Federal Government Announces Record Funding Boost For Olympic Athletes

A record $283 million will be invested into Olympic and Paralympic sports over the next two years to prepare athletes for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The funding announced by the Federal Government on Friday will benefit athletes, coaches, and support staff to help “achieve glory on world stages”.

The investment is a 50 per cent increase on the Federal Government’s previous 2021-22 high performance funding, and is in addition to the $102.8 million annual grant funding. It brings the total investment into high performace to $489 million over the next two years.

For Paralympians, the investment is the biggest yet, with the latest commitment a doubling of the previous made for Paralympic athletes to an additional $54.9 million in funding.

The Federal Government said it comes as it continues to address systemic and structural barriers to performance for para athletes.

The investment includes:

• An increase of $17.6 million to the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants (dAIS) program to address cost of living pressures for athletes.
• A major uplift in direct sport funding.
• Access to more domestic and international competitions to regularly compete against the world’s best in preparation for major sporting events.
• Extra training, well-being and preparation support, including access to world-leading coaches and performance support staff.

“This is the biggest investment any government has made in our Olympic and Paralympic sports and will help athletes achieve glory on world stages,” Minister for Sport Anika Wells said.

“We’re giving our future Olympic and Paralympic teams what they need to succeed with upgraded training facilities, the best coaching and support staff and cost-of-living assistance.

“We’ll all be cheering on the Green and Gold in a few weeks when Paris 24 begins and this funding again proves the Albanese Government is committed to sport – from playground to podium.”

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