AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sven Burchartz and Jessica Bell, Kalus Kenny Intelex
sports infrastructure in Australia to fund gear and facilities for female athletes. Alongside this investment, the women’s sport land - scape has expanded rapidly through the growth of major professional leagues in the AFL, NRL, A-League, Netball, Cricket and Basketball, many of which have increased team numbers, extended seasons or intro - duced standalone commercial models. Notably, in recent years, there has been a shift to separate women’s media and commercial arrangements from men’s games, with crowd attendances, prize money, sponsorship and broadcast deals growing in support of this separation. While the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and, in particular, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have signifi - cantly boosted the visibility and popularity of women’s sport in Australia, it is fair to say that there remains a considerable gap to bridge in achieving parity with men’s sport. As part of its “Play our Way” programme, the Austral - ian government announced in late 2024 an investment of AUD136 million in sporting grants to be provided across Australia, with a view to helping more than 100,000 women and girls enjoy better facilities at their local clubs. It is intended that projects such as this will help remove barriers to participation in sport for girls and women and, in turn, begin to bridge the gap between men’s and women’s sport. Example: Growth of AFLW The AFL is one of the most (if not the most) popular spectator sports in Australia, and now the Women’s AFL (“AFLW”) is one of the fastest-growing competi - tions in women’s sport in Australia. The first time that women were represented in AFL was in 2013, with the official AFLW professional competition beginning in 2017. At that time, the AFLW had only eight participat - ing teams. The number of teams grew quickly, with all 18 AFL clubs having AFLW teams by 2023. 8.2 Organisations and Initiatives to Promote Women’s Sport There are a number of organisations in Australia whose purpose is to develop women’s sport, including one notable organisation called Women Sport Aus -
tralia. Since its incorporation in 2005, Women Sport Australia has worked with industry stakeholders to provide women and girls with greater opportunities in sport and physical activity. Women Sport Australia (“WSA”) has conducted numerous initiatives in recent years, including a “Women in Leadership” workshop to expand access for women seeking coaching and other leadership roles in the sporting industry and a “Women in Sport Mentoring Program”. Government programs and other organisations also play a role in accelerating women’s sport. State-based bodies such as Sport and Recreation Victoria and the Office of Sport in New South Wales deliver initiatives such as “Change our Game” (Vic) and “Her Sport Her Way” (NSW), both aimed at boosting participation and growth of women’s sport. The Australian Institute of Sport has also expanded pathways for high-perform - ing women and girls across multiple sports, providing targeted funding and development programs to sup - port women’s long-term participation in sport. Examples of Growing Participation Soccer is one example of a female sport that is con - tinuing to grow in Australia. According to Football Australia’s National Participation Report for 2021, there were 174,380 women and girls participating in outdoor soccer, social and registered futsal that year. This represents a growth of over 21% or 30,507 play - ers since 2020. Following the success of Australia’s national football team, the Matildas, at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, female participation in soccer and other sports is expected to continue to grow sig - nificantly. Women’s cricket has also seen significant growth. Fol - lowing the success of the Women’s Big Bash League (Australia’s women’s domestic Twenty20 cricket com - petition) in mid-2024, Cricket Australia announced a ten-year plan to bolster women’s cricket in Australia, including increasing financial investment significantly, placing a greater emphasis on grassroots participa - tion, improving infrastructure and introducing a new state-based Twenty20 competition. Moving from the field to the race track, motorsport has seen significant investment over recent years to boost female participation. Through the FIA Girls on Track
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