Para sport — sport for athletes with disability — encompasses Paralympic sport, disability sport programmes, and adapted activities. Australia has a proud Paralympic tradition and a broad community disability sport sector. This guide covers the key funding sources for para sport and disability sport in Australia.
Paralympics Australia is the peak body for Paralympic and para sport in Australia.
Key investment areas:
- National para sport programme investment
- State Paralympic councils
- Paralympic Games athlete preparation
- Para sport development and pathway
Paralympic sport programmes receive significant Sport Australia investment through Paralympics Australia. Contact Paralympics Australia and your state Paralympic council for programme access.
Each state has a Paralympic council or disability sport organisation:
- Paralympic Australia NSW / Disability Sports Australia NSW
- Paralympics Victoria
- Paralympic Queensland
- Disabled Sports Australia WA
- Paralympics SA
State bodies deliver community disability sport and receive state government investment.
Sport Australia funds para sport through Paralympics Australia's national programme investment. Sport Australia's broader community sport investment also includes disability sport access.
State sport agencies include disability sport in their community sport funding:
- NSW: Office of Sport — disability sport and inclusion
- Victoria: Sport and Recreation Victoria — disability sport
- Queensland: State sport agencies — disability sport
Each Paralympic sport has a national governing body with disability-specific programmes:
- Wheelchair Sports Australia: Wheelchair basketball, rugby, tennis
- Bocce Australia: For athletes with cerebral palsy and related conditions
- Blind Sport Australia: Sport for athletes with visual impairment
- Australian Deaf Sports Federation: Deaf sport
These bodies receive Paralympics Australia investment and may have their own grant programmes.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funds disability supports, which may include sport and recreation:
- Capacity building: Physical activity and sport participation as disability support
- NDIS plans: Individual participants may fund sport participation through their plans
- Providers: NDIS registered providers can deliver sport and recreation supports
NDIS is not a grant — it's funding for individual participants through approved plans. However, organisations providing sport as disability support may receive NDIS funding.
Para sport clubs and disability sport organisations access gaming grants:
- NSW ClubGRANTS: Disability sport development
- State gaming trusts: Equipment and programme grants for disability sport
Disability sport often requires specialised equipment:
- Wheelchairs: Sports wheelchairs for wheelchair basketball, tennis, rugby
- Handcycles: For cycling athletes with lower limb impairment
- Prosthetics: Athletics and running prosthetics
- Adapted equipment: Sport-specific adaptations (e.g., guide runners for blind athletes)
- Bocce equipment: Bocce sets for cerebral palsy sport
Equipment grants are critical for disability sport — high-cost, specialist equipment that individuals cannot typically purchase independently.
Department of Social Services (DSS): Disability inclusion and community participation.
Carer organisations: Programmes for athletes with carers or family members supporting participation.
Community foundations: Disability sport programmes as community inclusion.
Corporate disability philanthropy: Some corporations fund disability sport as part of disability inclusion strategies.
Inclusive sport (disabled and non-disabled participants together) attracts specific funding:
- Bocce: Played by people with and without cerebral palsy in mixed formats
- Walking football/netball: Adapted formats accessible for disability
- GoodSport and similar: Inclusive sport organisations
Strong para sport applications demonstrate:
- Participants with disability: Numbers, disability types, growth trajectory
- Paralympic pathway: Connection to Paralympic or national programme structure
- Equipment specifics: Detailed justified lists for specialist equipment
- Inclusion model: How the programme is inclusive beyond competitive sport
- NDIS alignment: How the programme complements rather than duplicates NDIS
- Safety and safeguarding: Appropriate supports for participants with disability
- Club governance: Financial health, disability-inclusive governance
Tahua's grants management platform helps disability sport organisations manage grant applications, track specialist equipment funding, and demonstrate the inclusive participation outcomes that Paralympic and disability funders value.