To be eligible to apply for the Sport Australia Participation Grant Program, the Primary grant applicant must meet the following criteria:

The entity must:

• have been operating with a not-for-profit status for at least 12 months.
• not be (and ensure that any Partner organisation is not), an organisation named by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (www.nationalredress.gov.au), on its list of institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme”.
• have delivery reach through member associations and/or partnerships in at least three Australian states or territories.

Stream 1 applicants must be:

• a national physical activity organisation which supports the provision of sport and physical activity (not national sporting organisation (NSOs), national sporting organisations for people with a disability (NSODs) or their member organisations)
• A National/Peak Non-Government Organisation (NGO)*

Stream 2 applicants must be:

• a Sport Australia recognised NSO or NSOD. A list of recognised NSO/NSOD can be found here.

Stream 3 applicants must be:

• a Sport Australia recognised NSO or NSOD.
• feature a partnership to deliver a project in conjunction with another recognised NSO/NSOD.

*An NGO is defined as an organisation which is neither a government department nor a business operating for profit.

Clubs and state sporting organisations (SSOs) are not eligible to be a Primary grant applicant. Sport Australia is seeking national delivery coverage for the Program. Therefore all Primary grant applicants must be national bodies.

Clubs and SSOs can partner with eligible bodies as Partner organisations or delivery partners.

A Partner organisation is an organisation that supports the Grantee on delivering Project outcomes.

• Any organisations wishing to partner with an eligible organisation must not be named by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (www.nationalredress.gov.au) on its list of “Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme”.

Before applying for the Sport Australia Participation Grant Program, please read the Guidelines carefully to ensure you understand the relevant requirements and expectations of this grant.

Note: Only one application per Primary grant applicant per Stream will be eligible for submission.

To apply, you must:

• submit an online application form via SmartyGrants
• provide all the information that we need to assess your application
• consider all eligibility and selection criteria, ensuring you have addressed the relevant criteria.

The Sport Australia Participation Grants Program Guidelines set out the funding requirements for the Participation Grant Program.

Refer to Section 10 of the Sport Australia Participation Grants Program Guidelines to ensure you understand the selection criteria which applications will be assessed against.

All applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their grant application.

Successful applicants must enter into a funding agreement with Sport Australia. The type of funding agreement will depend on the size and complexity of your project.

You will have 30 days from the date of a written offer to execute a funding agreement with Sport Australia (‘execute’ means both you and the Sport Australia have signed the agreement). The offer may lapse if both parties do not execute the grant agreement within this time. In certain circumstances, we may extend this period.

You are not eligible to apply as a Primary grant applicant if you are a:

• for-profit organisation
• Regional or State/ Territory Association (applications can be developed in partnership with NSO)
• local club
• local council
• organisation that has been operating with a Not-for-Profit status for less than 12 months
• a individual, partnership or trust
• school or university
• Commonwealth, state or territory government agency or body (including government business enterprises).

Organisations eligible under these Guidelines that received funding for a project through the 2018-19 and 2019-20 Move It AUS - Participation grant program, may also apply for funding under the relevant Stream of this Program. Such applications will be assessed in accordance with these Guidelines, however, where the proposed Project is related to the previously funded Project, the applicant must also demonstrate significant advancement on its project outcomes.

Expenses that are required to support the delivery of the project and can demonstrate achievement against the selection criteria. This may include:

• training or accreditation required for coaches and/instructors to deliver a program
• transport for participants to and from a program
• venue or facility hire for the duration of a program
• development of new sport or physical activity programs that address barriers to participation
• assets (not capital) e.g. sports equipment, required to deliver the program
• marketing and educational material to promote the project, engage and inform participants
• staff costs, including wages, to administer the program.

The Program aims to support new or modify or extend existing projects which:

• address barriers to sport and physical activity, noting that COVID-19 has impacted many Australians
• increase participation in sport and physical activity through the provision of inclusive and high-quality sport and physical activity experiences
• build awareness of the benefits of being active through sport and physical activity.

To be eligible for funding, your Project must implement initiatives which, increase the activity level of Australians, particularly people who are less active.

