How to Participate in the ClubGRANTS Review

The review is taking place against the backdrop of several recent developments:

• Liquor and Gaming NSW is undertaking a routine audit of a number of clubs participating in the scheme;
• For the first time, ClubsNSW published the details of all 13,000 funding decisions in October 2023;
• Liquor and Gaming NSW made a number of changes to the ClubGRANTS Guidelines, which took effect from 1 September 2023.

These developments may have varied impacts on the review process. For instance, ClubsNSW’s publication of all grant decisions provides an important level of transparency over the funding. 

This data lays bare the substantial benefits of ClubGRANTS, with clubs having donated $121 million over the year, which includes more than $50 million for which clubs received no concession or benefit. The data shows that clubs provided just shy of $60 million to sports, and more than $30 million in regional NSW.

The publication of the data also opens up the funding decisions for better public scrutiny, which is essential to retain public and community confidence, as well as identify any shortcomings in the Guidelines.

Through our consultation with members, we have identified four key messages which will form the foundation of our submission:

• ClubGRANTS is a de-centralised, local grants program where funding decisions are made by local representatives who know their community.
• ClubGRANTS is an accessible grants program which supports smaller, less sophisticated organisations who would be unable to secure funding through alternative channels.
• Clubs commit significant resources to the program, which ensures that administration costs are absorbed by clubs and not deducted from the pool of funds available for the community.
• ClubGRANTS is a tried and tested model that empowers clubs to contribute $50 million in extra funds to the community, for which clubs receive no benefit.

Clubs who are interested in preparing a submission should consider any case studies which illustrate these points.

One of the key criticisms of the scheme has been the incidence of clubs applying ClubGRANTS to their own facility. I think that clubs should address this point directly in the submission.

Those who criticise the industry for this practice display a deep misunderstanding about clubs. As not-for-profit businesses, any benefit to clubs must flow through to the community, in one form or another. 

Any for-profit business that operated a bowling green or football field would charge users top dollar which, in turn, would need to cover the significant opportunity cost of doing something more profitable with the land.

Clubs should be able to point to those who benefit from investments in core activities to highlight that the community remains the ultimate beneficiary.

We will be discussing ClubGRANTS during this round of Regional Meetings. Please feel free to come and chat to us if you’re thinking of preparing a submission. We’d love to help.