More than 1000 athletes to benefit from revolutionary retirement scheme by 2032 Brisbane Olympics
Australian Olympic chiefs say they hope a new scheme will ease the financial burden on athletes and allow more to complete at multiple games. Find out full details here.
Cash-strapped athletes who represent Australia at future Olympic Games, up to and including Brisbane 2032, will be entitled to never before offered retirement funds worth up to $64,000 under a radical new $50 million funding scheme unveiled by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
The scheme will also include one-off cash payments of $5000 to all athletes selected for the Olympics, as well as grants of $10,000 to female athletes who return to elite sport after giving birth.
The payments will apply to both Summer and Winter Olympians and will kick off in two months at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina and continue through to Brisbane 2032.
Australian taxpayers won’t have to contribute a single cent for the scheme because it will all be covered by the Australian Olympic Foundation (AOF).
The AOF was set up prior to the Sydney 2000 Olympics so that AOC would be financially independent of the government. Through its own investments, the AOF now has net assets of around $200 million, which has used to fund Olympic teams, including medal incentives, but this new announcement is by far its most significant funding plan.
AOC President Ian Chesterman said the funding announcement was a recognition of the financial burdens athletes often undertake for the honour of representing Australia at the Olympics.
“Olympians don’t do it for the money, but there’s a financial sacrifice involved,” Chesterman said.
“Many athletes get to the end of their careers and have very little financially and this contribution will make a difference to their retirement.
“They could use this money to go towards their home, their education, their superannuation or to support their families.”
The AOC estimates that around 1300 athletes will benefit from the new funding scheme by the end of the Brisbane Games.
Existing schemes, such as the medal incentive fund in which high-performing athletes can pocket up to $20,000 for gold, silver and bronze medals, will continue unaffected.
Cycling legend Anna Meares, the current chef de mission of the Australian team for the Summer Games, said she hoped the new funding scheme would incentivise athletes to compete at multiple Games.
“70 per cent of our Summer Olympians only go to one Games, so it’s clear – it is not easy to be an Olympian and it is even harder to have longevity as an Olympian,” Meares said.
“It took me until my third Games cycle to build a profile and confidence to be backed financially. And now the AOC is backing every Olympian from the get-go.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIAN RETIREMENT GRANT
A retirement grant of $32,000 for athletes who compete at Milano Cortina 2026, Los Angeles 2028, French Alps 2030, and Brisbane 2032 are eligible to apply.
Athletes who compete at two Summer of two Winter Olympics will be eligible for $64,000
The payments will commence 16 years after they competed at the Olympics and will be paid in annual instalments of $8,000. For example, an athlete competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games would be eligible to receive $8000 payments in 2042, 2043, 2044, 2045.
The assessment criteria will include a means testing threshold (amount TBC).
Total cost: $42 million
RETURN TO OLYMPIC SPORT GRANT
Female Olympians who give birth after 11 December 2025 and return to high performance sport will receive a grant of $10,000, which will increase by 2.5% from 2027 through to 2032 to reflect increase in CPI.
There is no requirement to be selected for a future Games, however a commitment to return to high performance sport is required.
Athletes can receive the grants multiple times for multiple births.
Payments will be payable in the year of application.
Cost: $1.1 million
TEAM SELECTION PAYMENTS
Australian athletes will be eligible to receive a Team Selection Payment of $5,000 from the AOC for attending the Games from Milano Cortina 2026 onwards (payable after the Games)
Cost: $7.6 million
Originally published as More than 1000 athletes to benefit from revolutionary retirement scheme by 2032 Brisbane Olympics
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