21/10/2026
Sport is a critical piece of Victoria’s social infrastructure. If we didn’t have sport, we would spend billions creating it, because the social return on investment in sport is high.
Over 5 million Victorians participate in sport and active recreation, but without a deliberate change in approach to community sport, we risk becoming a state of sport watchers, not sport doers.
Sport in Victoria should be safe, inclusive, accessible and run with professionalism and integrity – but the community sport sector is struggling to keep up with demand and we’re falling behind other states and the world.
This is why we are calling on all political parties to recognise the value community sport contributes to Victoria in the lead up to the state election, with three simple asks:
• Increase investment in community sport, with multi-year funding so that organisations can plan for the future and build fair, safe, and inclusive sporting environments for all.
• Increase participation by opening school facilities, requiring (through legislation) that all government schools open their facilities for community use.
• Create a Sports Accelerator and Innovation Fund of $1 million per year to bring technology experts together with sector leaders to identify innovative solutions and take these from concept to pilot to program.
An investment in community sport is an investment in a healthier and more connected society. It will support our community sporting organisations ensure that sport in Victoria is safe, welcoming and governed with integrity. It will also support organisations to break down the barriers to participation to allow more Victorians to take part in sport and active recreation.
Learn more through the link in our comments.
