New Play Well Affiliate grants named to help get Australians moving

New projects aimed at getting kids moving, encouraging veterans to play golf, improving skate facilities and creating guidelines for safer youth sport are among the successful programs selected for the next round of the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) Play Well Affiliate Grants.  

Eight organisations have received Play Well Affiliate Grants. The grants are available to Play Well Affiliate Program Members, who are national peak organisations outside the traditional NSO and NSOD structure that create or support more opportunities for Australians to be active and participate in sport. 

One of the successful projects is Fairways to Resilience run by the PGA of Australia, which links veterans with local golf clubs. The PGA of Australia’s pilot of this program improved veterans’ mental wellbeing, self-esteem, and physical health.  

The ASC grant will support a national rollout, which PGA of Australia Membership General Manager Geoff Stewart believes will be a powerful catalyst for social connection. 

"Golf is uniquely positioned to help veterans who experience chronic pain or physical injury, offering a low-impact, highly adaptable way to stay active. But just as importantly, the program fosters regular social interaction and teamwork, helping veterans break through isolation to build lasting peer networks and a true sense of belonging."   

Another successful recipient, AUSActive, received funding to expand its Million Moves program into schools, building on their 2025 Play Well Affiliate Grant which supported a campaign in regional Australia.  

Motivated by the statistic that 75 per cent of Australians aren't moving enough, the initiative aims to encourage Australians to build more movement into their daily lives. 

Equating one minute with one move, the message is that all movement counts; big or small, seated or standing, high or low impact. 

In regional New South Wales and Victoria, the 2025 campaign recorded over two million moves by participants ranging from students to centenarians, with a focus on women and girls and people living with disability.  

AUSActive CEO Ken Griffin said the 2026 grant would help increase participation in school-aged children, while also  building local capability to deliver more accessible, inclusive and welcoming physical activity opportunities year-round. 

“We see this investment as an important step towards helping more Australians experience the physical, mental and social benefits of being active,” Griffin said. 

Congratulations to the successful Play Well Affiliate grant recipients: 

• School Sport Australia Incorporated: SSA Inclusion Project Implementation 
• The Y Australia: Active OSHC 
• Royal Life Saving Society Australia - Strengthening Frontline Leadership at Australian Aquatic & Leisure Facilities 
• AUSactive Limited: Igniting a National Movement: Million Moves with Schools 
• Australian Mass Participation Sports Event Alliance Limited (AMPSEA) - National School Mass Participation Initiative 
• Parks & Leisure Australia: Shred Ready - Developing a Best Practice Guide for Planning, Designing, Building and Activating Skate Sport Facilities by the Sector for the Sector 
• PGA of Australia: Fairways to Resilience 
• Sports Medicine Australia: Australian Guidelines for Safer Youth Sport