Uptake of a Universal Sports Subsidy Program for School-Aged Children: A Population Data Analysis

Background: Around 40% of Australian children do not participate in sport. Cost is a major barrier to participation, particularly for children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This study aimed to evaluate the uptake of a population-level children's sports subsidy scheme, including sociodemographic differences in uptake. Methods: A state-wide cross-sectional analysis comparing sports voucher claimants (primary school-aged children with a valid Medicare or Australian visa number) from the 2019 financial year with population census data from South Australia. Chi-square was used to examine whether the percentage of eligible children who claimed a voucher differed based on age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), and geographical remoteness. Subgroup analyses were conducted for the lowest 2 socioeconomic disadvantage deciles, split by gender. Scatterplots were used to compare sports between high and low SES children. Results: A total of 74,668 children claimed sports vouchers (45.5% of eligible children). Children who were relatively younger, female, from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and from major cities were least likely to claim the voucher. The 5 most common sports were Australian rules football (30.2%), netball (13.6%), soccer (13.1%), gymnastics (10.4%), and basketball (5.7%), with the popular sports similar for high and low SES children. Conclusions: Future work is needed to understand how Sports Voucher, and sport participation rates have changed over time, and to improve voucher uptake among girls, city dwellers, and low SES children.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the uptake of a population-level children's sports subsidy scheme in Australia. It found that around 40% of Australian children do not participate in sport due to cost barriers, especially for those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The study also identified sociodemographic differences in uptake, with younger, female, low SES children from major cities being the least likely to claim the sports voucher.