Council is exploring ways to improve opportunities for women, girls and gender diverse people to participate in local community sport and recreation. To achieve this, we have developed a draft Fair Access in Sport Policy and we are now seeking your feedback.

We want to make a difference and ensure local community sport is welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for everyone and that our recreation facilities provide a level playing field for women and girls. Your feedback will help us finalise the Fair Access in Sport Policy, which will help us address barriers in access to sport and recreation in our Shire. Feedback closes on Friday 5 April 2024.

Background

From October to November 2023, we asked our community to provide their experiences and thoughts about participation and involvement in community sport and recreation across the Shire. We received feedback via survey from residents and sporting clubs. We used the feedback and input from industry stakeholders to develop the draft Fair Access in Sport Policy.

During the first stage of consultation, we heard from 16 individual community members about their experiences in sport and recreation settings. We also heard from 7 sporting clubs about their own actions and initiatives in the gender equity space. Feedback gathered from the community was via a survey and one-on-one phone conversations.

What we heard?

• Access/transport (40%) and child caring responsibilities (40%) were identified as the most common barriers for women to participate in organised sport and recreation.
• Scheduling (33%), cost (33%) and lack of time (20%) were also common barriers for women.
• Sporting clubs have already been working towards equal representation (57%), equitable facility usage (43%) and targeted participation initiatives (43%).
• Gender equity training (29%) and specific gender equity policies (29%) have also been implemented

We encourage you to review the Draft Fair Access in Sport Policy before providing your feedback

How to get involved?

• Complete an online submission
• Read the Community Engagement Findings Report
• Read the FAQs

Feedback closes on Friday 5 April 2024

Next Steps

All feedback will be considered by Council and will help finalise the Fair Access in Sport Policy. We aim to present the Policy for adoption at the May 2024 Scheduled Meeting of Council.

We want to ensure local community sport is welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for everyone and that our recreation facilities provide a level playing field for women and girls.

To achieve this, we’re developing a Fair Access Policy and Action Plan, which will help us address barriers in access to sport and recreation and build our capacity to identify and eliminate gender inequality in policy, programs, communications, and the delivery of our services, including community sport infrastructure.

We know there are barriers to participation, and we want to hear from you about what is making it difficult for you to get involved and how we can help make it easier. We want to hear from those who play sport and those who don’t, those who coach and those who want to, sporting organisations and recreational groups, as well as sporting officials like referees, and volunteers and administrators who are involved behind the scenes.

Your feedback will guide the development of our Fair Access Policy and Action Plan – we need your help!

How to get involved

Register for a focus group workshop here

Feedback closes 19 November 2023

The consultation period has now closed. Thank you for your feedback.

From October to November, we asked you to share your thoughts on barriers to participation and what is making it difficult for you to get involved and how can we make it easier. We received community participation via survey for individuals and clubs. We are currently analysing the feedback and developing the draft policy and action plan. Thank you for your contributions.

Next Steps

All feedback will be considered by Council and will help guide the development of our draft Fair Access Policy and Action Plan.

The draft will be sent to the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation for review and feedback and will then be presented to Council for consideration prior to being available for feedback from the community. It will then be finalised for adoption by June 2024

Feedback gathered from the community now will also provide valuable information when it comes to implementing our Policy and Action Plan, and when collaborating with sporting bodies to help achieve the outcomes for our local communities.