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 solutions and improvements that address participation barriers faced by women and girls. The following types of organisations can apply for funding through a competitive grant opportunity:
- local governments
- community organisations
- not-for-profit organisations
- sporting organisations.
Successful organisations will use the grants to:
- provide safe, inclusive, quality and sustainable facilities, equipment and initiatives
- help women and girls to remain involved in sport and physical activity for life.
The program was designed based on input from experts across the sport sector and key Australian government agencies. This included an expert advisory panel of women with experience in community and professional sport.
The Grant Opportunity is now closed. 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 1: Facilities – Expression of Interest (EOI) Stage
Stream 1: Facilities was structured into two 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.
The Department assessed each application according to the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.
Successful applicants progressing to the next stage of the Facilities stream of the Grant Opportunity have been advised in writing. These applicants can now submit their application for the second stage of Stream 1: Facilities. Funding offers will be made to successful applicants following the outcome of this second stage.
Many organisations were worthy of infrastructure upgrades or 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.
Common reasons an application wasn’t successful in comparison to others include:
- It wasn’t clear that women and girls were the primary or exclusive focus of the activity.
- The application didn’t show how the project would help with the retention or growth in participation of women and girls in sport or physical activity.
- The application didn’t show that the project was addressing a specific barrier for women and girls.
- The applicant didn’t provide all the required attachments, or answer each of the assessment criteria.
- 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.
- The application was not as strong as others in addressing value for money, targeting priority cohorts or alignment with the objectives of the program.
Unsuccessful applicants have been notified of these outcomes via email.
Due to the high number of applications received the Department won’t be providing individual feedback.
Next steps
Successful applicants who were Invited to Apply for the second stage of Stream 1 Facilities, should have received an email from the department.
Assessment of Stream 2: Participation and Equipment are still underway with outcomes to be announced.