What is the ASC
Australian Sports Commission
Who we are
The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government. The roles and responsibilities of the ASC are laid out in the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989, and we are governed by a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Australian Government. The Board determines the ASC's overall direction, decides on actual allocation of resources and/or policy for delegated decisions and is accountable to the Minister for Sport and Parliament.
Since its establishment almost twenty years ago, the ASC has earned a national and international reputation for its innovative, quality programs and for the delivery of those programs. The world–renowned Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), a key component of the Commission, is a world-leading centre of excellence for the training and development of elite athletes and coaches.
The ASC comprises seven major divisions: the AIS; Sport Performance and Development; National Sports Programs; Community Sport; Corporate Services; Finance; and Commercial and Facilities. Administration of the ASC is based in Canberra at the AIS Bruce campus, with AIS operations located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. The ASC also has close to 60 Active After-school Communities offices in operation across Australia.
What we do
The ASC is Australia’s primary national sports administration and advisory agency, and the cornerstone of a wide-ranging sports system. On behalf of the Australian Government, the ASC plays a central leadership role in the development and operation of the Australian sports system; administering and funding innovative sport programs and providing leadership, co-ordination and support for the sport sector.
The ASC is recognised as a world leader in the development of elite sport and sports participation. Services are provided in a range of fields including elite coaching, sport sciences, sports information, sports management, sports facility management, sports education and resources, sports participation development and delivery of funding programs to national sporting organisations.
Australian Sports Commission mission
To enrich the lives of all Australians through sport
Australian Sports Commission vision
To continue to be recognised as the world leader in developing high performance and community sport
Australian Sports Commission values
In its relationship with its stakeholders, the ASC will:
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be responsive to their needs
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consult and endeavour to reach common understandings
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be open and transparent
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listen and communicate openly
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accept full responsibility for its decisions and actions.
Australian Sports Commission objectives
The ASC’s Strategic Plan 2006–2009 sets the direction, strategies and broad framework that allow the ASC to meet its statutory objectives and to achieve the outcomes the Australian Government requires. The ASC’s key objectives are to secure an effective national sports system that offers improved participation in quality sports activities by Australians, and to secure excellence in sports performance by Australians. Critical result areas to assess the success of the implementation of the Plan include:
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Sustained achievements in high-performance sport by Australian teams and individuals;
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Maintain the AIS as a world centre of excellence for the training and development of elite athletes and coaches;
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Growth in sports participation at the grass-roots level, particularly by youth, Indigenous Australians, women and people with disabilities;
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Increased opportunities for children to be physically active;
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Best-practice management and governance of sport within and through national sporting organisations;
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Increased adoption of values of fair play, self improvement and achievement;
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Recruitment, retention and, where appropriate, accreditation of people within the sports sector;
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Enhance Australia’s leadership in the international sports community;
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Improved economic efficiency within, and commercial return to, the ASC and national sporting organisations; and
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A drug-free sporting environment.
Sport in Australia
Sport is widely recognised as an integral part of Australian life, and the Australian Government provides funding for sport as an investment in the community in terms of national pride, improved health, economic activity and stronger communities. Our national sports system is a partnership between the Australian Government, represented by the ASC, national sporting organisations and their affiliated bodies, state and territory government sports agencies, and other groups.
National sporting organisations rely on us for support and advice that helps them to encourage more community participation in sport by making sports safer, more inviting and better managed so that all Australians – including those with disabilities, Indigenous Australians, juniors, women and girls, volunteers, coaches, officials and older people – have opportunities to be involved.
Our commitment to developing a strong base of grassroots involvement in sport, as well as providing opportunities for developing elite excellence, means the ASC:
- manages the internationally acclaimed AIS – the national centre of sports excellence for the training and development of elite athletes and teams. The AIS gives athletes access to expert coaching, world-leading sports science and sports medicine services, state-of-the-art sports facilities, and opportunities for travel, work and study.
- supports the development of the Australian sport system from the grassroots community level to high performance sport through our Sport Performance and Development division, which gives national sporting organisations access to advice and resources, including funding, policy development advice and management models, education, emerging information technologies and evaluation frameworks.
ASC funding is carefully structured and applied to develop sport from the grassroots to the elite level. The notion of both participation and elite pathways for athletes, coaches, officials and administrators lies at the heart of a sport’s effective planning processes. The ASC directs its funding to ensure these pathways are in place and effective in delivering increased participation and continued international sporting success.
The National Elite Sports Council (NESC) comprises the Directors of Australia’s key State, Territory and National Sports Institutes and Academies. Through the NESC the eight State and Territory Sports Institutes and Academies and the Australian Institute of Sport form a national network of principal providers of elite sport programs and services.
Both ASC and the NESC play significant roles in supporting and delivering high performance programs on behalf of Australian national and state sporting organisations.
