This communications pack is designed for councils to share information on the Fair Access Policy Roadmap.
It contains the following items:
The Fair Access Policy Roadmap (the Roadmap) is an Australia-first policy that supports women and girls with fairer access to community sport and recreation facilities.
Developed by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation in partnership with VicHealth and Sport and Recreation Victoria, the Roadmap has supported all Victorian councils and Alpine Resorts Victoria to create and adopt a policy that supports equitable access to sports facilities for everyone. It also supports councils meet existing obligations as Defined Entities under the Gender Equality Act 2020.
In an exciting announcement, 100% of all Victorian councils now have adopted acceptable policies under the Roadmap.
With policies now in place, councils will now be supported to show progress against these policies over time to remain eligible for Victorian Government funding for community sport infrastructure.
Learn more about the Fair Access Policy Roadmap.
You can edit your social media tiles to include your local council's logo via our Canva template.
[Council name] is playing our part to level the playing field for women and girls in community sport, with 100% of councils officially adopting Fair Access policies 👏
We know that women and girls haven’t always had fair access to the best courts, grounds or training times, or have experienced environments that haven’t been welcoming or inclusive, making it difficult for many to participate. This is going to change.
Our policy will help ensure that everyone can follow their sporting dreams and reach their full potential, both on and off the pitch.
#ChangeOurGame #FairAccess
Download the below image to use as your email footer. You can link this to our website page about the Fair Access Policy Roadmap.
We’re taking our next step to level the playing field.
[Insert council name] is proud to play a role in Victoria leading the way in closing the participation gap for women and girls in community sport.
The Victorian Government has announced that 100% of local councils across the state have adopted gender equitable access and use policies for community sports facilities, in an Australia-first.
Developed in partnership with Victoria’s Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, Sport and Recreation Victoria and VicHealth, we are working to better support women and girls to have fairer opportunities and better experiences when participating in community sport.
In [insert council name], this looks like [add a sentence about the council’s actions towards Fair Access.]
You can learn more about our policy on our website [insert link to policy].
We've released a short animation video to celebrate the 100% implementation milestone. You can access this via our YouTube Channel. We encourage you to reshare.
The Fair Access Policy Roadmap (the Roadmap) is an Australia-first policy designed to support women and girls with fairer access to publicly-owned community sport and recreation facilities.
Developed by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation in partnership with VicHealth and Sport and Recreation Victoria, the Roadmap has been supporting all Victorian councils to develop and adopt localised gender equitable access and use policies (or equivalent) to implement their action plans and achieve progress towards fair access since its launch in August 2022. The Roadmap aligns with existing obligations that local councils have, as defined entities under the Gender Equality Act (2020).
Since 1 July 2024, the eligibility criteria for Victorian Government funding programs that support community sports infrastructure now reflects the requirement for local councils to have gender equitable and use policies (or equivalent) to be in place, and for progress to be shown against these policies over time.
The Gender Equality Act 2020 requires the Victorian public sector, local councils, and universities to take positive action towards achieving workplace gender equality. Policies, programs and services that relate to community sport and recreation are considered to have a direct and significant impact on the public. The Fair Access Policy Roadmap outlines the key steps on this journey and the guidance that will be provided by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation.
100% of all Victorian local councils and Alpine Resorts Victoria have now adopted acceptable policies (or equivalent).
As every community is unique, each Victorian council’s policy is locally relevant and unique to their community’s needs. The Roadmap is also supporting councils to undertake Gender Impact Assessments as part of their existing obligations under the Gender Equality Act (2020), and the results of these assessments may identify changes required within certain facilities, policies or programs to better suit the entire community.
With each council now having a policy in place, the Fair Access Policy Roadmap transitions to its ongoing Progress Phase, and the need for councils to show progress with their policies over time.
The Office for Women in Sport and Recreation will be in contact with all councils in early 2025 to share more information on this phase of the Roadmap.
Page last updated: 13 December 2024
We acknowledge the Traditional Aboriginal Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pay our respects to them, their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
We respect and welcome people of all backgrounds, genders, sexualities, abilities and cultures.