Senator the Hon. George Brandis S.C.

Minister for the Arts and Sport

8 May 2007

The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator George Brandis, announced today $124.4 million to ensure the Australian Government’s highly successful Active After-school Communities programme will continue for a further three school years.

The Active After-school Communities programme was introduced by the Australian Government in 2005, with a budget of $90 million. In its first year of operation it served 1,500 primary schools and after school care centres, and this year it is expected to be available at more than 3,000 sites.

“Funding for this popular after school sport and activity programme was due to cease at the end of 2007. However, the Australian Government has committed a further $124.4 million to extend this valuable programme for three more years,” Senator Brandis said.

“Today’s announcement represents a funding increase of 38 per cent for the programme.”

“The programme enables more than 150,000 young Australians to get involved in sport and develop essential motor skills. It has been an important part of the Prime Minister’s Building a Healthy Active Australia package announced on 29 July 2004 to tackle childhood obesity. The programme helps young Australians develop a balanced approach to nutrition and promotes healthy habits for life.”

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates that 22 per cent of all Australian children aged between 2 and 17 years old are considered to be overweight or obese. This figure has doubled in the last two decades.

“Encouraging our children to be active and healthy is crucial for their own well‑being. In a country where health costs are expected to rise from 3.8 per cent of gross domestic product this year to more than 5 per cent within two decades, we must ensure a healthier, more active Australia,” he said.

The Active After-school Communities programme is managed by the Australian Sports Commission and currently operates in around 2,900 schools and out‑of-school hours care services across Australia. By the end of Term 3, 2007, an estimated 3,250 sites will be running the programme, engaging almost 150,000 young Australians in a more healthy life.

Media contact: Travis Bell 0448 950 248

Supporting Information

More after school sporting support for Australian families

Why is this important?

• Physical activity can play a major role in maintaining healthy body weight and reducing the chances of developing heart disease and diabetes. It also has substantial benefits in terms of social interaction, mental alertness and motor skills.
• The Active After-school Community programme is addressing the problem of declining physical activity levels, growing rates of obesity and the unhealthy nutritional behaviours of Australian primary school children. It provides primary school children with increased opportunities to participate in safe, fun and inclusive physical activities after school.
• Around 22 per cent of Australian children are overweight or obese and the proportion is increasing at an accelerating rate, particularly since the mid-1980s—a trend which reflects international patterns. At the same time the aerobic fitness of children has taken a sharp downward turn since 1970-1980, trending downwards at 0.4 per cent per annum.
• Left unchecked, the effects of childhood obesity on the Australian community and health system have the potential to be catastrophic, in particular the exponential growth in health spending on obesity and inactivity related health conditions. The National Obesity Taskforce estimated that the cost of obesity in Australia in 2003 was as high as $1.3 billion a year and is expected to grow.

• Children are provided with increased opportunities to participate in safe, fun and inclusive structured physical activities. The extended AASC programme is expected to be delivered in 3,250 Schools/Out of School Hour Care Service (OSHCS) around Australia and reach almost 150,000 primary school-aged children.
• Schools/OSHCS that are selected to participate in the AASC programme will be allocated a dedicated Regional Co-ordinator to assist them with arranging the programme at the site and are eligible to apply for grants to assist in meeting the costs of programme delivery.
• In determining the programmes to be run in each term, schools/OSHCS will be able to choose from a range of traditional activities (such as cricket, netball and football), non-traditional activities (such as frisbee, martial arts and circus skills) and other structured physical activity (such as dance and roller sports).
• Programme deliverers are arranged by the schools/OSHCS and tend to be teachers/OSHCS staff, secondary and tertiary students, local club personnel and private providers. Deliverers are required to attend the AASC Community Coach Training Programme as a prerequisite to conducting sessions in the AASC programme.
• Parents and families can get access to information regarding the role of structured physical activities in the healthy development of children and access to supervised activities in the after school timeslot at no additional cost.
• Primary schools and Outside School Hours Care Services are developing their capacity to deliver structured physical activities that engage inactive children, both during the Active After-school Communities programme and within curriculum time.
• Community clubs, organisations and members are recruiting and retaining more children, officials and coaches.

• The Australian Government is committing $124.4 million over three calendar years to the Australian Sports Commission commencing in 2008.

• The current Active After-school Communities programme commenced in Term 2, 2005. The program has expanded to accommodate around 2900 schools/out of school hours care services in Term 2, 2007 and will involve up to 145,000 children across Australia.

• The Active After-school Communities programme is funded to operate until the end of the 2010 school (calendar) year.