Minister for Health and Aged Care
Minister for Sport
THE HON SUSSAN LEY MP
Media Release
8 December 2016
AusPlay shows children need to get more active
Fifty four per cent of children aged under 14 years are active at least once a week in organised sport or
physical activity after school hours, the most comprehensive survey of Australians’ sporting activity and
motivation has found.
The biggest barriers for children aged under eight participating are parents’ perception that they are too
young to start playing.
Launching the first results of the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC’s) landmark AusPlay survey at
the Sydney Cricket Ground, Minister for Sport, Sussan Ley, said that parents need to consider if their
children are doing enough organised sport or physical activity outside of school hours.
“These results show we all need to be encouraging our children to get more active more often so they
enjoy the health and social benefits that come with an active lifestyle,” she said.
The Federal Government launched Sporting Schools in mid-2015 to give Australian primary school
children more access to sport and physical activity. The program funds more than 5,100 schools and
has reached more than 1.3 million students.
Ms Ley said: “It is vital we increase the rate of physical activity in our children. Campaigns, such as
Girls Make Your Move, and programs, including Sporting Schools, contribute to increasing physical
activity.
“Sporting Schools provides schools across Australia with the opportunity for organised sport before,
during or after school hours. The Turnbull Government has committed a further $60 million to 2018 into
the successful Sporting Schools program, making a total investment of $160 million.
“Sporting Schools is an important step in introducing children to sport and helping develop the
fundamentals and fun of sport and physical activity.”
The AusPlay survey will help the sport sector, all tiers of government and communities across the
nation get a better understanding of how and why Australians participate in sport and physical activity.
Ms Ley said: “It will also help to develop strategies to overcome barriers to participation. It doesn’t
matter which sport or physical activity appeals to you, we want to see more Australians being active
more often.”
AusPlay is a continuous survey that will report accurate and reliable data and trends every six months.
It shows how active Australians are, what drives them to be active, what sports and physical activities
they take part in, how much they spend on participation fees and what are the most popular activities.
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Results from the AusPlay survey will complement existing data and research conducted by the ASC in
recent years. This research is aimed at giving sports reliable information so they can plan strategies to
get more Australians participating in sport and physical activity.
Play.Sport.Australia., the ASC’s game plan for sports participation released in 2015, listed the AusPlay
survey as a priority action to better understand participation trends in Australia, inform policy decisions
and guide sports strategy.
The results of AusPlay were produced following interviews with over 20,000 adults, including more
than 3,800 parents/guardians of children aged 0-14 years between October 2015 and September
2016. More details on the AusPlay survey can be found on the ASC’s website ausport.gov.au
For more information contact Randal Markey, Senior Media Adviser, 0417 318 620, or Jessica
Howe, Media Adviser, 0428 426 293
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