Sport Australia is reviewing its participation investment approach to ensure alignment with the new Sport Australia strategy and to include the additional funding packages announced during the recent Federal Budget. While change is anticipated, funding for 2018-19 will remain at current levels.
For the first six months Sport Australia will pay 50 per cent of the investment allocation, aligned to the participation investment categorisation framework. This will be considered ‘core funding’ and is provided to support national sporting organisations (NSOs) to meet Sport Australia compliance expectations in areas such as governance, finance, participation and safe sport.
Leading up to January 2019, Sport Australia will begin transitioning into the new investment framework. Future allocations will include ‘impact funding’ which will be invested to drive outcomes in focus areas such as increased levels of physical activity, enhanced workforce capability and business capability.
Confirmation of the core and impact investment approach will be provided later this year and NSOs will be supported as we transition into the new framework. The new participation investment framework will be introduced in full in July 2019.
Core investment is provided to support our long-term partners to meet Sport Australia expectations in the key business areas of governance and integrity, finance and reporting, participation products and services and safe sport policy and practice.
Impact investment is provided across the sport and physical activity sector to achieve outcomes which facilitate positive change. Change must be tangible, measurable and contribute towards one or more of Sport Australia’s impact investment focus areas.
Following the release of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) High Performance Strategy and a new HP Investment Framework, the AIS have now provided an update to sports on their investment profile. The investment shifts have been developed in line with the National Institute Network (NIN) objectives as we collectively strive to focus resources on the areas that are most likely going to contribute to our HP system targets and strategic objectives.
The AIS has deliberately expedited the process well ahead of 30 June 2019 to provide sports with funding advice as early as possible. This has also allowed us to provide funding increases from 1 January 2019 to maximise impact in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics/Paralympics, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics/Paralympics, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and to give sports a head start on HP pathway programs.
In addition the AIS is providing longer term funding commitments to priority sports to give them more stability and certainty to plan ahead.
Final 2018-19 baseline allocations are provided in the investment allocation outlined below.