Donating Unwanted Items in Australia
Donating unwanted goods in Australia is an incredibly popular way to be charitable without dipping into your cash reserves. Being such a generous population, it pays to know how and where to donate unwanted goods, especially if you’re planning on moving house soon.
According to the 2019 Australian Communities Trends Report, five in every six Australians give to charities or not-for-profit organisations, with 66% choosing to donate unwanted goods in the last 12 months.
Find A Donation Bin, Charity or Donation Organisation Near You
Find the most convenient method to donate your unwanted goods with our custom-created map! From old clothes that you’ve outgrown, bundles of old laptops or boxes of untouched toys, this map includes a wide range of items categories available for you to donate.
We’ve listed our favourite organisations across Australia for your convenience. Simply filter by your preferred method to donate, or take your time and find the important details you need to know about these organisations by clicking on their marker. Have a browse below!
For a more detailed look at the organisations we’ve mapped out, refer to this list below to find all the important details in one convenient location.
What items can be donated?
Not exactly everything can be given away willy-nilly. It’s important to know what can and can’t be donated when giving away unwanted goods to a charity or not-for-profit organisation. While each organisation will have their own rules and guidelines, below is a good rule of thumb for what can and can’t be donated, along with a few maybes.
Items you can donate:
- Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories
- Homewares, including manchester
- Children’s toys
- Books, CDs, DVDs, Bluray discs, video games, vinyl records and cassette tapes.
Items in the maybe list:
- Furniture
- Electrical goods
- White goods/ Appliances
Items you can’t donate:
- Ripped, torn, soiled or stained clothing/ / footwear
- Broken, ripped or stained furniture
- Cracked or broken homewares
- Stained bedding, including mattresses
- Used beauty and hygiene products
- Green waste
- Household waste
- Computers, printers and scanners
- Broken or ruined white goods/ Appliances
- Car parts
- Weapons
- Taxidermy animals
- Medicine
Donating Unwanted Goods & Furniture in Australia
Giving away your unwanted stuff is easy when you know what you’re doing. Take note of these handy tips for donating anything you no longer need.
Donating Clothes
Clothing that is either damaged or worn-out cannot be accepted for donation. However, some clothing retailers like H&M, Zara, and Upparel offer garment collection programs for clothing or textiles to be reused or recycled. There are also clothing swaps hosted in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra via The Clothing Exchange.
Smaller organisations may also need more specific types of clothing depending on their mission. Organisations like Fitted for Work take pre-loved women’s business attire which is in respectable condition to give to struggling female and gender diverse job seekers. When you donate to Fitted for Work, you’re also donating hope, financial security and professional representation on top of the clothes you are giving.
Another organisation that we love is Thread Together. The clothes you donate here help makes the lives of up to 3.4 million Australians who freeze throughout winter, have no shoes or even don’t own a clean pair of underwear. Thread Together is committed to providing a better life for those who need it most. Thread Together is currently only accepting new clothes from retailers and fashion brands but this doesn’t mean you can’t help. Be sure to check out their website for more information!
Furniture and Oversized Items
You have the most convenient organisations like the Red Cross, St Vincent De Paul and the Salvation Army for donating unwanted furniture items as they offer pick-up and delivery options across a variety of locations.
Sacred Heart Mission assists hundreds of people who are homeless, or don’t have access to shelter, food, care and support to live a fulfilling life.
Donating Unwanted Bras and Feminine Goods
While underwear is off the table, donating unwanted bras to The Uplift Project is a fantastic way to support women in need.
E-Waste and Mobile Phone Donations
Dig a little deeper to find organisations that address issues close to your heart as well! Asylum Seekers Centre is more than happy to take eligible laptops, tablets and phones to provide for people who are less fortunate and have fled their home country in hopes of a better life for themselves and their families.
But what about more hard-to-recycle products like batteries and ink and toner cartridges? Close the Loop has partnered with Planet Ark with support from leading electronics vendors like Officeworks and JB Hi-Fi to offer free and easy ways to recycle your cartridges. Simply find and visit any of their 4,000 collection boxes in participating retailers and look for the bright green box/signage.
Batteries are a slightly different story. Close the Loop will provide UL94 certified battery collection boxes that are perfect for secure storage and road transport. A door-to-door collection service is provided to pick up your collection boxes so you don’t have to worry about organising your transport to have collection boxes returned for battery recycling, no matter where you are in Australia. As a result of Close the Loop’s sophisticated take-back programs and recovery processes, these products are given new life by giving them back into the supply chain like their Enviroliner™ Pens or Tonerplas Asphalt.
If you just need to get rid of your electronics quick, do something good with your old mobile phones by donating them to someone in need via MobileMuster, the official not-for-profit Government accredited mobile phone recycling program.
Toy Donations
Toy Libraries Australia has around 280 locations around the country, making them one of the most accessible organisations you can make a difference to. Your donation here means that families will be brought together with quality time spent playing with children and alleviating some of the financial stress when providing children with toys. As long as they’re fully intact, functional and complete, Toy Libraries Australia will arrange for your donations to be borrowed by families, meaning that you’re making a positive impact on more than just one household.
Giving Away Unwanted Stuff For Free
One of the most straightforward ways to donate all types of unwanted items is through Ziilch. Their community-based platform allows users to simply snap a photo of what they’re getting rid of and connect interested parties together. Not only are you recycling your items to reduce landfill, but you’re also bringing a smile to the faces of people who really need them. Did you know that it’s free to use as well? Definitely check Ziilch out for a hassle-free way to donate your items without leaving your home!
If you have some old IKEA furniture you no longer need, then give it a second life via the IKEA buy-back service.
Givit is another great resource to discover items needed by charities around Australia to find a donation yourself. If you have a specific thing you want to donate, Givit will connect you with the correct charity or organisation via its online network.
Learn more about an organisation
Learning more about charities to donate to in Australia is super simple, thanks to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). According to them, there are more than 52,000 charities as of 2019, giving Aussies plenty of options for donating unwanted stuff. Simply search the ACNC charity register to find out everything you need to know about them.
Moving companies like Sydney-based Smoothmoves which specialise in home and furniture removal may also provide decluttering services, saving you the hassle of removing unwanted items yourself. Whether you’re looking to declutter before moving into a new home or after selling, decluttering with Smoothmoves can save you the hassle of finding space for all your junk later.