Examples of eligible Projects and activities include, but are not limited to:

• projects or programs that provide more opportunities for all Australians to participate (addressing barriers to sport and physical activity)
• projects or programs that improve the connection between school and local community activities
• projects or programs that encourage volunteer involvement in the sport or physical activity (training and education solutions.

The expenditure of grant funds is restricted to activities directly related to the Project as specified in the Funding Agreement.

Examples of Projects and activities which are not eligible for funding include, but are not limited to:

• infrastructure related projects
• stand-alone, one off events that are not linked to a longer project,
• stand-alone digital projects with no connection to a physical delivery product,
• catering
• uniforms
• indirect research costs
• established projects that are already operating (and do not offer increased scope, reach or scale)
• ongoing operational costs beyond the life of the Project
• high performance sport (including elite and representative sport),
• purchase of capital assets (e.g. buildings, motor capital vehicles, furniture, with a cost of more than $2,000)
• requests for retrospective funding
• international travel.

Potential funding amounts are between $50,000 and $250,000 (Stream 1) or between $50,000 and $450,000 (Streams 2 and 3).

The minimum grant amount is $50,000.

Applications must be submitted by a single eligible organisation.

However, Sport Australia encourages Primary grant applicants to consider partnering with other organisations (including those not eligible to be a Primary grant applicant) to enhance the delivery of the project.

There is no limit to the number of times an organisation can be nominated as partner of Primary grant applicant(s) for the purpose of the Program.

Partner organisations may assist with:

• providing expertise in the needs of specific target markets and/or the development of appropriate physical activity programs
• the education of and communication to stakeholders
• supporting the delivery, resourcing, or providing a funding contribution of the Project
• monitoring, evaluating and reporting Project outputs and outcomes.

Sport Australia will be seeking national delivery coverage across the total grant pool and will consider the geographical reach and location of Projects as part of the application assessment process.

All applicants will be required to include a list of locations at which Project delivery will occur in their application.

As part of the application assessment process, Sport Australia may seek further information from applicants regarding the location of their Project delivery, including whether there is potential for the applicant to expand or modify their Project location, in order to achieve improved national coverage and benefit for the Program.

No. The application process is competitive and it is anticipated that requests for funding may be greater than the total available funding pool.

Successful applications will be those which best meet the grant program objectives and can demonstrate impact, strategic value and capacity to deliver projects in response to the selection criteria.

No. Successful applicants are not guaranteed to receive the full amount of funding requested.

Sport Australia reserves the right to recommend grant amounts which may differ from the amount requested.

Projects can commence after a funding agreement has been executed. Projects must be completed within the timeframe specified in the funding agreement.

• Progress reports
• Program evaluation
• End of project report
• Financial and audit report.

Ad-hoc reports may be required for the Project. This may include reports to confirm progress, or to explain any significant delays or difficulties in completing the Project.

Sport Australia staff are available to assist you in understanding the purpose of the grant, application requirements, submitting your application and technical difficulties. Please contact Sport Australia at participationgrants@ausport.gov.au.

Sport Australia cannot review application drafts.

Sport Australia and the SPRINTER Group and working to finalise the evaluation toolkit and will distribute to recipients shortly. It is anticipated that the toolkit will be finalised for distribution by mid-March 2022.

The delivery of questions for the evaluation will be determined by the type of project you are delivering and who the end users of the project will be.

The use of self-administered surveys will be suitable for projects engaging the participant directly. The use of interviews will be suitable for projects that build capacity, capability or engage participants with different needs.

The SPRINTER Group will be available to advise the best way to delivery the evaluation questions.

Sport Australia collects and stores data according to the ASC Privacy Policy.  Sport Australia holds information collected on electronic systems, and where appropriate in paper format. Sport Australia has an electronic documents and records management system that complies with government and archival standards and legislation.

You can view further information on the ASC Privacy Policy here.

We have provided two examples of previously funded participation programs in the case study tab.

A project that can meet the program objectives and requirements outlined in the Program guidelines and can be delivered in a minimum of three Australian States and Territories will be considered eligible.

The Program is seeking to support projects that can provide more opportunities for all Australian to participate in sport and physical activity.

Resources can be created to support a program but there must be a participation activity delivered.

No, the maximum funding available to eligible organisations for a single project is $450K.

