Balance the Board Policy

Balance the Board is a policy to support increased representation of women on boards across Victoria’s sport and active recreation sector.

Balance the Board requires all recognised Victorian sport and active recreation bodies to have a minimum of 40% women directors on its board to be eligible to apply for the Victorian Government’s Community Sport funding programs.

This includes state sporting associations, state sport and active recreation bodies, and national sporting organisations without a recognised Victorian state body.

If an organisation falls below the minimum 40% requirement, the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation will work with them to agree an action plan to meet the minimum 40% benchmark once again. This is important as not meeting the requirement can not only impact that organisation’s ability to access funding, but the ability for affiliated community associations, leagues or clubs to access funding as well.

Since Balance the Board was announced in 2017, the number of organisations with gender balanced boards has increased from 45% to consistently more than 90% at any point in time since the policy came into effect in 2019, across more than 100 funded organisations.

Balance the Board addresses Recommendation 3 of the Inquiry into Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation, which recommended mandating a 40% minimum quota for all funded sport and active recreation organisations.