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Activate! Queensland Strategy

Our 10-year strategy to get more Queenslanders moving, more often.

We know Queenslanders love their sport and take advantage of our wonderful environment to get out and get active.

However, research tells us many people face significant barriers that stop them from being active or playing sport, including:

  • age and health
  • disability
  • socio-economic factors
  • time availability
  • parenting commitments.

What we will do

In July 2019, the Queensland Government released Activate! Queensland: 2019-2029 (PDF, 9MB), a 10-year strategy with a long-term vision to enrich the Queensland way of life through physical activity.

Through Activate! Queensland we will co-ordinate our efforts and investments to get more Queenslanders active more often.

The strategy will direct investment at:

  • creating quality infrastructure to support physical activity
  • addressing barriers to participation.

This will support more Queenslanders to be active regardless of age, background, gender or ability.

By 2029 we want to see a rise in activity rates for Queenslanders:

  • 60% of children are active for 1 hour per day, up from 41%
  • 75% of adults are sufficiently active, up from 60%.

Importantly, Activate! Queensland sees us playing as a team. If government, industry and community collaborate, it will allow us to:

  • leverage investment
  • share knowledge
  • deliver initiatives that meet diverse needs.

View the Activate! Queensland Strategy (PDF, 9MB).

How we will get there

Implementing the strategy will require coordinated, collaborative effort across government, industry and the community. Partnerships with the active industry will be a critical foundation and will have direct impacts on key initiatives.

Activate! Queensland is being delivered through a series of multi-year action plans, with the first action plan, Our Active8 2019-2022 (PDF, 2MB), laying important foundations that are already contributing toward the 2029 vision of Activate! Queensland.

In July 2022, we released a new three-year Activate! Queensland Action Plan: Accelerate 2022-2025 (PDF, 2MB).

Aligned with Queensland’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan, Accelerate centres on five key commitments:

  1. Collaborate with the active industry to get more Queenslanders moving
  2. Enhance pathways for Queensland’s athletes, coaches, and officials
  3. Operate precincts and venues that serve community and industry from grassroots to elite
  4. Champion an industry leading network of infrastructure across Queensland
  5. Leverage events and opportunities.

What we’ve achieved

Initiatives delivered in the first 12 months under Accelerate include:

  • 36,084 FairPlay vouchers redeemed to help eligible young Queenslanders increase their physical activity by reducing the financial barriers to participate in sport and recreation activities.
  • Support under the First Nations Sport and Recreation Program and the Deadly Active Sport and Recreation Program to reduce inequalities in participation through delivery of community identified physical activity opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
  • $5.29 million in approved funding under Active Clubs to support 2,116 not-for-profit local and regional sport and active recreation organisations to encourage volunteers and provide flexible and safe physical activity opportunities.
  • Continued support for state level organisations and industry peak bodies to build the capacity of the industry and enhance participation opportunities for Queenslanders, including:
  • $0.95 million to 22 state level organisations under the Active Industry Project Fund to support operational efficiency and workforce upskilling including for volunteers; and
  • $3.46 million approved for 38 projects under the second round of ActiveKIT to support innovative products or services to enable more Queenslanders to be physically active.
  • 8,026 unique applications approved to support for young Queenslanders selected to attend state (5,660), national (2,242) and international (124) level events through the Emerging Athlete Pathways Program.
  • 91 shovel ready projects with total funding of $16.36 million approved under Round 1 of the Minor Infrastructure Program.
  • $0.11 million in approved funding under the Sport and Recreation Disaster Recovery Program to 24 sport and recreation organisations affected by extreme natural events.
  • $2.465 million in sponsorships to support initiatives or events which directly provide a physical activity opportunity or build community connection through physical activity.
  • $2.64 million approved to support six projects as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Legacy funding initiative.

Initiatives delivered in the second year (2023/24) of Accelerate include:

  • 40,361 FairPlay and 5,204 SwimStart vouchers redeemed to help eligible young Queenslanders increase their physical activity by reducing the financial barriers to participate.
  • $4.393 million in approved funding under Active Clubs to support 1757 not-for-profit local and regional sport and active recreation organisations.
  • Continuing support for delivering high quality, culturally appropriate physical activity opportunities in discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
  • $16.9 million to strengthen industry capacity and capability under the Active Industry Base Fund.
  • $5 million to increase participation and enhance pathways through the Active Industry Project Fund Super Round.
  • Harnessing innovative ideas to increase participation opportunities under the ActiveKIT Program.
  • Development and launch of the Pathways Blueprint in November 2023 to support all Queenslanders to realise their potential as athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers, and to encourage lifelong participation in sport.
  • 9,548 Emerging Athlete Pathways applications approved.
  • more than 500,000 people utilising or visiting Sport and Recreation venues.
  • 411,961 hours of instructor-led activity delivered at our venues achieving physical literacy outcomes for all participants.
  • 45 major events held with over 63,650 patrons sharing in the experiences offered at our venues.
  • Overall client satisfaction of 97 per cent across venues.
  • $16.36 million approved for 91 projects under Round 1 of the Minor Infrastructure Program.
  • $42.2 million approved for 171 projects under the Minor Infrastructure and Inclusive Facilities Fund.
  • Leveraging the success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 with additional support for the participation of women and girls in sport and active recreation.

We continue to deliver on initiatives under Activate! Queensland 2019–2029 and work with and support the sport and active recreation industry to deliver participation activities throughout Queensland.

Check out our scorecard  (PDF, 839KB) to see how we’ve ensured:

  • Queenslanders are participating more often and in a greater number of sport and active recreation opportunities
  • The Queensland sport and recreation industry has greater capacity and capability to address current and emerging needs.

Our inaugural 2023 industry annual survey highlights (PDF, 196KB) the perceptions of industry organisations on their capability and capacity, as well as their collaborations with affiliates, the industry, and Sport and Recreation. The insights gathered through this survey are invaluable in shaping our future initiatives and ensuring that we continue to meet the evolving needs of Queenslanders. Explore the key findings (PDF, 196KB).

Sport and Recreation Partnerships Office

The Partnerships Office is the single point of entry to Sport and Recreation.

The Partnerships Office is the gateway for all future opportunities to drive collaboration, and creates strategic focus and direction for the Queensland Government and active industry to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes for Queenslanders under Activate! Queensland.

Through this office, Sport and Recreation leverages local opportunities and improves coordination by working with the community, active industry and collaborating with other government agencies to deliver opportunities that meet the strategic objectives of Activate! Queensland and the five key commitments under the strategy’s second action plan, Accelerate (PDF, 2MB).

The Sport and Recreation Partnerships Office transforms the way we plan and deliver, streamlining processes and enabling targeted investment.

To get in contact with the team, email sportrecpartnership@dtis.qld.gov.au.

Stay informed

Last updated: 18 Jul 2024