Major boost to funding for community sport and recreation facilities
Community sport and recreation facilities throughout Western Australia will benefit from increased funding for upgrades, with an additional $7.5 million per year over the next 2 years funded in the 2023-24 State Budget.
The uplift in funding means the Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund (CSRFF) will increase to $20 million for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 financial years, up from $12.5 million per year.
As part of the revised program, the State Government will increase the maximum grant available through the fund for major projects from $2 million to $2.5 million.
The application process for projects of up to $500,000 will also be streamlined, with the existing Annual Grants category for projects between $300,000 and $500,000 to be consolidated with the Small Grants category to open up access to the scheme. This will start with the next round of CSRFF Small Grants of up to $500,000 due to open on 1 July 2023.
Successful Small Grant recipients will now also receive funding to cover up to half of their project, up to a limit of $200,000 in total funding. Previously, these grant recipients received up to a third of funding applied for.
Sport and Recreation Minister David Templeman announced the additional funding today at the recently upgraded Belmont Netball Association courts, which received $513,000 in CSRFF funding from the State Government.
The CSRFF program aims to increase participation in sport and recreation through the development of good quality, well-designed and well-utilised facilities. Clubs and local governments can apply for funding to develop and upgrade sport and recreation facilities.
Recent successful grant applications have included funding for turf and irrigation upgrades, construction of tennis courts and upgrades to changerooms.
Funding is also available to improve sports flood lighting through the Club Night Lights Program. There will be $22.5 million in combined funding available per annum through the CSRFF and the Club Night Lights Program for the next 2 years.
The program is administered by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. More information is available on the department's website.