NSW Labor says there’s a crisis in community sport and is promising to increase funding for the sector if it wins next month’s election.
Labor is promising to increase Organisation Support Program funding to $5 million in 2023-24 and $10 million per year in the years after.
A recent report from Sports NSW found community sports organisations were still receiving the same level of funding as they were during the Sydney Olympics more than two decades ago.
Opposition Leader Chris Minns said the funding freeze had left community sports chronically underfunded.
“Sports organisations and clubs are often held together by the passion of volunteers, parents, and families and it’s time that we had modern funding arrangements to match the modern challenges faced by these groups,” he said on Wednesday.
“I don’t want a situation where community sporting organisations are turning kids away because they can’t meet the demand in their area.”
There are approximately 100 recognised State Sporting Organisations in NSW including Netball NSW, Touch Football NSW, Athletics NSW and Football NSW.
Mr Minns said the state had fallen behind others for investment, with basketball receiving just $55,000 a year in NSW compared to more than $400,000 in Queensland.
Chair of Sport NSW Chris Hall welcomed the promised increase.
“These payments have been frozen in time since the year 2000 which has meant inflation has eaten away at these grants by over 67 per cent,” he said.
“The smallest payments to sports at the moment are just $5000 a year or $100 a week, which doesn’t buy very much anymore.”
