Grant guidelines for the Australian Government’s $200 million Play Our Way program are now available, so applicants can begin preparing their submissions ahead of the grant round officially opening next month.
Play Our Way is a game-changer and supports local governments and community not-for-profit and sporting organisations to make sport more welcoming and equitable.
Too often women and girls are changing in men’s bathrooms, wearing hand me down boys’ uniforms, playing with men’s equipment on poor fields they wouldn’t let the boys’ teams train on.
Play Our Way will address these issues to help women and girls enjoy sport for life and create new opportunities for communities to come together through sport participation.
Grants will be available in two streams:
- Facilities: For projects that establish and improve sporting facilities that are designed for women and girls and further encourage them to take part in sport and physical activity by better meeting their needs.
- Participation and equipment: For programs that encourage women and girls to participate and remain involved in sport and physical activity for life, by tackling barriers such as disadvantage or lack of equipment, and for programs that will lead to sustained cultural change in sport.
Play Our Way grant applications will be assessed through an impartial, transparent process led by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
The grant program was designed with the assistance of experts across sport and government, including advice from Liz Ellis AO, Lauren Jackson AO, Tal Karp and Madison de Rozario OAM.
See the . Applications will be open from mid-March 2024.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Sport, Anika Wells:
“For every two males who play sport, only one female does and too many girls drop out of sport and never come back as women.
“Our $200m Play Our Way fund will not only help women and girls maintain better physical and mental health, but will contribute to a sporting culture that treats women with equality, fairness and respect.
“The Albanese Labor Government is proud to invest in community sporting facilities and participation programs to enable women and girls to find their feet in sport.
“Play Our Way will enable more women and girls to enjoy sport for life, make our communities fairer, more inclusive and more harmonious.”
