The Albanese Government is investing more than $2 million in the national rollout of AusBike so more children can enjoy the mental and physical health benefits of outdoor exercise.
There has been a substantial decline in children riding to school over the past 40 years-from 75 per cent down to 25 per cent.
This, along with a general decline in sport participation and incidental activity through outdoor play, has had a significant impact on the wellbeing of Australian children.
The AusBike program will directly address these issues, helping increase active travel and get kids back on their bikes.
AusCycling, the national peak body, developed the AusBike program to teach the fundamental skills of bike riding and road safety awareness to children aged five to 12 years.
Through the Australian Sports Commission, the Government has provided $2,050,000 in funding to help kids to learn to ride safely while having fun.
The program has been designed by expert coaches and is based on CORE4Skills, an evidence-based framework for developing, practicing and embedding fundamental bike skills.
Parents or carers can enrol their children locally for term-based programs which will be delivered nationally by accredited instructors through cycling and riding clubs, leisure centres and private coaches.
Enrolments will open for term four this year.
AusBike is a legacy initiative of the UCI Road Cycling World Championships hosted in Wollongong in 2022. Already 5000 children have experienced AusBike in its pilot phase.
