New World Sports analysis of Australian Sports Commission data reveals most expensive childhood activities
New data reveals the high price of putting your child through dance lessons – and which sports are a cheaper alternative. See the list.
Putting a child through dance lessons in their school years will cost parents more than $30,000, making it the most expensive sporting choice for Australian families, according to a new report.
Tennis is the next most expensive choice – at half that cost – while netball is the most affordable sport to play throughout childhood.
Analysis of data collected by the Australian Sports Commission also shows swimming is the most popular activity among Australian children aged up to 14, followed by soccer, gymnastics and basketball.
Two out of every five kids play organised sport at least once a week, including half of all 12 to 14 year olds.
However, one in five say they don’t do any sport at all because they “don’t like physical activity”.
The analysis by Net World Sports, using 2024 data, also found the cost of fees and equipment prevents about 15 per cent of children from participating.
In Adelaide, the energetic Pennington children are among the almost four per cent of Aussie kids who play sport at least six times a week.
“It’s a lot,” said mum Erica Pennington, whose sons Harris, 14, and twin boys Edward and Fergus, 12, play “everything under the sun”.
Between them the trio take part in tennis, football, cricket, basketball, touch football, water polo, swimming and athletics.
“Being outside and being active was always something we wanted to make sure they were doing,” Mrs Pennington, 45, said.
“It helps them with mental health, it helps them make connections.”
The family take part in a boot swap each year at the boys’ football clubs, but with the siblings so close in age “there aren’t many hand-me-downs,” Mrs Pennington said.
“Then you’ve got club fees, uniforms, bags, mouthguards, balls, other special equipment,” she said.
Being so active is hungry work and the family goes through a loaf of bread and two litres of milk a day.
The boys also make their way through a bag of oranges, 1kg of apples, up to 20 bananas and two boxes of cereal each week.
“We’re in a position where we can afford to have all those options but you can imagine it could be completely cost prohibitive for some families,” Mrs Pennington said.
In South Australia, the state government offers families $200 a year in vouchers to put towards the cost of sport or other activities.
However, only 44 per cent of eligible children – in reception to year 9 – are using them, the head of the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing Kylie Taylor has confirmed.
Ms Taylor said the government recently launched a $2.4m project to improve the take up rate, including a planned trial in the City of Salisbury council area.
Opposition education spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo said the government vouchers went “only a small way towards offsetting the total cost” of children’s sport.
“If the government is genuine it should increase the value … so they have a real impact,” she said.
The New World Sports report shows families whose children enrol in dance lessons are spending an average $30,840 between the ages of five and 17 to cover fees, equipment and costumes.
Those whose children play tennis are paying an average $15,590, followed by $14,784 for cricket.
The most affordable options are Australian rules football ($6992) and netball ($6870).
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Originally published as New World Sports analysis of Australian Sports Commission data reveals most expensive childhood activities
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