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VIC Country Football and Netball Program

VIC Country Football and Netball Program

  • The maximum grant available is $250,000. Applicants can claim in-kind expenses for up to 50% of the total project cost, with a cap of $250,000.
  • The program opened on 6 August 2024 and closes on 30 September 2024

The Victorian Government created the Country Football and Netball Program in response to the Parliamentary Rural and Regional Services and Development Committee's Inquiry into Country Football Report in December of 2004.

The Country Football and Netball Program is a government initiative working in partnership with the AFL, AFL Victoria, and Netball Victoria. It provides funding to support grassroots football and netball clubs, associations, and umpiring organisations in rural, regional, and outer metropolitan areas of Victoria. By improving facilities, the program aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of these clubs and associations.

Key Requirements

Applicants must:
  • Ensure that the infrastructure project can be completed within 24 months of signing a Grant Agreement with the DJSIR
  • Demonstrate the project’s feasibility by showing that the infrastructure can be completed within 24 months of signing a Grant Agreement with the DJSIR

The Country Football and Netball Program recognises the importance of football and netball in regional Victorian communities. It aims to support participation in these sports, particularly among underrepresented groups, and improve health, social, and economic outcomes.

The program will prioritise projects that:
  • Maintain or increase participation
  • Promote diversity and inclusion
  • Support gender equality
  • Improve health and well-being
  • Develop multi-use facilities
  • Collaborate with peak bodies like AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria
The maximum grant amount is $250,000. Eligible organisations may submit up to three applications per round, but the total funding requested cannot exceed $250,000 per LGA, and no individual application can request more than $250,000.

Each application may include one of the following:

  • A single project
  • Multiple projects of different scopes at one site

Applicants must approve and underwrite any in-kind contributions from third parties. Each project requires a separate application, and bundled projects will be considered ineligible.

Applicants may claim in-kind expenses up to 50% of the total project cost, with a maximum of $250,000.
Funding ratios are as follows:
  • Rural LGAs:
    SRV $3 : $1 local
  • Regional/Interface LGAs: Ballarat, Greater Bendigo, Greater Geelong, Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mornington Peninsula, Nillumbik, Whittlesea, Wyndham, Yarra Ranges
    SRV $2 : $1 local
  • Metropolitan LGAs: Greater Dandenong, Kingston, Frankston (only clubs competing in leagues affiliated with AFL Victoria Country are eligible)
    SRV $1 : $1 local

What is eligible for funding?

The activities that are eligible for funding are as follows:
  • Upgrading or expanding facilities like change rooms to accommodate more people, promote inclusivity, and ensure safety
  • Creating new or renovating existing fields and courts to increase capacity, improve accessibility, and enhance safety
  • Installing modern lighting systems to improve facility capacity and ensure participant safety. This includes LED lighting upgrades and replacements
  • Projects that reduce energy or water consumption while benefiting participation, such as converting grass fields to drought-tolerant varieties
  • Projects located on school land that are open to the community
  • Facilities that can be used for various sports and activities, with football or netball as the primary focus
  • Donations of goods or services that can be claimed up to 50% of the local contribution for infrastructure projects including volunteer labour and donated materials and service
  • All Victorian LGAs must have a gender equitable access and use policy
  • Support the Victorian Government’s Fair Access Policy Roadmap, which aims to improve access to and use of community sports infrastructure for women and girls
  • Ensure that women and girls can fully participate in and benefit from community sports and have equal access to local facilities
  • Projects on Crown Land are encouraged for projects that support community sports and active recreation

What companies are eligible for funding?

In order to be eligible applicants must be:
  • Regional or rural Local Government Areas
  • AFL Victoria Country League teams utilising facilities located in Frankston, Greater Dandenong, and Kingston LGAs
  • LGAs that host facilities used by teams participating in leagues affiliated with the AFL Victoria Country League or Netball Victoria Regional League, or facilities located in rural areas
  • New South Wales or South Australian league projects, provided the project will take place at a facility located in Victoria
The following criteria can be used to determine whether a facility is considered rural for the purposes of the program including:
  • If the facility is located outside the Urban Growth Boundary as defined by VicPlan
  • If the facility is not located outside the Urban Growth Boundary, applicants may still be eligible for funding if they can demonstrate that the facility is in a rural setting or a township with rural or regional features. This may include:
      1. Lower population or population density in the township
      2. Proximity to a rural or regional LGA
      3. Higher concentration of tourism or agribusiness in the township
      4. A catchment zone that includes rural or regional communities, such as hosting competition teams from these areas.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.