Federal Government

Australian Sports Commission (ASC)

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) funds and supports national sporting organisations (NSOs) to coordinate and deliver sport participation and development programs to increase the participation and quality of sport for all. Current practice reflects the move from a targeted programs approach to a more inclusive approach to developing sporting opportunities for under-represented population groups including First Nations Australians.

• Share a Yarn, (accessed 13 August 2025). This initiative sees elite athletes connect with respected First Nations mentors who help them navigate life as a First Nations high-performance athlete, deepen their cultural connectedness and become advocates within their own sport. Throughout the year athletes will meet with their mentors online, attend monthly storytelling sessions and attend a cultural connection camp at the AIS campus in Canberra in October.
• Share a Yarn Map, (accessed 13 August 2025). A resource for high performance sport; to facilitate learning, and a respect for the Traditional Owners of the land in which the system operates and athletes train and compete. The map aids connection to land, community, sport and one another, for performance and wellbeing outcomes.
• Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games. A a selection of games and activities from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies all around Australia. It provides an opportunity to learn about, appreciate and experience aspects of First Nations' culture. Approval was sought from the traditional owners of the games or from a representative Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation. When the games are used as part of school or sporting program it is recommended that local elders and First Nations groups are informed of plans and invited to participate in some way.
• Safe and Inclusive Sport: First Nations Australians, (accessed 13 August 2025). To promote more inclusive sport practices in our community, the ASC have identified a variety of easy-to-use tools and resources to help sports and clubs understand, recognise, and celebrate inclusion and diversity.
• Safe and Inclusive Sport: Anti-racism, (accessed 13 August 2025). Explore a range of resources, courses, videos and podcasts and learn from the experiences of organisations who are leading the charge to remove racism from sport.

Research projects

• The AusPlay Survey (AusPlay) is a large scale national population tracking survey funded and led by the Australian Sports Commission that tracks Australian sport and physical recreation participation behaviours to help inform investment, policy and sport delivery. Updated data is released twice per year (April and October). AusPlay collects data on Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander origin for survey participants over 18 years of age. For children the survey includes the Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander origin of the parent interviewed.
• Indigenous Australians' Participation in Sports and Physical Activities: Part 2, Qualitative research, ORC International for the Australian Sports Commission, (March 2018). The research affirms the central role of sport and physical activity within Indigenous communities and the importance of sporting clubs and organisations to facilitate these opportunities. Recommendations include ensuring that programs are culturally inclusive and respectful, reducing costs, and increasing opportunities which are available within remote and some regional areas.
• Indigenous Australians' Participation in Sports and Physical Activities: Part 1, Literature and AusPlay data review, ORC International for the Australian Sports Commission, (March 2017). The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) engaged ORC International to conduct a research project on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s participation in sport and physical activities. The study was designed to explore Indigenous Australians’ sports participation behaviour and provide the ASC with a deeper understanding of the drivers of that behaviour. Analyses were performed on data produced by the AusPlay survey and recent literature.
• The Impact of Indigenous Community Sports Programs: The Case of Surfing, Dr. Steven Rynne, Dr. Tony Rossi, Australian Sports Commission and University of Queensland, (2012). This paper attempts to describe and discuss the experiences of some individuals and their communities in site-specific surfing programs. The most significant finding of this research related to the potential for surfing programs to connect participants so they could learn and develop in a variety of meaningful ways. Surf programs provided a way for Indigenous people to (re)connect with country, foster connections between participants and program providers, form bonds with other Indigenous children and unite community members to reinforce and pass on aspects of culture.
• Recommendations for the development and transition of Indigenous athletes into high performance programs - 2011, Australian Sports Commission, (2011). The review presented in this document was conducted to detail and critique the Indigenous sport programs supported and delivered through the NTID program. Aims included to evaluate the effectiveness of these Indigenous-centric programs in identifying and supporting the development of Indigenous athletes, as well as to provide recommendations to improve high performance Indigenous programs. In addition, a comparative analysis was conducted with the AFL to identify what it does in relation to the identification and development of Indigenous athletes.
• Indigenous Sport Program – Evaluation Report - 2009, Small Candle Consulting, (August 2009). The Australian Sports Commission managed and administered the Indigenous Sport Program (ISP), in financial partnership with other Commonwealth agencies, State and Territory Departments of Sport and Recreation (SDSR), and the mainstream sporting industry from 1993 until 2011.

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

• ASC Reconciliation Action Plan 2022-2024 [Innovate]

Sport Integrity Australia

Sport Integrity Australia, opens in a new tab is the Australian Government agency responsible for safeguarding the integrity of sport. Their role is to provide advice and assistance to counter the use of prohibited substances and methods in sport; abuse of children and other persons in a sporting environment; manipulation of sporting competitions; and failure to protect members of sporting organisations and other persons in a sporting environment from bullying, intimidation, discrimination or harassment.

• Safeguarding hotline, opens in a new tab. Sport Integrity Australia have implemented a range of policies, such as a confidential reporting hotline, aimed at safeguarding participants at all levels from racial abuse. The hotline - 1800 161 361 - has been created for members to share their story about issues they have experienced in sport, which includes wider racial and cultural issues in sport. It operates from 7am-7pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.