variety of community groups including Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation, JDRF Australia, Never Alone Foundation, The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, The Sports Excellence Scholarship Fund and RizeUp Australia. Bunnings are also proud supporters of the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood team with more than 900 team members making over 2,700 blood donations in FY2024. 

The Bunnings team also provided hands-on assistance to local community groups, including schools, kindergartens, nursing homes and hospitals, supporting meaningful work such as building community gardens, completing painting projects and conducting educational workshops.

To help students develop a range of practical skills for their future, Bunnings launched a new program, Trade Skills for Teens. This hands-on, direct learning program is delivered over three weeks, with over 1,100 teenagers participating throughout the year. As part of the program, participants assembled a project as a team and selected a local, not-for-profit community group to donate to. On completion, the participants were presented with a trade belt and tools for their accomplishment.

In September, Bunnings Trade partnered with industry-backed, mental health and suicide prevention not-for-profit organisation MATES in Construction (MATES). To help raise awareness and vital funds to improve mental health support within Australia’s building and construction industry, Bunnings Trade Australia co-branded a grey version of the iconic ‘Bunnings Trade Hoodie’ with MATES. Together with the help of the local community, Bunnings raised and contributed $500,000 from the hoodie sales, with all proceeds donated to MATES.   

In partnership with New Zealand Rugby, the Bunnings Rugby Assist initiative supported grassroots rugby by donating a total of $300,000 NZD through 10 grants comprising of Bunnings product and materials. Additionally, together with Touch New Zealand, the Bunnings Home Ground Heroes initiative contributed $25,000 NZD to Touch New Zealand volunteers to support their vital work. In September, Bunnings also supported community football clubs by raising more than $16,900 through sausage sizzles at the Bunnings Australian Football League Grand Final Footy Festival.

In the lead up to Christmas, Bunnings Australia supported Share the Dignity’s ‘It’s in the Bag’ drive for the seventh consecutive year. Stores collected more than 65,000 donated bags of personal hygiene products for women and girls experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, valued at over $3.1 million.  

Throughout FY2024, Bunnings New Zealand donated $15,000 NZD to I Got Your Back Pack, an organisation providing emergency care packs to New Zealanders who have left a domestic violence situation. In addition, the New Zealand team supported Movember, selling a limited edition, co-branded hoodie, raising and contributing $50,000 NZD. 

Bunnings also introduced several new initiatives to support community organisations throughout the year. In October, Australian store teams delivered Bunnings’ inaugural ‘Stores for Paws’ campaign, welcoming local animal rescue and welfare groups into stores. The Stores for Paws campaign supported adoption of animals to new homes and helped raise more than $200,000 in support of local animal rescue and welfare groups across the country.   

Bunnings’ continued its commitment to supporting communities in times of crisis in several ways throughout the year. In December, Far North Queensland experienced devastation in the wake of Cyclone Jasper, with communities impacted from Innisfail through to the Greater Cairns region and Cape York Peninsula. In January, extreme weather and floods impacted South East Queensland, with Northern Gold Coast and Mt Tamborine heavily impacted. Across both regions, Bunnings assisted relief efforts at evacuation centres through kids’ activities, community sausage sizzles, and the donation of gift cards, cleaning products and equipment, contributing over $25,000 to assist impacted communities. 

To celebrate the launch of the Bunnings and Bluey ‘Hammerbarn’ collaboration in February, Bunnings teamed up with Make-A-Wish Australia and New Zealand to host sausage sizzles and help fundraise to grant wishes for critically ill children. Their volunteers cooked up sausages at over 30 stores, including the Bunnings Hammerbarn-branded warehouses. With the help of Bingo, Bluey, and the many wonderful volunteers, Make-A-Wish Australia and New Zealand raised more than $130,000.

Bunnings’ support for ill children continued to the Easter period, with $140,000 raised and contributed to children’s hospitals and foundations across Australia and New Zealand.

For the sixth consecutive year, Bunnings supported FightMND’s Big Freeze campaign in May and June through the sale of beanies and limited edition co-branded buckets in stores across Australia, raising and contributing over $1.75 million to assist in researching treatments and potential cures for Motor Neurone Disease. A National Reds Run BBQ was also held at all Australian stores on Saturday 25 May, raising over $610,000 for the cause. 

For the first time, Bunnings extended their support for Motor Neurone Disease research and care into New Zealand by partnering with Motor Neurone Disease NZ to raise over $34,000 through a Reds Run sausage sizzle at all New Zealand stores in June.