2011-12 Commonwealth Budget

With world economies still recovering from the global financial crisis and the impact of significant natural disasters affecting the Australian economy it is not surprising that sport did not feature heavily in the 2011-12 Commonwealth Budget announcement from Treasurer Wayne Swan.

From an Australian Sports Commission (ASC) perspective the Budget brought some welcome news, but overall we cannot forget that we are now only one year into a major sport reform package introduced by the Government last year which provided significant new funding into the sport sector.

Through the ASC the Government is currently providing a total of $325 million over four years as ongoing baseline funding for sport which includes new funding of $195 million. Already the first wave of new High Performance and Participation funding is flowing directly to sports, while a larger number of Australian athletes are benefiting from a significant increase in Direct Athlete Support.

Supporting participation

The Budget announcement confirmed the continuation of the Active After-school Communities (AASC) program in 2012.

This program continuation recognises the success of the program and the commitment and hard work of AASC staff, schools/outside school hours care services (OSHCS), community coaches and sporting organisations involved in the delivery of the program.

The big winners in this news are Australian primary school children who will continue to benefit from this nationally resourced and coordinated approach to engaging children in sport and other structured physical activity. Since it was established through the ASC in 2005 the AASC program has grown to reach around 190,000 children every school semester, in over 3,270 different school and OSHCS communities across Australia.

Growing multicultural sport 

Through the Budget announcements the Minister for Sport Mark Arbib and Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Kate Lundy also confirmed funding for a new program aimed at increasing opportunities for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to engage with sport and physical activity.

The Multicultural Youth Sports Partnership Program grants, which will be delivered by the ASC, are a key element of Australia’s multicultural youth program and will allow eligible organisations to apply for grants of up to $50,000 per annum to support the costs associated with sport.

Through this new initiative the Government is making available $900,000 over three years in funding straight into community groups and sporting organisations at a local level to ensure that young Australians have access to safe, fun and inclusive sporting opportunities.

All of us working in sport understand its value in being able to give our children a sense of belonging as well as bringing together people from all cultures and uniting them through values such as self-discipline and team work.

The road ahead

The Government’s sporting direction is now well and truly set and these new Budget commitments, on top of our current course, set us up for productive and rewarding times ahead. On behalf the ASC I look forward to working with all involved in Australian sport as we come together to make a great sports sector even better.

Until next time

Peter
Professor Peter Fricker OAM
Acting CEO
Australian Sports Commission