Sport Priority Needs Program

Important dates

• Applications open - Wednesday 24 August 2022 

• Applications close - 2pm, Friday 23 September 2022 

• Outcomes advised - October 2022 onwards 

• Funding agreements executed for successful projects - within 3 months of notification of outcomes.

• Project are expected to commence within six (6) months of announcement.  

• Program and expenditure will conclude by December 2024.  

Key information

The Sport Priority Needs Program (the Program) is part of the broader $207 million 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Program.

The Program is a key recovery measure of the Sport Infrastructure Recovery Fund to help communities in eight highly impacted Local Government Areas respond to immediate opportunities to assess, repair, reconstruct and build flood resilience into sport facilities.

The Program will help enable communities that have suffered significant damage to critical sport infrastructure during the February-March 2022 floods recover as fast as possible.

The Program is a collaborative approach to by returning to sport activities including training and competition. The Program has been designed to complement existing support measures in place and longer-term community infrastructure recovery programs. 

Program purpose 

The purpose of the Sport Priority Needs Program is to prioritise funding to support LGAs whose sport and recreation facilities are considered most impacted. The Program supports applicants to:   

• Undertake detailed damage and technical assessments, feasibility studies, planning, detailed designs and options for investments to mitigate risks for impacted essential community sport facilities.

• Repair, reconstruct and support future resilience in sport facilities to ensure safe and accessible facilities are immediately available for return to training and competition

• Promote and support environmental sustainability and climate resiliency measures in design, construction and operation. 

Key objectives 

The Program objectives are as follows: 

• Be informed and co-designed with and by communities to reflect the needs of impacted communities and to reduce the burden on applicants 

• Incorporate a range of support measures to allow flexibility for applicants and that reflects community-specific capability and capacity 

• Be based on evidence of impact to essential community assets to provide targeted support  

• Be designed and delivered with a focus on supporting asset repair, rebuild and/or projects that include a focus on supporting future resilience. 

Funding availability 

Under the 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package up to $12 million has been allocated to the Program from the Sport Infrastructure Recovery Fund. The Program is based on a notional funding allocation up to $1.5 million to each of the eligible councils. 

The grant amount requested by an applicant for a project must be a minimum of $15,000 and cannot exceed $500,000. 

Eligible applicants 

The following councils are eligible for the Program as they are declared disaster areas as per AGRN (Australian Government Reference Number) 1012 and have been assessed as highly impacted: 

• Ballina Shire Council 

• Byron Shire Council 

• Clarence Valley Council 

• Hawkesbury City Council 

• Kyogle Council 

• Lismore City Council 

• Richmond Valley Council 

• Tweed Shire Council. 

Online Information Session 

The Office of Sport hosted an Online Information Session to provide information to eligible applicants on the Program.

Download the presentation from the information session here. (PPTX, 21.08 MB)

Supporting documents 

• Program Guidelines
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Landowner Consent Form
• Budget Template
• Facility Usage Schedule
• Funding Agreement Template

Contact us 

Get in touch for more information about eligibility criteria, timeframes, and costs; or if you have any questions about the application process. Please include the name of your Local Government Area when emailing your enquiry. 

Contact us

Grant Recipients 

Sport Infrastructure Recovery Fund 2022 Grant Recipients