AFL Breaking New Ground Program

Grants from $50,000-$250,000
Funding aims to deliver/upgrade football facilities on school sites and increase AFL accessibility and inclusion
Co-contributions not required
Applications ongoing

The AFL’s Breaking New Ground Program supports the planning, design and delivery of new or upgraded football facilities on school sites and other innovative locations, to help meet growing demand for community football participation.

The program aims to help schools, local governments, developers, community Australian football clubs, umpiring organisations and other landowners develop sporting infrastructure that is accessible to AFL programming and activities. Projects should strengthen the supply and capacity of venues, improve accessibility and inclusion (particularly to support women and girls), and enable partnerships that expand a welcoming facility network. Funding support may be sought for project planning and scoping and/or infrastructure delivery.

Key Requirements

Increase facility supply and capacity: Projects should contribute to increased supply (including new ovals) and/or maximise carrying capacity and functionality of existing venues.
Inclusive, accessible facilities: Proposals should support inclusive and accessible facilities that cater for participant diversity, particularly women and girls.
Strategic alignment and demonstrated need: Applications are assessed on why the project is required, including how it responds to strategic needs of football planning, venue planning and/or local community planning
Access and tenure: Projects should provide a minimum 10-year Right of Use arrangement, with capacity for at least 1,000 hours access per year for training and/or competition use (where applicable).
Project readiness and delivery: Project works should be ready to commence within 6 months of successful funding allocation, and meet relevant Australian Standards and AFL preferred facilities guidance (where applicable)
Endorsement pathway: Applicants must liaise with the relevant AFL State/Territory body, and assessment panels consider lodged applications that are endorsed/supported by State and Territory contacts.

What is eligible for funding?

Project planning and scoping activities for eligible sites.
Planning, design and delivery of facilities that support well-positioned, welcoming, accessible, fit-for-purpose sporting facilities for Australian football.
Delivery of new facilities on school/strategic sites to support local or regional football participation needs.
Sports lighting projects (consistent with relevant Australian Standards).
Works to maximise oval carrying capacity (e.g., irrigation, drainage, field renovations).
Hybrid/synthetic oval investments to increase training capacity (AFL-approved where applicable).
Development of multi-use, shared and co-located facilities.
Environmentally Sustainable Design and Universal Design principles (where applicable).

What companies are eligible for funding?

Schools (private and public).
Developers.
Local Government Authorities.
AFL affiliated leagues and community clubs.
Umpiring organisations.
Other sports bodies.
State Government Authorities.
Private landowners.

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.

This grant is open

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