Olympic sports set for $500m government funding boost
The Albanese government will unveil a two-year funding package worth almost $500m that it hopes will satisfy sports executives and athletes demanding more support after the Paris Games and leading to Brisbane 2032.
The Albanese government will on Friday unveil a two-year Olympic funding package worth almost $500m that it hopes will satisfy sports executives and athletes demanding more support after the Paris Games and leading to Brisbane 2032.
About $283m will flow to elite athletes, coaches and support staff over the next two years, including a doubling in investment for Paralympic athletes.
That funding, Anthony Albanese claims, represents a 50 per cent increase from the previous government’s high performance funding in 2021-22 for and immediately after the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
The new investments are in addition to $205.6m previously announced for the next two years in grant funding, free support services and subsidised access to the Australian Institute of Sport facilities for the Olympic sports and athletes.
Total funding of about $489m for the two years includes $54.9m in additional Paralympic funding – the biggest Paralympic spend by an Australian government – and more direct payments and grants to athletes.
Cash-strapped national sporting organisations have been calling for more government money to offset high travel and preparation costs after Covid and maintain Australia’s standing in the Olympic medal tally as the nation prepares to host the Games in eight years.
The new government funding includes an increase of $17.6m to the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants (dAIS) program over the two years, adding to the $14.03m being paid directly to athletes each year by the government under previous arrangements.
The Prime Minister and Sports Minister Anika Wells will announce the package in Canberra on Friday.
“We’re cheering on all our athletes heading to Paris. We are so proud of them and my government is backing Aussie athletes with record funding,” Mr Albanese said.
Paralympic Australia president Alison Creagh called the new investment a “monumental generational change” that would have an “immense” impact.
“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 in 2032.”
Executives and leaders of the national Olympic sports will be informed about the money on Friday, after several years of calling for funding to increase as inflation added to already spirally costs to help athletes qualify for the Olympics and compete at global events.
At the same time, money from sponsors and other corporate sources has dried up as businesses increasingly concentrate sponsorship efforts on the high-rating winter football codes and cricket.
A notable exception has been billionaire Gina Rinehart, who has been providing about $10m in annual support to swimming, rowing, volleyball and artistic swimming – mostly in direct funding to athletes in a private program outside the government sports funding mechanism.
The Olympic sports have also been critical of Mr Albanese’s $240m pledge to help build a stadium in Hobart for the AFL, the country’s richest code, and the prospect of $600m funding for a future NRL team in Papua New Guinea.
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said in an address to the National Press Club last year that Australian sport was in danger of failing the nation’s expectations unless it received a $2bn funding injection over 10 years, which would be vital in the lead-up to Brisbane 2032.
AOC president Ian Chesterman backed Friday’s funding announcement, saying: “We have said many times that a successful home Games needs a successful home team, so this injection of funds at this time is fundamentally important to that outcome.
“The additional money direct to the sports is very good news, while the lift in dAIS 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.”
Ms Wells said the new funding brings the Albanese government’s announcements in the current budget cycle to $753.1m for sport, including a $249.7m investment to revitalise the Australian Institute of Sport campus in Canberra.
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