Only the primary grant applicant will be granted funds to deliver the project.

The downloaded document will have a word count que, informing applicants of how many available words remaining.

Applicants can also use Word or Google Docs to develop responses to the selection criteria, use the word count and then copy and paste into their application form.

Organisations must complete their projects within 12 months of signing their funding agreement.

Any organisations wishing to partner with an eligible organisation must not be named by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (www.nationalredress.gov.au) on its list of “Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme”.

Organisations must complete their projects within 12 months of signing their funding agreement.

The grant program will end, and projects must be completed by 31 December 2022.

The maximum funding available to eligible organisations for a single project is $250,000 for stream 1, Physical activity organisations and $450,000 for stream 2 and 3, NSO and NSODs.

Projects that benefit high performance sport, including elite and high performance /national representation are ineligible for the Participation Grant Program.

All applications will initially be assessed against the eligibility criteria by Sport Australia. All eligible applications will proceed to the Assessment Panel stage, where they will be assessed within their nominated Stream. The Assessment Panel, comprising Sport Australia and industry experts, will assess applications based on how well they meet the selection criteria and how they compare to other applications.

A moderation panel, comprising of Sport Australia and State and Territory Department representatives will consider the assessment panel recommendations and provide a list of projects to the grant approver for consideration.

The Grantee will be required to complete their own evaluation for the funded project against its objectives and outcomes.

The evaluation must include, but is not limited to:

• reach of the project including target populations
• number of participants engaged
• number of locations where the project was delivered
• key learnings.

Sport Australia will discuss the requirements and obligations for Grantees to participate in a broader grant program evaluation during the draft Agreement stage.

Sport Australia may appoint an independent evaluation to support his work.

Yes, organisations can submit one application per stream they are eligible for and be a partner on another.

By submitting an application, the organisation is considered the Primary grant applicant and will be responsible for managing the terms in the funding Agreement for the project.

Partner organisations will not enter into a funding Agreement with Sport Australia, and the relationship to deliver the agreed project objectives will be the responsibility of the Primary grant applicant to manage.

The purchase of sporting equipment, up to the value of $2,000, as part of the delivery of the project is considered an eligible activity as per the program guidelines.

The purchase of uniforms is ineligible.

Sport Australia have committed up to $10.3m in funding for the Participation Grant Program.

The number of grant projects is difficult to determine, given applicants will request different funding levels.

A final number of projects will not be determined until all applications have been submitted and assessed.

Project activities can be completed concurrently or separately across each location, provided the project is completed within 12 months of signing their funding agreement.

No, NSO and NSODs cannot apply for funding to support the same project in stream 2 and 3.

NSOs/NSODs must partner with at least one other organisation under Stream 3. However, there is no set limit or maximum number of organisations a primary applicant can partner with.

Yes, NSO and NSODs can submit one application in stream 2 up to $450,000, and one application in stream 3 up to $450,000.

If an NSO or NSOD is recommended through the assessment process to be considered for funding for both a stream 2 project and a stream 3 project, the moderation panel will consider the organisations capability to deliver two projects simultaneously before sending to the grant approver for consideration.

Sport Australia publishes a list of all grants and funding recipients. This can be found at the Grants and Funding page on the Sport Australia website.

To find round 1 funded program, please use the ‘funding category’ Move It AUS Participation grants filter option.

Sport Australia’s AusPlay provides national, state and territory data on almost 400 different participation sports and activities in Australia and who is participating in them.

Yes, Sport Australia encourages primary grant applicants to consider partnering with other organisations (including those not eligible to be a primary grant applicant), to enhance the delivery of the Project.

Sport Australia grant evaluations have determined that partnerships are a primary driver of success in delivering effective and sustainable projects.

Primary grant applicants are encouraged to consider partnering with other organisations who can help enhance the project and reach.

Partnerships will be considered as part of the projects ability to have maximum reach and impact.

Sport Australia will consider the performance of previously funded grant projects to ensure that the latest proposed project demonstrates significant advancement outcomes.

Sport Australia would like to see projects that have alignment and purpose to a sport or organisations broader strategic objectives.

Applicants will be asked to demonstrate why this project is important to the sport or activity and organisation and how it will provide benefit past the grant program funding end date.