Parents and sporting association officials in St George and Sutherland Shire have welcomed the new $100 rebate, announced in the state budget.
The Active Kids Rebate will be available from January 1 to help meet the cost of sports registration or swimming lessons for school-age children
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It will not be means-tested, and will be available for each child each calendar year on items such as club registration and membership, and also swimming lesson fees.
Anything that helps to get children on the park playing sport is definitely a value-add for all communities.
- Jeff Stewart, SSFA general manager
Parents will register online and receive a voucher to take to a registered sports club or provider to receive their rebate.
A comprehensive list of eligible sports and activities will be finalised following community consultation.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the rebate would support the government’s aim to reduce overweight and obesity rates of children by five per cent over 10 years.
Sutherland Shire Football Association (SSFA), which has 19,000 registered players and is the nation’s biggest sporting organisation, welcomed the rebate.
“Anything that helps to get children on the park playing sport is definitely a value-add for all communities,” general manager Jeff Stewart said.
“People are regularly telling us the financial cost can sometimes constrain their ability to put their children on the park.
“This is a fantastic means of assisting with that financial burden.”
Sylvania Heights Netball Club coach Hayley Smith, who coaches her daughter Chloe’s Under 11 team and whose son Lucas plays for the football club, said the rebate would be a big help to many parents.
”It is definitely getting a lot more expensive, especially as a lot of kids want to experience different types of sport and there are costs involved in each of them,” she said.
Officials of St George District Netball Association, which has about 1700 players, praised the initiative.
Association president Liz O’Brien said the cost of uniforms, footwear and registration could be challenging, especially when children played winter and summer sports, and also for larger families.
“The rebate will encourage kids to get out and play sport, which is not only good for them physically, but also socially,” she said.
Ms O’Brien’s only reservation was she hoped the rebate would not add to the burden on club and association officers, who were volunteers and already had big demands on their time..
Treasurer Cecelia Palmer, who is president of the Ramsgate RSL club, said the association and affiliated clubs were not for profit organisations, and already provided fee assistance when required to families with limited financial means.
“We try to ensure all children in the St George area can enjoy the game of netball, and the rebate is welcome,” she said.
Nikki Suters-Sly, whose daughters Zara, nine, and Kayla, six, play for St Ursula’s, said she thought the rebate would be a great benefit to families to help cover the cost of registration and uniforms.
”It will go a good way towards encouraging children playing, or at least not stopping them.
”Registration for winter sport always comes just after school starts for the year, when there are also a lot of other expenses.”