Charitable Status for Community Sport
The Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) is working with the Australian Government to attract new sources of philanthropic funding to community sport across Australia.
Community sport in Australia is severely underfunded. In 2023, one in four small community sports clubs were contemplating closing and 1 in 4 athletes considered leaving their sport.
Charitable status for community sport and amateur athletes will unlock significant additional philanthropic funding, and increase the number of individual and corporate donors to sport. Modelling shows this change could unlock over $103 million in philanthropic giving a year for the sector by 2030.
This potential solution will strengthen participation in grassroots and community sport across Australia. Charitable status for community sports has the potential to attract over 190,000 new participants to community sport across Australia by 2028.
Our proposal
We propose that ‘Community Sport and Amateur Athletes’ is included as a charitable purpose under section 12 of the Charities Act (C’th) 2013.
Charitable status for ‘Community Sport and Amateur Athletes’ will allow Ancillary funds to make philanthropic donations to support community sports for all projects, not just a narrow number of projects as currently restrained by the Charities Act.
Timeline for the proposal
Stage 1 Consultations
Early 2024
Project Steering Group – The Project Steering Group provides strategic advice to the ASF regarding the proposal for Charitable status for ‘Community Sport and Amateur Athletes’. For more information about the PSG’s membership see the member list here.
Targeted consultation – Targeted consultation across sport and philanthropic sectors involved 24 independent interviews, covering national and state perspectives to ensure a sector-guided approach to consultation.
Stage 2 Consultations
June-July 2024
Capital City Roadshows – ASF visited every capital city to talk to National and State Sporting Organisations about the proposed change.
Virtual Webinar – We hosted a virtual webinar on 9 July 2024. View the recording here.
Stage 3 Consultations
July-September 2024
National consultation with community clubs and athletes – Broad sector consultation to ensure sport perspectives are captured.
Industry Events – ASF have attended a number of sporting industry events to talk to the Sport Sector about the change.
Stage 4 Report to Government
December 2024
Report submitted – Following extensive community consultation a comprehensive report was prepared on the findings and presented to key Ministers in the government.
Stage 5 Ongoing engagement
2025
Sharing the outcomes – The report has been shared with all participants in the community consultation, and key National and State Sporting Organisations
Ongoing engagement – ASF will continue to engage with all governments and key agencies, and continue to advocate for this legislative change. ASF will keep the sports sector updated on progress.
Community Consultation findings
The report reflects the perspectives of over 1,662 stakeholders, including National and State Sporting Organisation representatives, community club members, and amateur athletes, whose input has shaped a comprehensive view of the sector’s support for this proposed legislative change.
Key Findings
Our consultations revealed two major themes:
Support for Legislative Change: Community sports clubs and amateur athletes strongly support recognising community sport as a charitable purpose. Clubs envision that philanthropic support will enhance facilities, equipment, programming, and volunteer capacity, ultimately broadening participation and raising competition standards.
Barriers to Implementation and Adoption: Feedback highlighted resource disparities across different regions and sports, especially for smaller and rural clubs. There is also a strong need for clarity on how the legislation will be applied, as well as guidance on navigating the rules, seeking philanthropic funding, and managing financial complexities.
If you have any questions regarding this proposal, please contact Ricardo.piccioni@asf.org.au.