The Federal Government has splashed the cash in this year's Budget, principally by way of headline-grabbing tax cuts and infrastructure expenditure, but sport has been the beneficiary of the largesse also.
Sports Minister, Senator Bridget McKenzie, has announced a $385.4 million package to fund sport in communities and schools and to support elite athletes before, during and after their careers. It should be noted that not all of this $385.4 million funding is 'new', but includes some previously announced allocations and is spread over four years.
A key beneficiary of new funding is an athlete wellbeing program for $54 million over two years that will help prepare elite athletes for life “before, during and after” their sporting careers. The athletes will benefit from improved access to coaches, sports clinicians, physical and mental health, and community engagement.
The Government has also allocated another $41 million until December 2020 into the Sporting Schools program where national sporting organisations (NSOs), such as FFA, partner with schools able to apply for funding that helps them introduce students to sport and physical activity via elite athletes and sporting teams. More than 6,000 primary and high schools have been assisted through this program so far.
The Community Sports Infrastructure program which provides grants of up to $500,000 to community sporting organisations was also included in the Budget announcement with total funding of $42.5 million. Senator McKenzie says that the first two rounds of the program have already delivered over 500 projects in local community sporting facilities.
Governments past and present have always acknowledged sport's role in improving health outcomes, but they also recognise that sport has a big part to play in promoting
social inclusion. Grants will be available to NSOs, local community organisations and community groups that help “create a stronger, more cohesive Australia” that help migrants and refugees become established, particularly in regional areas.
The total amount allocated for this measure is $23.6 million for the next two financial years, which also includes funds to extend the Big Issue Street Soccer program.
Another focus of the announcements are measures to help girls in sport and people with disability to access sport.
A total of $12 million has been given to encourage more grassroots participation by girls in tennis and netball. This will include funding for NT Netball to take part in the national netball league.
Sporting events have been supported with $5.2 million to go to the INAS Global Games in Brisbane in October 2019 that are for young people with intellectual disability, $7.7 million to support the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia next year, and $0.3 million to the Australian Minifootball Federation for the 2019 World Cup in Perth.
Next year's Paralympic team will receive $8 million to help prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, and Essendon AFL club will receive $4 million to construct new facilities for para-athletes at their training base in Essendon.
Funding of $33 million has been allocated to establish a new single national sports integrity agency, that has already been announced, known as Sport Integrity Australia, as well as a National Sports Tribunal that will strengthen anti-doping, criminal intelligence and law enforcement capabilities to combat present and emerging threats from doping, match-fixing, illegal betting and organised crime and corruption.
For further information, see the Budget papers.