The Albanese Government has delivered the largest ever investment in Olympic and Paralympic sports to help our brilliant athletes achieve glory on world stages.
A record $283 million in new money will flow to our elite athletes, coaches and support staff over the next two years in a historic show of support on the path to Brisbane 2032.
This investment represents a 50 per cent increase on the previous Government’s 2021- 2022 high performance funding.
It also represents a doubling of the investment the previous Government made for Paralympic athletes.
This new funding is in addition to our $102.8 million annual grant funding and brings the Government’s total high-performance investment to $489m over two years.
The funding package for Paralympians is the biggest ever, as the Albanese Government addresses systemic and structural barriers to performance for para athletes that had been ignored for too long.
The investment will be a major boost for Aussie spirits ahead of Paris next month, and will strengthen Australia’s hopes for gold at LA in 2028, Brisbane in 2032, Winter and Commonwealth Games events.
The funding will create more opportunities and better development pathways for high performance athletes to thrive while inspiring the next generation of Australians to be more active.
The historic investment includes:
- An increase of $17.6 million to the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants (dAIS) program to address cost of living pressures for athletes.
- A major uplift in direct sport funding.
- Access to more domestic and international competitions to regularly compete against the world’s best in preparation for major sporting events.
- Extra training, well-being and preparation support, including access to world-leading coaches and performance support staff.
Investment in our Paralympic athletes and sports will more than double, with $54.9 million in additional funding – the biggest ever Paralympic spend by an Australian Government.
The funding increase will deliver better classification opportunities, access to fit-for-purpose training environments and specialised coaching and performance support.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
“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.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Sport Anika Wells
“This is the biggest investment any government has made in our Olympic and Paralympic sports and will help athletes achieve glory on world stages.
“Today’s commitment brings the Albanese Government’s sport announcements in this Budget to $753.1m, including the $249.7 million investment to revitalise the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) campus in Canberra.
“We have also committed $200m to the Play Our Way fund, the biggest infrastructure program ever for women and girls sport, and invested more than $20m in the Netball World Cup and Women’s Asian Cup.
“We’re giving our future Olympic and Paralympic teams what they need to succeed with upgraded training facilities, the best coaching and support staff and cost-of-living assistance.
“We’ll all be cheering on the Green and Gold in a few weeks when Paris 24 begins and this funding again proves the Albanese Government is committed to sport – from playground to podium.”
Quotes attributable to Australian Olympic Committee President Ian Chesterman
“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.
“It further builds on the investment in the AIS announced recently by Sports Minister Wells to again make that facility a hub of sporting excellence.
“The Prime Minister clearly gets what the Olympic sports do for this country so we thank him his commitment to helping our sports and our athletes.
“This funding increase is a very important start to help our athletes be their best, inspire the generations to come and to build a strong sports system to support them all.
“The AOC also welcomes the lift in Paralympic funding which will benefit the sports which run both Olympic and Paralympic programs.”
Quotes attributable to Paralympics Australia President Alison Creagh
“This new investment from the Federal Government will bring about monumental generational change for Para-sport in Australia.
“Paralympics Australia commends the Federal Government, in particular the Prime Minister and Federal Sports Minister, for their visionary leadership and for recognising the immense impact that this investment can deliver.
“Since 2000, Australia’s investment in Para-sport has fallen well behind many of our rivals, allowing them to catch up. 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 at home in 2032.”
