Right now the average cost of club sport in Queensland is $755 a year, and a family with three children can end up paying thousands of dollars a year just so their kids can play soccer or rugby. For many parents that’s just too much.
As a result, children from low-income families are close to 50% less likely to participate in sport outside of school hours.
Free club sport would change hundreds of thousands of children’s lives for the better, save families thousands of dollars and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into our local community sports clubs at a time when they desperately need it.
The Greens will:
- Guarantee all Queenslanders under-18 a free season of organised sport every year by covering all registration costs, paid directly to clubs
- Provide $10,000 grants to sports clubs to help upgrade facilities, recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and handle the extra registrations that will come with free sport
- Give parents $150 rebate for the purchase of sports equipment
Free sport
Free sport would transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids, save families thousands of dollars a year and ensure every Queensland child has the right to play organised sport regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. Making club sports free for everyone under 18 would increase participation by as much as 50%.
The free sport program will cover any registered activity provider with the Queensland Government. There are currently 4,071 registered activity providers in Queensland. Clubs will be able to charge the fees they charged in 2019, indexed to inflation. Clubs will be able to apply to increase their fees above inflation but only if it is necessary for the continued running of the club. The Queensland Government will pay the registration fees directly to the clubs to avoid unnecessary administration costs.
Every child will be entitled to one free club registration every year.
The Queensland Government’s current voucher system is flawed for three major reasons. One, the $150 voucher covers less than 20% of the average cost of club sport in Queensland. Two, the voucher is only available to parents with a low-income card, which means hundreds of thousands of parents doing it tough on the minimum wage can’t apply. Three, forcing people to apply by proving they comply with a complex set of criteria often means even people who are technically eligible, don’t apply.
Club Sport Grants
Covid-19 has hit sports clubs hard. While the State Government is currently offering $2,000 grants to clubs, the Greens will offer $10,000 yearly grants per club to help recover from the recession, upgrade community facilities and cope with the increased registrations that will come with universal free club sport.
$150 Equipment Voucher
The Greens will convert the State Government’s Fair Play voucher into a $150 sports equipment rebate. Families will be able to apply online via the Queensland Government for the rebate and it will be universally available to anyone who applies.
Costings
Free club sport for Queensland kids will cost $2 billion over four years and be covered by a levy on the big banks, which raises $4.6 billion over four years. This doesn’t include the massive cost savings on mental and physical health that will come with more kids playing sport.
|
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
|
Free Club Sport |
$403,366,308 |
$413,962,741 |
$424,837,542 |
$435,998,025 |
|
Sport Club Grants |
$47,010,000 |
$47,010,000 |
$47,010,000 |
$47,010,000 |
|
Convert Fair Play Voucher into Sports Equipment Voucher |
$57,390,931 |
$58,171,448 |
$58,962,579 |
$59,764,470 |
|
Total |
$507,767,239 |
$519,144,189 |
$530,810,122 |
$542,772,495 |