Tasmanian sport and recreation clubs, community organisations and local councils now have access to a significant pool of funding to upgrade the facilities their members and communities rely on. The Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grants Program, run by the Department of State Growth through Active Tasmania, opened on 1 September 2026 with $5 million available across the state.
If your club has been putting off replacing tired changerooms, upgrading old floodlights, or fixing up a playing field, this program is worth a close look. Below, we break down exactly what the grant covers, who can apply, how much you could receive, and what you will need to prepare a strong application.
What Is the Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grants Program?
The Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grants Program is a state government funding round designed to help sport and active recreation organisations build new facilities or upgrade existing ones. The goal is straightforward: better, safer, more accessible community sport infrastructure across Tasmania, from local football ovals to netball courts and everything in between.
The program is administered by Active Tasmania, part of the Department of State Growth, and forms part of the state’s ongoing investment in community sport and active recreation. It follows earlier rounds of the same program, which have previously funded projects such as changeroom upgrades, new sports lighting and playing surface improvements across Tasmanian clubs and councils.
How Much Funding Is Available?
The current round has a total funding pool of $5 million, split across two funding tiers:
Tier 1 grants: up to $100,000 per project. This tier suits smaller-scale upgrades, such as a single facility improvement or a modest lighting upgrade.
Tier 2 grants: up to $500,000 per project. This tier is intended for larger, more substantial infrastructure works, such as a full changeroom rebuild or a significant court and field redevelopment.
Because this is a competitive grants round with a fixed total pool, the amount any individual club or council receives will depend on the number and quality of applications submitted, and on how well each project addresses the program’s priorities. Active Tasmania has not published a minimum grant amount, so applicants should base their request on the genuine, itemised cost of their project rather than aiming for a particular tier.
Who Qualifies for This Grant?
Based on the official program guidelines, the following organisation types are eligible to apply:
Incorporated not-for-profit sport and recreation clubs and associations based in Tasmania. This covers the great majority of local sporting clubs, from football and cricket clubs through to netball, tennis, bowls, athletics and other active recreation groups, provided the club is a properly incorporated association.
Local government authorities (Tasmanian councils) applying on behalf of community sport and recreation infrastructure within their municipality.
Not-for-profit organisations registered under relevant Tasmanian or Commonwealth legislation, where the organisation’s purpose relates to sport, recreation or the facility being upgraded.
If your club is incorporated and Tasmania-based, or your project is being put forward through your local council, you are likely to meet the baseline eligibility for this program.
Who Does NOT Qualify?
Based on the eligibility framework published for this program, the following are generally excluded or unlikely to qualify:
Unincorporated clubs or informal community groups that have not registered as an incorporated association. If your club is not yet incorporated, this is worth addressing before applying to this or future rounds, since incorporation is a common prerequisite across Tasmanian and Commonwealth grant programs.
For-profit businesses and commercial gym or fitness operators. This program is targeted at not-for-profit sport and recreation infrastructure, not commercial fitness facilities.
Individuals. Grants are made to organisations (clubs, associations, councils), not to individual athletes, coaches or volunteers.
Projects located outside Tasmania. This is a Tasmania-specific state government program.
The Department has not published a detailed exclusions list covering every possible edge case, so if your organisation’s structure is unusual (for example, a club auspiced by another incorporated body), it is worth confirming your specific eligibility directly with Active Tasmania before investing significant time in a full application.
What Can the Funding Be Used For?
The program funds physical infrastructure improvements to sport and active recreation facilities. Based on the official guidelines, eligible project types include:
Developing or upgrading changerooms, toilets and shower facilities, a common priority given how much ageing change room infrastructure exists across Tasmanian sporting grounds.
Installing or upgrading lighting to LED, which improves safety, extends usable training and playing hours, and reduces a club’s ongoing energy costs.
Court and field development, including construction or redevelopment of playing surfaces.
General facility infrastructure improvements that support the ongoing use and safety of a sport or recreation venue.
Fencing installation for playing areas, which supports safety, spectator management and appropriate separation of playing surfaces from public areas.
As with eligibility, the Department has not published an exhaustive list of every eligible or ineligible cost category, so if your project includes an item you are unsure about, it is worth checking directly against the full program guidelines document before finalising your budget.
Key Dates and Deadlines
The current round of the Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grants Program opened at 2:00pm on 1 September 2026.
Applications close at 2:00pm on 2 November 2026.
