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Play Our Way program

The Play Our Way program will provide greater opportunities for women and girls to access, participate and remain involved in sport and physical activity.

About the program

The Australian Government is providing $200 million for the Play Our Way program. The program will run over 3 years from 2024–25 to 2026–27.

The program will provide funding for local initiatives and ideas to address participation barriers faced by women and girls. The following types of organisations could apply for funding through this competitive grant opportunity:

  • local governments
  • community organisations
  • not-for-profit organisations
  • sporting organisations.

Successful organisations will use the grants to both:

  • provide safe, inclusive, quality and sustainable facilities, equipment and initiatives
  • help women and girls to remain involved in sport and physical activity for life.

Input from experts across the sport sector and key Australian government agencies helped design the program. This included an expert advisory panel of women with experience in community and professional sport.

We are no longer accepting applications for this grant opportunity. Applicants were able to apply for funding under 2 streams:

  • Stream 1: Facilities
  • Stream 2: Participation and equipment.

Grant opportunity outcomes

Why it is important

Sport and physical activity are important to physical and mental health and wellbeing. Participation in sport also helps to foster a strong sense of community belonging and pride. 

Women in Australia are under-represented in sport and physical activity. The Play Our Way program will support ongoing involvement in sport and physical activity by giving women and girls:

  • more opportunities for equal participation in sport and physical activity
  • access to sporting facilities, equipment and initiatives.

Outcome of Stream 2: Participation and Equipment

Stream 2: Participation and Equipment – this stream was very competitive, attracting more than 600 applications worth over $250 million in requested funding.

We assessed each application according to the grant opportunity guidelines. We have contacted all applicants to let them know if their application was successful.

We will publish a list of successful projects under Stream 2: Participation and Equipment once funding agreements are in place.

Outcome of Stream 1: Facilities – Expression of interest (EOI) stage

Stream 1: Facilities – this program is structured into 2 stages, Expression of Interest followed by an Invitation to Apply.

The EOI stage of the program received a high volume of quality applications from all over Australia. More than 1,000 applications worth over $1 billion in requested funding has made the program highly competitive.

We assessed each EOI according to the grant opportunity guidelines. Successful applicants progressing to the next stage of the Facilities stream were invited to submit their full application for the final phase by 23 September 2024. We are currently assessing these applications.

Unsuccessful applications – Stream 1 Facilities (EOI) and Stream 2 Participation & Equipment

We received many strong applications for participation, equipment, infrastructure upgrades and new facility projects to increase access for women and girls in sport and physical activity. However, it was not possible for all applicants to progress to the next stage (Stream 1) or be offered funding (Stream 2).

Common reasons an application wasn’t successful when compared to others include: 

  • It wasn’t clear that women and girls were the primary or exclusive focus of the activity. 
  • The application was not as strong when compared to others in addressing value for money, targeting priority cohorts or alignment with the objectives of the program.
  • The application did not show that the activity would have an ongoing effect beyond the funding period (Stream 2: Participation and Equipment).
  • The application didn’t show how the project would help with the retention or growth of women and girls taking part in sport or physical activity.
  • The application didn’t show that the project was addressing a specific barrier for women and girls (i.e. no evidence of consultation or collaboration with women and girls in the local community to identify need). 
  • The applicant didn’t include all the required attachments, or answer each of the assessment requirements. 
  • The applicant applied for funding outside the program scope (i.e. less than $50,000 or more than $1.5/2 million). 
  • The applicant didn’t have evidence of tenure at the location, or landowner support for the project (Stream 1: Facilities only).

We have notified unsuccessful applicants via email.

Due to the high number of applications we received, we won’t be providing individual feedback.

Next steps

We are assessing applications for the final stage of Stream 1: Facilities. Funding offers will be made by the Community Grants Hub on our behalf to successful applicants following the outcome of this final stage.

More information

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