Gift a virtual bag

Your contribution goes a long way in providing a Red Bag to someone in need.

Fill a Red Bag

Collect a Red Bag from one of our selected locations and fill it with Christmas goodies.

Gift your time

Volunteer at our Charity gift wrapping station at Westfield Chermside or pack Red Bags.

Fill a Red Bag with joy this Christmas

How does it work?

1. Collect your bags

From Monday 26 October, collect a Red Bag or box from a registered Storage King location or WMQ service.

2. Fill your bags

Fill your bag full of Christmas essentials and goodies, or purchase a ‘virtual bag’ (donate the cost of a bag).
Need inspiration? Dowload the shopping list. 

3. Return your bags

Drop your filled bags back to a registered Storage King location by Wednesday 18 November.

4. Red Bags are collected

Red Bags are then picked up from all Storage King locations and taken to our warehouse.

5. Checked or re-packed

Our group of amazing corporate volunteers check all bags and repack if needed. We'll make sure every bag has an equal amount of essentials and goodies for Queenslanders in need. Click here to volunteer.

6. Distribution to community

From Monday 1 December, Red Bags are distributed through several WMQ services throughout the Christmas period, including our Emergency Relief Hub in Fortitude Valley, bringing hope and joy to those who need it most.

Queensland Council of Social Service’s (QCOSS)
2025 Living Affordability Report

Among responses to QCOSS’ biannual Cost-of-Living Survey, housing, energy bills, food and transport were the leading categories of increased household costs.

• Single parents and couples with children face the largest deficits, driven by rent as well as multiple expenses rising faster than income or support payments. 
• Households are increasingly skipping meals and reducing food quality to prioritise other essentials. 
• Rent consumed between 36 and 48 per cent of household incomes, far above the benchmark of 30 per cent considered affordable. 
• Falling bulk-billing rates and rising out-of pocket costs mean households are delaying or forgoing medical care to prioritise housing, food and debt repayments. 
• Households are struggling to keep up with repayments, credit card debt and bills arrears. Many are borrowing to cover weekly expenses for essential costs, leading to a debt cycle. Households are reporting high levels of anxiety and financial distress. 
• The rising costs of fuel was reported by households as being a major barrier for transport, with families reducing vehicle related travel to avoid this expense with impacts on households with children. 

2024 Foodbank Hunger Report

• Close to 700,000 Queenslanders are suffering through lack of healthy and nutritious food.
• 1 in 5 Queensland households have experienced severe food insecurity in the last 12 months, meaning they are reducing serving sizes of meals or skipping eating.
• Awareness of food relief support in Queensland is growing with 47% of food insecure households knowing where to seek food relief support in the past 12 months compared to 36% in 2023.

Poverty in Australia 2026: Who is affected

• Poverty in Australia has risen to 3.7 million people, up from 3.3 million in the previous report.
• 757,000 children live below the poverty line.
• Households whose highest income-earner was a woman had almost twice the level of poverty (20% compared with 11% for those whose highest income earner was male).