Volunteer Grant Opportunity to support vulnerable people

Parker Vize30/10/2023 5:55 am30/10/2023

Image via PxHere

The Federal Government’s 2023/24 Volunteer Grant Opportunity is available for community organisations from November.

Organisations wishing to be eligible were required to submit an expression of interest through their Federal MP before 28 September and where if deemed eligible forwarded on by that MP.

Each electorate was offered up to $66,225 worth of grants, marking a significant contribution from the Government to supporting volunteers.

If deemed eligible, organisations will be able to claim between $1000 to $5000 each and the funding amount will have been endorsed by their MP at the time of their expression of interest.

Organisations who are eligible will have until November 24 2023 to fulfil their application. Those who are successful will be notified in April 2024 and will be able to begin the grant program in May 2024.

The funds are intended to be used for:

The purchase eligible small equipment items for use by volunteers
To contribute to volunteers’ fuel costs, during the course of their volunteer work
Contribute to transport costs for volunteers with disability who are unable to drive.
Assist with the cost of training courses for volunteers.
Undertake background screening checks for volunteers.
Conduct activities to promote awareness of, and increase participation in, volunteering opportunities.
Adapt practises to support volunteers’ safety.

Organisations given the grant will have until June 30 2025 to spend the entirety of the grant on the above listed uses.

The grants are intended to support vulnerable communities helping them to engage in a number of community activities.

By focusing on supporting volunteers the Government is hoping to not only support pre-existing programs but to raise awareness of volunteering in the hope of boosting the sector in the coming years.

This program is a great way that the Government is hoping to boost community activities. Very often funding is a key barrier to entry for volunteers and the programs they support. Hence, by committing to directly helping them the Government will be also boosting the chances of those most vulnerable in the community to access programs and maintain engagement in their communities.

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

Declan Chan30/04/2026 6:15 am29/04/2026

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

Declan Chan29/04/2026 2:22 pm29/04/2026

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.