More joy for kids this summer via the Get Active Kids Program

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Community Sport for kids is going to be much more affordable this summer as part of an initiative by the Victorian Government.

The Victorian Government’s Get Active Kids Voucher Program has been launched again and applications are now open for the next round. The Get Active Kids Voucher Program enables eligible families to have their kids involved in community sports and recreation activities – through compensation of membership costs, registration fees, uniforms, and equipment. The vouchers can be used for a range of activities such as club cricket, dance, learn to swim classes, and many more.

In order for organisations, clubs, and associations to be eligible, they need to be affiliated with a State Sporting body or an equivalent governing body and must be certified as a Get Active Kids Voucher Activity Provider to redeem vouchers. Clubs, associations, and organisations can register anytime to be certified providers of the program.

Registered providers of the program will submit voucher codes to the government in order to be reimbursed for the costs of registration and/or membership fees, apparel, and equipment costs. Eligible families are able to apply for vouchers of up to $200, which can be used at any registered sporting club/activity provider without having to pay any upfront costs.

Children must be under the age of 18, a Victorian resident, named on a valid Commonwealth Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and named on a valid Medicare Card at the time of application to be eligible. The Victorian Government, through a special consideration stream, are able to support children residing in Victorian care services, provisional visa holders, international students, and undocumented migrants under the age of 18 during the application process.

In the first four rounds of the program, over 58,000 vouchers have been distributed, encouraging and enabling several kids to join a local sports club/activity provider for the first time. More than 50% of the recipients during the rollout of the program’s latest round highlighted they wouldn’t be able to participate in community sports without the voucher.

Applications for the latest round of the program close on November 30, 2022 at 5 pm. Expenses incurred by families, preceding the commencement of the latest round, can continue to be claimed for reimbursements.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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Image Credit: SCFC

South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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