Australia's cultural diversity is one of its great strengths — and sport is one of the most powerful vehicles for social connection across cultural boundaries. Multicultural sport programmes create pathways for new arrivals and diverse communities to participate in sport, build social networks, and connect with Australian community life. This guide covers the key funding sources for multicultural sport and culturally diverse sport programmes in Australia.
Sport Australia recognises the role of sport in social inclusion and multicultural community building.
Key investment areas:
- Inclusive sport participation: Funding for programmes that remove participation barriers
- Sport for refugees and migrants: Via national sport organisations and state sport agencies
- Women from diverse backgrounds: Sport participation for women in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
Access: Most Sport Australia multicultural investment flows through national sport organisations (NSOs) and state sport and recreation agencies.
Each state has a multicultural affairs or social cohesion agency with grant programmes:
- Multicultural NSW: Community grants for multicultural activities, including sport
- Multicultural Victoria (Victorian Multicultural Commission): Community grants for cultural and sporting activities
- Office of Multicultural Interests (WA): Community grants including sport
- Multicultural SA: Community inclusion and sport grants
- Queensland Multicultural Affairs: Community cohesion grants
These agencies often prioritise programmes that foster social inclusion, intercultural dialogue, and community belonging — sport is frequently funded in this context.
Gaming trusts fund multicultural sport programmes as community activities:
- New South Wales ClubGRANTS: Community sport and activity
- State gaming trust grants: Various states
- Victoria: Community Benefit Fund and gaming trust grants
The Australian Sports Commission (operating as Sport Australia) has periodic grant programmes targeting inclusion and multicultural participation. Check GrantConnect for current rounds.
The Department of Home Affairs funds settlement and social cohesion programmes that may include sport:
- Humanitarian Settlement Programme: Settlement support that sometimes includes sport
- Social Cohesion grants: Activities promoting Australian social cohesion and multicultural harmony
Football has been at the forefront of multicultural sport in Australia since the post-war migration period. Football clubs representing specific cultural communities have a long history in Australian football.
Football Australia's multicultural programmes:
- Multi-cultural football initiatives
- Welcome Through Sport: Programmes for refugees and migrants
- Cultural community clubs: Support for clubs serving specific communities
Cricket Australia has active multicultural participation programmes:
- Connecting Country cricket: Programmes in migrant communities
- Multicultural cricket: Specific initiatives for diverse communities
- State cricket associations: Community development for CALD communities
The AFL has both Indigenous and multicultural inclusion programmes:
- AFL Multicultural Program: Grassroots AFL in multicultural communities
- AFL and AFL Women's: Growing diversity in participation
Refugees face specific barriers to sport participation. Dedicated refugee sport programmes can access:
- UNHCR and refugee settlement agencies: Sometimes fund community sport as part of settlement support
- Football Australia's Welcome Through Sport: Football for refugees
- Community foundations: Sport for refugee community building
- State multicultural agencies: Refugee community grants
Well-known refugee sport programmes like the Asha Women's soccer team in Melbourne demonstrate the fundability of this work.
Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds face additional barriers to sport participation (cultural expectations, language, safety, childcare). Funders specifically addressing this:
- Sport Australia's Women in Sport investment
- State multicultural affairs agencies
- Community trusts with gender equity priorities
- Multicultural women's organisations
Gender and cultural intersectionality is a strong framing for these applications.
Strong multicultural sport applications demonstrate:
- Community need: Evidence of cultural barriers to sport participation
- Cultural responsiveness: Programme design that respects and responds to cultural values
- Inclusion outcomes: How many people from diverse backgrounds will participate?
- Social connection: Evidence of cross-cultural friendships, community cohesion
- Language accessibility: Programmes accessible to participants with limited English
- Sustainability: How will the programme continue beyond the grant?
- Community leadership: Are community members involved in programme design and delivery?
Tahua's grants management platform helps sport and community organisations manage their multicultural grant applications, track reporting requirements, and demonstrate social inclusion outcomes to funders.