
The Local Para Champions grants are currently open for athletes, coaches and officials aged 12-24 taking part in state, national or global championships for athletes with disabilities.
Launched by the Australian Sports Commision (ASC) to help offset the costs of travelling to competitions, successful applicants can receive $750-$1000 of funding. Funding will depend on each successful applicants’ circumstances:
- The base grant will provide $750
- Those travelling 800km – 1999km will receive an extra $100
- Those travelling overseas or more than 2000km domestically will receive an extra $200
- Those who live in a regional electorate will receive an extra $50
Applications for the current round of grants will close April 30, 2025.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Local Para Champions grants, applicants must be:
– Be turning 12-24 years old in the same calendar year as their championship.
– Be an Australian citizen or have permanent residency and living in Australia.
– Be a participant in an event or competition for disabled athletes that is:
- An official state or territory event supported by the relevant ASC recognised national sporting organisation (NSO) or national sporting organisation for people with disability (NSOD), or a School Sports Australia member; or
- An official national event supported by the relevant ASC recognised NSO, NSOD or School Sports Australia; or
- An international competition as a member of the Australian national team where only athletes with a disability can compete, representing either an ASC recognised NSO, NSOD, or School Sports Australia.
A participant may include anyone who is involved in an official capacity at an event, such as athletes, officials, coaches and depending on circumstances, guides and assistants.
– To be eligible for the grants, participants attending a state or territory event cannot live closer than 125km to their event’s venue and must have a longer than 250km return journey. (Those attending a national or international event do not have to travel a minimum distance.)
– Participants cannot receive a Local Sporting Champions grant to attend the same event.
– Participants must incur out of pocket expenses greater than or equal to the grant they are eligible to recieve.
– Applications must be submitted before the current round of grants close April 30th, 2025.
– Applicants can receive up to two grants in the same allocation year (3 June 2024 – 30 April 2025) for attending either:
- Two different international competitions; or
- One state or national competition and an international competition.
In addition to the eligibility requirements of the grant, applicants must also abide by the terms and conditions of the ASC.
For more information on the Local Para Champions grants, click HERE. To apply for the grants, click HERE.