Olympic and Paralympic sports to be flooded with record $283 million funding boost

Impoverished Olympians and Paralympians will have their campaigns fast-tracked, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese set to announce a record quarter-of-a-billion-dollar funding boost.

Australian Olympic and Paralympic sports are set for a huge funding boost.

Called out in the past for showing up to the biggest feasts then slipping out the back door when the bill arrives, the Federal Government has reached into its pocket and pulled out a wad of cash for Australia’s impoverished Olympians and Paralympians.

Four weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics, the Labor government is announcing a $283 million war chest to fund high performance over the next two years.

It is an eye-watering amount that smashes all the previous records for Australia’s needy Olympic and Paralympic teams and will allow sporting bodies to start fast-tracking plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and their longer-term pathway programs for Brisbane 2032.

“We’re cheering on all our athletes heading to Paris,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“We are so proud of them and my government is backing Aussie athletes with record funding.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and injured Matildas star Sam Kerr. Picture: FIFA/Getty Images

Exceeding more than a quarter of a billion bucks, the loot will be used to fund elite athletes, coaches and support staff in sports that usually only get the leftover crumbs from the vast sums doled out to the professional codes.

Labor said the investment represented a 50 per cent increase on the previous government’s high-performance funding before the Tokyo Games and doubled the kick-in for Paralympic sports.

The extra booty is the cherry on top to the $102.8 million annual grant funding to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) facilities that national sporting organisations and high-performance athletes get access to.

“This is the biggest investment any government has made in our Olympic and Paralympic sports and will help athletes achieve glory on world stages,” Sport Minister Anika Wells said.

“Today’s commitment brings the Albanese Government’s announcements in this Budget to $753.1 million for sport, including the $249.7 million investment to revitalise the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) campus in Canberra.

“We have also committed $200 million to the Play Our Way fund, the biggest infrastructure program ever for women and girls sport, and invested more than $20 million in the Netball World Cup and Women’s Asian Cup.”

Paralympic athletes Gordon Allen, Lauren Parker, Tristan Knowles, and Amanda Reid. Picture: Tim Hunter

Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman said the injection of funds was vital to future success, particularly in Brisbane 2032

“The additional money direct to the sports is very good news while the lift in dAIS (Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants) funding to cover more athletes is critical to giving them the confidence that they can focus on putting in the huge amount of work that is necessary to represent Australia on the international stage,” Chesterman said.

“This funding increase is a very important start to help our athletes be their best, inspire the generations to come and to build a strong sports system to support them all.”

Paralympic Australia president Alison Creagh said the record investment would “bring about monumental generational change for Para-sport in Australia.”

“Since 2000, Australia’s investment in Para-sport has fallen well behind many of our rivals, allowing them to catch up,” Creagh said.

“This funding marks a much-needed reset, positioning Australia to regain its competitive edge in time for the Paralympic Games in 2028 and our Games at home in 2032.”

The windfall for comes a year after AOC chief executive Matt Carroll warned smaller, traditional sports were heading towards a financial cliff because of a $2 billion reduction in Federal funding.

The former boss of Australian rugby and soccer, Carroll called for an end to the practice of politicians handing out massive sums of money to already mega-rich professional sports while ignoring the rest.

Some of the poorest sports said Australian athletes were in danger of missing out on Paris because they couldn’t afford to attend overseas qualifying events, prompting the government to unveil a $20 million rescue package just in the nick of time.

That was last year and, privately, some sports have been grumbling about the lack of any extra funding announcements since.

They will be told on Friday that another stash of public money has been found.

The chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee, Matt Carroll. Picture: NCA NewsWire

The extra money includes:

● An increase of $17 million to the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants (dAIS) program to address cost of living pressures for athletes;

● Access to more domestic and international competitions to regularly compete against the world’s best in preparation for major sporting events;

● Extra training, wellbeing and preparation support, including access to world-leading coaches and performance support staff;

● $54 million in additional funding for Paralympic sport.

“We’re giving our future Olympic and Paralympic teams what they need to succeed with upgraded training facilities, the best coaching and support staff and cost-of-living assistance,” Wells said.

“We’ll all be cheering on the green and gold in a few weeks when Paris 24 begins and this funding again proves the Albanese Government is committed to sport – from playground to podium.”