That gives applicants roughly two months to prepare and submit a competitive application from the program’s opening date. Given the level of detail typically required for infrastructure grant applications (project scoping, quotes, supporting documentation), clubs and councils are best placed starting their preparation as early as possible rather than waiting until the weeks before the deadline.
How to Apply: Step by Step
While the exact application form and portal are set out in the official program guidelines, a typical approach to preparing an application of this kind looks like this:
Step 1: Read the full program guidelines carefully. Before drafting anything, download and read the complete guidelines document published by Active Tasmania, rather than relying on a summary. This will confirm the exact assessment criteria, any forms required, and the submission method for this specific round.
Step 2: Confirm your eligibility. Check that your organisation type (incorporated club, council, or eligible not-for-profit entity) clearly matches the published eligibility criteria before investing time in a full application.
Step 3: Scope your project and choose your tier. Decide whether your project is realistically a Tier 1 (up to $100,000) or Tier 2 (up to $500,000) proposal, based on genuine, itemised costs rather than working backwards from the maximum available.
Step 4: Gather supporting documentation. Collect incorporation details, written quotes, evidence of land tenure, and any planning or building approval documentation already in hand.
Step 5: Write a clear project justification. Explain what the project involves, why it is needed, and who in the community benefits, not just your own club or organisation.
Step 6: Have someone else review your application before submission. A second set of eyes, ideally someone not involved in drafting the application, can catch missing attachments, unclear figures or gaps in the justification before you submit.
Step 7: Submit before the deadline. Applications must be submitted before 2:00pm on 2 November 2026. Submitting a few days early, rather than at the last moment, reduces the risk of a technical issue costing you your place in the round.
What Happens After You Submit Your Application?
Once applications close on 2 November 2026, Active Tasmania will assess submissions against the program’s published criteria, which typically include factors such as project need, community benefit, value for money and the applicant’s capacity to deliver the project. Because this is a competitive round with a fixed $5 million pool, not every eligible application is likely to be funded, and the strength of your supporting evidence (quotes, community benefit case, and project readiness) will influence how your application compares to others.
The Department has not yet published a confirmed notification date for outcomes of this specific round. Applicants should keep an eye on official communications from Active Tasmania in the weeks following the 2 November 2026 closing date, and should be prepared for an assessment period of some weeks to months, which is typical for infrastructure grant rounds of this size.
Documents and Information You Will Likely Need
While the full, detailed application requirements are set out in the official program guidelines, infrastructure grant applications of this kind typically require:
Your organisation’s incorporation details and ABN (where applicable).
A clear project description, including what is being built or upgraded and why it is needed.
Cost estimates or written quotes from suppliers or contractors for the proposed works, particularly important given the program is assessed competitively and applicants requesting Tier 2 funding will need to demonstrate the scale and cost justification of a larger project.
Evidence of land tenure or permission to carry out works at the proposed site (for example, a lease, licence or council land ownership confirmation), since infrastructure works generally require the applicant to demonstrate they have the right to build or upgrade on the relevant land.
Any relevant planning or building approvals already obtained, or a clear plan for obtaining them.
Details of who will use the upgraded facility and how the project benefits the broader community, not just the applicant club, since community benefit and reach are typically weighted highly in this kind of competitive infrastructure round.
Co-contribution or matched funding details, if your organisation is contributing cash or in-kind support toward the project, since many infrastructure programs favour applications that demonstrate some level of applicant investment, even where co-contribution is not a strict requirement.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Based on how competitive infrastructure grant rounds like this one are typically assessed, here are the mistakes most likely to weaken an application:
Underestimating project costs. A budget that looks too good to be true, or that is missing obvious cost components (such as project management, contingency, or approvals), raises red flags with assessors and can result in a project being underfunded if approved, or rejected outright if the numbers do not add up.
Applying without firm quotes. A rough estimate is far weaker than a written quote from a licensed contractor or supplier, particularly for larger Tier 2 applications.
Failing to demonstrate community benefit. Applications that focus purely on what the club needs, without explaining who else in the community uses or benefits from the facility, tend to score lower on community impact criteria.
Leaving land tenure or approvals unresolved. If your organisation does not clearly control the site, or has not started the planning and building approval process for works that need it, this can be a serious weakness in your application.
Submitting late or incomplete applications. With a fixed closing time of 2:00pm on 2 November 2026, applications submitted after the deadline, or missing required attachments, are unlikely to be considered. Build in time for a final review before submission, not the working day before it closes.
How Competitive Is This Grant Likely to Be?
