Local Sport Grant Program (LSGP) 2026/27

To be eligible for funding, the application and project must:

• be submitted through the online system SmartyGrants.
• be submitted by an eligible organisation
• be for a project located in NSW
• be for an eligible sport listed in the Program Guidelines Appendix A
• include a declaration by the applicant organisation that if successful they will provide Public Liability Insurance with a minimum $5 million cover.

To be eligible for funding, applicants must meet all of the following:

• be a not-for-profit grassroots sport club or sports association, whose primary focus is to organise regular sporting activities and deliver on-going sporting programs and/or develop member’s skills OR; be a sporting club associated with licensed organisations provided the project directly benefits the sport, not the administration processes of the licensed club or upgrades of the licensed premises
• be affiliated with a State Sporting Organisation or State Sporting Organisation for people with Disability listed in Appendix A
• be one of the following incorporated entity types:
  • incorporated association registered with NSW Fair Trading
  • trust registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)
  • non-distributing co-operative registered with NSW Fair Trading
  • Australian public company limited by guarantee
  • Indigenous corporation registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations

Incorporated, not-for-profit grassroots sport clubs and associations whose primary focus is to organise sporting activities; deliver on-going sporting programs; and/or develop member’s skills.

Eligible projects must be able to meet the following criteria:

• be delivered in NSW
• be completed by June 2028
• for a project/s that:
  • contributes to quality sporting experiences and/or;
  • improves access to sporting events by reducing barriers to participation and/or;
  • creates, upgrades or repairs sports facilities

The project must be completed by 30 June 2028.

• Increase regular and on-going participation in sport. 
• Increase participation opportunities for under-represented groups including women and girls, people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, people with disability, First Nations peoples and LGBTQIA+ people. 
• Reduce barriers and improve access to participation in sport. 
• Assist sport clubs to provide quality experiences to their members and meet community needs. 
• Increase financial sustainability and improve facilities of community level sporting clubs.

Ineligible applicants are any organisation types not listed in the ‘Eligible Applicants’ section, and include (but are not limited to):

• individuals, groups of individuals and unincorporated organisations.
• incorporated not-for-profit organisations that are not affiliated with a State Sporting Organisation or State Sporting Organisation for people with Disability.
• for-profit organisations.
• PCYCs/YMCA/Scouts/Girl Guides/Surf Life Saving Clubs or Branches.
• parents and Citizens (P&C) Associations.
• private enterprises (companies established under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), incorporated associations established under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW) or incorporated limited partnerships established under the Partnership Act 1892 (NSW)).
• Government departments and agencies, including Local Government Authorities operating under the Local Government Act 1993, and Local Government Committees.
• educational institutions including Schools, Universities, TAFE Colleges and childcare centres.
• NSW Institute of Sport, State Sporting Organisations, Australian Sports Commission (incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport), National Sporting Organisation and NSW Regional Academies of Sport.
• other community based or religious groups that are not affiliated with a State Sporting Organisation/State Sporting Organisation for people with Disability.
• an organisation named:
  • (i) by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse on its list of institutions that have not joined or signified their intent not to join the Scheme; or
  • (ii) in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that has not yet joined the National Redress Scheme.

Ineligible project types and project components include:

• Operational costs e.g., staff or coach wages for existing programs, regular venue hire and administration costs that relate to the running of the applicant organisation
• Office equipment (e.g., office furniture, television, computers, iPads, printers, photocopiers etc.)
• Yearly subscriptions and memberships (Subscription costs for video technology are eligible for first year only).
• Subsidised registrations for players, for regular and on-going (weekly, monthly) competitions
• Accommodation, food/catering and travel (except where specified as eligible above for regional travel)
• Appearance fees, gifts, prize money, trophies/medals and trophy cabinets
• Retrospective funding g., projects that have already commenced and/or purchases completed prior to application submission
• Events that are scheduled prior to January 2027
• Functions such as presentation days, annual general meetings and celebrations
• Entertainment
• Medical equipment (e.g., defibrillators, first aid kits)
• Private or commercial ventures
• Events that are organised for the primary purpose of fundraising, including charity fundraising events
• Individual scholarships/sponsorships
• Insurance of any type (player, public liability, general liability, etc)
• Purchase or rental of land or premises
• Purchase of vehicles that require registration
• Costs associated with preparing and submitting the funding application
• Costs associated with feasibility, design, or development stages including feasibility studies, business cases and masterplans
• Projects not based in NSW
• Subsidy for activities and events conducted for schools
• Projects already funded by the NSW Government for the same project or same component of a project.

Project budgets should not include any ineligible costs, and these will be removed by assessors if included, at the absolute discretion of the Office of Sport.

Examples of projects that contribute to quality sporting experiences:

• Training programs that lead to volunteer coaches, officials and club administrators gaining required education and accreditation, e.g., run a coach accreditation course.
• Projects that improve a club’s capability and capacity to increase community presence and the ability to communicate with existing participants/members, e.g., upgrade or develop a new website for the club, or developing a club strategic plan
• Promotional materials and/or items that are related to promoting your programs or club to increase registrations, e,g., flyers and/or online promotions, or the development of a communication plan.
• New programs that increase the interest and skill level of players/participants within the community e.g., a series of ‘come-and-try’ days or engaging a specialist skills coach for a one-off event.
• Purchase of new equipment or uniforms required for training and/or playing sport or technology directly related to delivering the sport e.g., sport related equipment, microphones, speakers, video technology and/or umpire technology to assist the delivery and development of your sport.

Examples of project that improve access to sporting events by reducing barriers to participation:

• Events that promote participation in organised sport, physical activity and competition e.g., a club could host a specific event/tournament within their community.
• Events that primarily involve sporting competition or mass participation in an organised sport, e.g., an exhibition sporting match, all abilities gala day, regional or state championships.
• Regional clubs host a sporting event that attracts tourists and visitors.
• Subsidised event registration for teams to attend a one-off competition within NSW.
• Subsidised transport travel costs to assist teams to travel from rural/remote areas to participate in competition located more than 100km from their home ground.
• Subsidised travel cost (inclusive of transport and accommodation) for specialist coaches to travel to rural/remote areas.

Examples of project that create, upgrade or repair sports facilities:

• Enhance existing facilities, e.g., upgrades to create universally designed amenities, accessibility upgrades, canteens, installation of watering systems, solar panels, safety netting, lighting, installed electronic scoreboards or upgrade of playing surfaces.
• Provide supporting infrastructure at established facilities, e.g., sun protection shelters, goals or goal posts, grandstands.