Physical inactivity is one of Australia's most significant public health challenges — costing an estimated $13.8 billion annually in direct healthcare costs and lost productivity. Only 15% of Australian adults and 20% of children meet national physical activity guidelines. Increasing physical activity across the population reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, depression, and dementia. Grant funding supports the organisations and programmes getting Australians moving.
Statistics
- Approximately 2 in 3 Australian adults are insufficiently active
- Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality (WHO)
- Children's physical activity has declined significantly — more screen time, less active play
- Older Australians have particularly low activity levels
- People with disability are significantly less active than the general population
- Lower-income communities have lower physical activity participation
- Indigenous communities have higher sedentary behaviour rates
What gets people moving
Evidence shows physical activity is best supported by:
- Accessible facilities and safe environments
- Social connection and organised group activity
- Positive initial experiences (without shame or failure)
- Intrinsic motivation — enjoyment rather than obligation
- Reducing structural barriers (cost, time, transport, care responsibilities)
Sport Australia (Australian Sports Commission) is the federal government's sport and physical activity agency:
Active Healthy Communities
Sport Australia's participation investment focuses on:
- Changing sedentary behaviour
- Physical activity for underserved populations
- Community sport participation
- Active schools and active ageing
Move It AUS
The national physical activity strategy — providing a framework for investment and community action.
ParticipACTION equivalents
Australia doesn't have ParticipACTION (Canada) — but Sport Australia and state equivalents run physical activity campaigns.
Office of Sport (state governments)
State offices of sport fund physical activity through:
- Sports Infrastructure
- Community sport grants
- Participation initiatives
- School sport
Active Kids (NSW)
NSW Active Kids vouchers ($100 per child per year for sport and recreation) — government-funded, not grants.
Play2Day (Sport and Recreation Victoria)
Community sport infrastructure and participation.
Get Active Queensland
Queensland's physical activity investment — including community sport and physical activity grants.
PCYC grants
PCYC (Police Citizens Youth Clubs) operates sport and physical activity programmes for at-risk youth across Australia — partly grant funded.
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Not a direct funder but sets frameworks for physical activity in health settings.
State health departments
State governments fund physical activity through health promotion:
- Falls prevention programmes for older adults (exercise-based)
- Cardiac rehabilitation (exercise component)
- Diabetes management (physical activity counselling)
- Cancer survivorship exercise programmes
Cancer Australia and state cancer councils
Exercise is increasingly recognised as cancer treatment support — grants for exercise physiology for cancer patients.
ComCare and state WorkCover equivalents
Workplace injury prevention — some physical activity components.
Corporate wellness philanthropy
Large employers fund employee wellness — some with physical activity components. Not traditional grants but partnership opportunities for physical activity organisations.
Older Australians are a key physical activity priority:
- Falls prevention through balance and strength exercise
- Loneliness reduction through group physical activity
- Dementia risk reduction through physical activity
- Maintaining independence and function
Key funders for active ageing
- Department of Health and Aged Care (dementia and aged care)
- Perpetual Trustees (older adult wellbeing)
- Community foundations (local active ageing)
- Councils (older residents' activity programmes)
- Gambling trusts (community older adults programmes)
Children and schools
- Daily PE in schools (Sporting Schools programme — Sport Australia funding)
- Active travel to school (Bike Safe, walking school bus)
- Lunch time and recess physical activity
- After-school sport and physical activity
People with disability
- Inclusive sport and physical activity
- Disability-specific exercise programmes
- Equipment adaptation
- Parasport participation
Indigenous communities
- Sport as a vehicle for health and cultural connection
- Indigenous Marathon Foundation and running programmes
- Swimming programmes (given drowning rates in some communities)
- Community sport in remote areas
CALD communities
- Culturally appropriate physical activity (e.g., cricket for South Asian communities, soccer for African communities)
- Women-only sessions (for communities with gender-mixed sport barriers)
- In-language physical activity resources
Low-income communities
- Reducing cost barriers to participation
- Community sport in public spaces (free access)
- Equipment subsidies
Community sport and recreation
- Club membership subsidies
- Facility upgrades enabling participation
- Coaching and officiating costs
- Inclusive sport equipment
Schools-based physical activity
- Daily PE programmes
- Lunchtime sports activation
- Active school environments
- Movement breaks in classrooms
Exercise prescription and referral
- GP referral to exercise physiology
- Exercise on prescription programmes
- Active after cancer
Infrastructure
- Bike paths and walking trails
- Community courts and fields
- Swimming pools and aquatic centres (capital grants)
Health outcomes framing
Connect physical activity to specific health outcomes — not just "people got active" but reduced cardiovascular risk, improved mental health, maintained function in older adults. This broadens funder appeal beyond sport-specific funders.
Equity focus
Physical activity for underserved populations (low-income, Indigenous, people with disability, older adults, CALD communities) gets preferential consideration from many funders. Show who you're reaching and how you're removing their specific barriers.
Behaviour change evidence
Some physical activity programmes have strong evidence (structured exercise programmes, motivational interviewing, supervised group activity). Reference the evidence for your approach rather than claiming activity as inherently beneficial.
Measurement
Measure physical activity outcomes — not just attendance but actual activity levels (accelerometers, validated self-report tools, fitness assessments). Funders increasingly want more than "X people attended Y sessions."
Tahua's grants management platform supports sport and health funders investing in physical activity — with programme participant tracking, population reach data, health outcome measurement, and the reporting tools that help physical activity funders demonstrate and learn from their investment in getting Australians moving.