With a $5 million total pool split across Tier 1 (up to $100,000) and Tier 2 (up to $500,000) grants, and eligibility open to sport and recreation clubs and councils across the whole of Tasmania, this round is likely to attract strong interest. Community sport infrastructure, particularly changeroom, lighting and playing surface upgrades, is a well-recognised, high-demand funding category, and previous rounds of this program have been popular with Tasmanian clubs.
That does not mean smaller or newer clubs should be discouraged from applying. Programs like this one typically assess applications on project merit, need and community benefit rather than favouring only the largest or best-resourced applicants. A well-prepared Tier 1 application from a smaller club, with clear costings and a strong case for community benefit, can be just as competitive as a large Tier 2 proposal from a bigger organisation.
Why This Investment Matters for Tasmanian Communities
Sport and recreation facilities are more than just places to play. Well-maintained changerooms, safe lighting and quality playing surfaces support participation across all ages, from junior sport through to seniors and social competitions. They also underpin volunteer-run clubs that rely heavily on their facilities being safe, functional and welcoming in order to attract and retain members, coaches and officials.
Ageing infrastructure, particularly changerooms and lighting installed decades ago, can become a genuine barrier to participation, especially for women and girls’ sport, where safe, private changeroom facilities are increasingly recognised as essential rather than optional. Programs like the Tasmanian Active Infrastructure Grants Program are one of the more direct ways state government funding translates into visible, everyday community benefit, since the upgraded facility remains in use by the community for years after the grant is spent.
What to Prepare Before You Apply
Given the roughly two-month application window, clubs and councils considering an application should start by clearly scoping the project (what exactly needs to be built or upgraded, and why), obtaining written quotes rather than rough estimates, confirming land tenure and any required planning approvals, and drafting a clear explanation of who benefits from the upgraded facility beyond the applying club itself. Organisations that are not yet incorporated should also treat incorporation as a priority action, since it underpins eligibility for this program and many others.
Related Funding Options
If your organisation is exploring this program, it is also worth looking at other funding streams that may be relevant depending on your location and sector. Community and not-for-profit groups more broadly may find useful context in Grants Assist’s guide to community development grants, while sport and recreation organisations outside this specific infrastructure round may want to review funding options supporting sport and physical activity projects more broadly. Tasmanian organisations working outside the sport and recreation sector can also browse Grants Assist’s overview of Tasmanian business grants for other funding currently available in the state.
Because eligibility and assessment criteria can be detailed, organisations that are unsure whether their specific project or structure qualifies can also use the Grants Assist eligibility assessment tool to help narrow down which programs are worth pursuing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my club eligible if we are not yet incorporated?
Based on the published eligibility criteria, this program is open to incorporated not-for-profit sport and recreation organisations, local government authorities, and eligible not-for-profit entities registered under Tasmanian or Commonwealth legislation. An unincorporated club is unlikely to meet the current criteria, so incorporation is worth pursuing before applying to this or future rounds.
Can we apply for less than $100,000 under Tier 1?
The Department has not published a stated minimum grant amount for either tier. Applicants should base their funding request on the genuine, itemised cost of their project rather than a set minimum or maximum figure.
Do we need a written quote, or is an estimate enough?
While the Department has not published a strict rule requiring quotes over estimates, a firm written quote from a licensed supplier or contractor is generally regarded as stronger supporting evidence than a rough estimate, particularly for larger Tier 2 applications.
What happens if our project needs council or planning approval that we have not obtained yet?
The program guidelines have not published a single fixed rule for every scenario involving pending approvals. Applicants in this position should address the status of any required approvals clearly within their application and, where possible, contact Active Tasmania directly using the details listed on the official program page to confirm how a pending approval should be handled for their specific project.
When will applicants know if they have been successful?
The Department has not yet published a confirmed notification date for this round beyond the application closing time of 2:00pm on 2 November 2026. Applicants should watch for updates directly from Active Tasmania as the round progresses.
Can a council apply on behalf of multiple clubs using the same facility?
Local government authorities are an eligible applicant type under this program. Where a facility is used by multiple clubs, a council-led application can be a strong way to demonstrate broad community benefit, though the specific approach should be confirmed against the official program guidelines for the applicant’s situation.
Want to keep exploring your options? Grants Assist’s online portal gives you access to detailed, regularly updated information on grants and assistance programs across Australia. Explore the Grants Assist portal to browse more programs like this one, or call us on 1300-005-999 to speak with one of our advisors.
