- $200 FairPlay vouchers available for Queensland children aged 5-17 to help families with the cost of junior sport.
- $9.5 million in funding for community sports facilities.
- Successful Youth Development Partnership Fund receives $3 million boost to help prevent crime through community sport initiatives.
- $137 million in continued support to develop tourism experiences and infrastructure and market Queensland nationally and internationally.
Families paying junior sport costs will receive cost of living relief, with the Miles Government committing an extra $33.5 million to expand the FairPlay program for all Queensland children aged 5-17, boosting the voucher value to $200.
The additional funding boosts the FairPlay program to $40 million for 2024-2025, with the number of vouchers available increasing from 50,000 to 200,000.
The value of each voucher is also increasing from $150 to $200, to help reduce the cost of sports memberships, registration and participation fees for families.
The program will open on 1 July 2024 with vouchers able to be redeemed until June 2025.
Since the program began in 2019, more than 210,000 vouchers have been used by Queensland families, saving them over $30 million.
Meanwhile the Miles Government’s Sport Minor Infrastructure Program has been allocated another $9.5 million for shovel-ready community sport infrastructure.
A further $3 million has been approved for the Youth Development Partnership Fund aimed at improving youth crime prevention in association with the Queensland Police Service.
$72 million has been committed over 4 years to continue delivery of the Queensland Academy of Sport 2032 High Performance Strategy – Inspiring Extraordinary Sporting Success, with an eye towards success at Brisbane 2032.
Other Sport and Recreation programs receiving a boost to support a healthier and more active Queensland are the popular Active Clubs program receiving $1.9 million, the ActiveKIT program receiving $1.3 million and the Emerging Athletes Pathways Program receiving $2.3 million for 2024-2025.
Queensland’s tourism industry strategy Towards Tourism 2032 sets out the best path forward to grow Queensland’s visitor economy and achieve industry’s ambitious target to reach more than $44 billion-a-year in overnight visitor expenditure by 2032.
Queensland has already achieved $34 billion in annual overnight visitor expenditure.
Tourism and Events Queensland’s base funding will continue to be supported with $125 million in 2024-25, as the Queensland Government backs its lead marketing agency to drive demand.
Working with industry, the $30 million Growing Future Tourism program will deliver major new and enhanced tourism infrastructure or experiences with funding between $1 million and $4 million on a matched contribution basis.
Visitors to regional Queensland will enjoy new and enhanced tourism infrastructure and experiences across the state with the support of the $10 million Building Bush Tourism Fund.
$12 million is also allocated over two years to support the 2023 Year of Accessible Tourism activities, increasing awareness and capability and for visitor experience development.
First Nations tourism gets a boost with a $3 million investment, matched by the Australian Government, supporting the sector to deliver the $6 million Strategic Indigenous Tourism Projects initiative in Queensland. The initiative focuses on increasing the supply of First Nations tourism experiences with a focus on Brisbane 2032.
As stated by Premier Steven Miles:
“Queensland families have told me they want help managing cost of living pressures. That’s why I’m expanding the FairPlay program,” the Premier said.
“We want to see every Queensland child have the opportunity to be involved in organised sport, and this program will be a game-changer for thousands of families who are doing it tough.
“Helping to reduce the cost of sports memberships, registration and participation fees, and at the same time improving the health of Queensland kids, is a tremendous win.
“This program expansion will put money back in the pockets of busy mums and dads to spend on what matters most.”
As stated by Deputy Premier and Treasurer Cameron Dick:
“Our Government knows all Queensland families are doing their best to manage global cost of living pressures.
“We know how important it is that Queensland kids are active, social and feel connected with the community, which is why we are expanding FairPlay to help more families overcome the financial barriers associated with organised sport.
“Our Government is also committed to supporting our tourism industry through investment Tourism and Events Queensland.
“The Towards Tourism 2032 strategy is well on track to achieve the aspirational goal of $44 billion-a-year in overnight visitor expenditure, having already achieved $34 billion in annual overnight visitor expenditure.”
As stated by Tourism and Sport Minister Michael Healy:
“The Miles Government’s top priority is the health and wellbeing of all Queenslanders, which includes helping families to overcome financial barriers to participation in children’s sports,” Minister Healy said.
“Expanding the FairPlay program will make an enormous difference for families right across Queensland.
“Our clubs and athletes are continuing to be supported through the State Budget with important programs such as Active Clubs, ActiveKIT and the Emerging Athletes Pathways Program.
“It was also important for the State Budget to continue the Youth Development Partnership Fund, which aims to support sport-based programs that target youth crime prevention through intervention.
“I am also excited by the focus on the further development of new and early-stage First Nations tourism businesses. There is enormous potential in this tourism market with visitors looking for more immersive, meaningful cultural tourism experiences especially in the lead up to Brisbane 2032.”
