Deadline: 31 July 2025
The Local Sporting Champions Program provides financial assistance for coaches, officials and competitors aged 12-18 participating in state, national or international championships.
Objectives
- Provide financial support to junior sportspeople to assist with the costs associated with competing at elite or sub-elite level competition.
- To provide financial support through this program to families so that financial considerations are not a barrier for junior sportspeople to continue participating in sport.
Funding Information
- In 2025/26, a total of $7.6 Mill (GST excl.) will be available with $750 (GST excl.) the maximum funding amount available per grant.
- If successful, applicants will receive between $500 and $750 towards the cost of attending their nominated championships.
- Base Grant: $500
- Applicants travelling 800km – 1999km to their nominated championships: + $100
- Applicants travelling internationally or greater than 2,000km to their nominated championships: + $200
- Applicants residing in a rural electorate: + $50
Eligible Expenses
- Examples of expenses which are eligible include, but are not limited to:
- Competition registration/entry fees/levies
- Transport costs (e.g. airfares, petrol)
- Accommodation
- Transport and accommodation costs for parents/guardians can be accepted where the parent/guardian must attend the championship
- Uniform
- Sporting equipment
Ineligible Expenses
- Examples of expenses which are ineligible include, but are not limited to:
- Costs to attend any selection trial for the approved championship
- Costs to attend training for the approved championship
- Costs not associated with attending the approved championship
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be turning 12 to 18 years of age in the same calendar year as the nominated championships.
- Be an Australian citizen or have been granted permanent resident status, residing in Australia.
- Be participating as an athlete, coach, or match official in:
- An official state championship endorsed by the relevant Australian Sports Commission (ASC) recognised national sporting organisation (NSO), national sporting organisation for people with disability (NSOD) or a School Sport Australia member body;
- An official national championship endorsed by the relevant ASC recognised NSO, NSOD or School Sport Australia;
- An international competition as a member of an official Australian team, representing an ASC recognised NSO, NSOD or School Sport Australia.
- Those attending a state championship must be living more than 250km from the championships venue and travelling greater than 500km return to participate in the nominated championships.
- May receive a maximum of one grant from an application submitted in the same allocation year (1 May 2025 – 30 April 2026).
- Must incur out-of-pocket expenses for the nominated championship equal to, or greater than, the grant amount they are eligible to receive.
- Must not receive a Local Para Champions grant or a Local Sporting Champions grant in the same or a previous round to attend the same championship or competition.
Assessment Criteria
- Applications within a local area will be ranked in order of priority for funding, by applying each of the following criteria in order:
- Level of competition – international events will be prioritised above national events and national events will be prioritised above state events.
- Distance travelled – applicants required to travel a greater distance to their competition will be prioritised.
For more information, visit Australian Government.
