Levelling the Playing Field: Co-designing a Scalable Community-wide Strategy to Improve Equity in Children’s Access to a Universal Sports Voucher Program

Project Outline

Kids and sport Playing sport offers children many benefits, including better health, social connections, and personal development. However, the cost of organised sport is a key barrier for many families. Children from families on lower incomes are 47% less likely to play sport than their peers.

The South Australian Government offers a universal Sports Voucher scheme, a financial initiative aiming to promote sports participation. Each year, all children aged 5-15 years are eligible to receive 2 x $100 Sports Vouchers, which provides a $200 subsidy to sports registration fees. Evidence suggests that the Sports Vouchers are underutilised by children from families on lower incomes and those from multicultural communities, particularly in urban areas.

This project aims to co-design strategies to improve awareness and accessibility of the Sports Vouchers, ensuring more children and families benefit from the program. The strategies will then be implemented at a community level in the City of Salisbury, a diverse and growing area, to support families who may face financial or language barriers in accessing sports programs.