Guidelines
- Extreme Heat Risk and Response Guidelines Webtool, opens in a new tab, Sports Medicine Australia, (September 2025). The updated 2025 SMA extreme heat risk and response guidelines, developed with the support of The University of Sydney Heat and Health Research Centre, build upon the policy issued in 2021 providing important improvements, including a freely accessible heat stress risk assessment webtool.
- Sports Heat Tool, opens in a new tab, University of Sydney, (accessed 8 January 2026). Website provides a convenient and freely accessible tool for assessing heat stress risk during sport and physical activity in Australia. It is based on the SMA 'Extreme Heat Risk and Response Guidelines'.
- ISO 20121:2024 - Event sustainability management systems — Requirements with guidance for use, opens in a new tab, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), (Edition 2, 2024). A resource to guide organisations toward practices that are more ethical, eco-friendly, and socially conscious. Highlighting new focuses on human and children's rights, along with event legacies, the standard showcases sustainability's transformative role in the industry. It offers various conformity demonstration methods, including self-declaration, supplier validation, and third-party certification, making sustainable practices attainable for all organizations, especially SMEs facing certification costs.
- Future Proofing Community Sport and Recreation Facilities: A roadmap for climate change management for the sport and recreation facilities sector, opens in a new tab, Sports Environment Alliance/Victorian Government, (2020). In future proofing our places of play, there are two key areas of opportunity: built environment and stakeholder engagement. How we design, build and then engage stakeholders to behave in alignment with how we operate our places of play must be focused on protecting our clean future. The roadmap will support your place of play to be nimble and resilient to climate change though commitment, mitigation and adaptation to our ever changing environmental conditions.
- Mitigating biodiversity impacts of sports events, opens in a new tab, International Union for Conservation of Nature, (2020). Wherever a new sports venue is built, or the refurbishment of an existing venue is undertaken, it is likely that biodiversity will be affected by that development, although the significance of impacts on biodiversity – both negative and positive – will vary enormously from sport to sport and location to location. Sports organisations, public authorities and financial institutions as well as those involved in the actual construction and decommissioning of venues all have a role to play in managing the range of impacts that sport venues may have on biodiversity. This includes implementing different measures that can be taken to mitigate any negative impacts and adopting approaches that contribute to biodiversity conservation. Moreover, with careful planning and design, new sports venues and the expansion of existing sites or temporary facilities can, in some cases, even contribute to an overall gain of biodiversity. This report offers in-depth guidance on how to integrate biodiversity considerations in the development of a new venue or a temporary facility, including five checklists covering all aspects from the early planning stage and site selection to the decommissioning.
- Sport and biodiversity, opens in a new tab, International Union for Conservation of Nature, (2018). Sport can have significant negative impacts on biodiversity, through the construction and use of sports venues and the staging of sporting events. Understanding and managing the potential negative impacts and opportunities for conservation is vital for ensuring that sports venues and sporting events deliver successfully both from the financial and operational standpoint. This guide is designed to help decision makers understand these potential impacts, and to present options for mitigating them, as well as for maximising opportunities to use sport as a way to promote and enhance biodiversity conservation.
- Best Practice Guidelines for functional open space, opens in a new tab, Connellan G, Smart Water Fund, Victoria, (2015). This document was sponsored by the Smart Water Fund (Victoria). There are many factors, in addition to water, that influence the functionality and sustainability of open spaces. This document focuses mainly on water related issues, but makes reference to various other contributing factors. Green open spaces provide a venue for many sports, recreational pursuits and physical activities that promote the health and wellbeing of participants. To deliver these benefits, open spaces must be sustained under a wide range of climatic conditions and usage patterns. These guidelines identify the key factors that contribute to the effective functioning of green open spaces and provides managers with the knowledge and tools to achieve the required performance, with optimum utilisation of resources, including labour, costs and water.
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