National Sport Organisations and Professional Clubs ...



National Sport Organisations and Professional Clubs Coronavirus (COVID-19) Short-term Survival Funding Program

Application guidelines

Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.

© State of Victoria, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, May 2020.

To receive this publication in an accessible format, please contact the Grants Information Line on 1300 366 356, using the National Relay Service 13 36 77 if required.

Available at: sport..au

Program overview

Background and context

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic. As a result, the Australian Government introduced a range of measures to reduce the risk of the virus spreading, including restrictions on travel and public gatherings, physical distancing, and most recently a direction for all Australians to stay at home.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions have resulted in the closure of sporting venues and cancellation of sporting activities and events, significantly impacting the sports sector from the grassroots level right through to professional competition.

Professional sporting teams and National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) have been highly impacted by coronavirus restrictions resulting in the cancellation (or postponement) of all national and international competition, which has significantly reduced revenue sources for 2020.

Sport and Recreation Victoria

Sport and Recreation Victoria maximises the economic and social benefits provided to all Victorians by ensuring greater access and opportunities for participation in sport and recreation. Sport and recreation are an integral part of Victoria’s social and economic life and Sport and Recreation Victoria works to ensure this strong, vibrant and interconnected system supports over 3.8 million Victorians to play sport and be engaged in active recreation.

Returning to Play

On 1 May 2020 National Cabinet considered and endorsed National Principles for the Resumption of Sport and Recreation Activities developed by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), in consultation with sporting bodies across Australia. The Framework for Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment developed by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) also provides a guide to the staged resumption of sport and recreation in Australia

The Victorian Government has consulted with sporting organisations, the Victorian Chief Health Officer and Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to resolve a position on return to play for major sporting codes. For high performance and professional sport, new guidance for professional sport codes will support National Sporting Organisations and professional clubs to develop their return to play plans and risk mitigation plan strategies. This will ensure professional players, coaches, trainers and support staff can return to their place of work and resume their jobs.

Professional teams will need comprehensive coronavirus (COVID-19) risk management and community safety plans and to adhere to strict hygiene practices in order to resume activities. Enforcement and compliance of the coronavirus (COVID-19) risk management and community safety plans will be the responsibility of individual peak sport and governing bodies.

Organisations impacted

The key focus organisations for this grant program are:

• Victorian professional sporting teams: There are approximately 45 professional sporting teams competing in national competitions or NSO licenced competitions in Victoria. Examples include, but are not limited to, Melbourne Boomers, Vixens Netball, Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Storm and Bendigo Spirit.

• National Sporting Organisations (NSO): There are 98 national sporting organisations recognised by Sport Australia and over 30 have their headquarters in Victoria. Examples include, but are not limited to, Hockey Australia, Basketball Australia, Golf Australia, Swimming Australia, Athletics Australia, Australia Lacrosse Association, Pony Club Australia, Bowls Australia. Other organisations such as the NBL are tasked with delivering critical NSO endorsed functions. Due to their size and nature of operations, Victorian based NSOs have been segregated into three distinct groups for the purposes of this grant program:

o NSOs with professional teams

o NSOs of Olympic sports

o NSOs of non-Olympic sports

Rationale for investment

Sport is a significant part of Australian life. High performance sport and elite athletic performances provide inspiration, entertainment and pride to Victorians. Major and significant sporting events play an integral role in inspiring participants, spectators and competitors to increase their participation and engagement in sport.

Major and significant sporting events also build our capacity to deliver future major international sporting events, provide legacy programs and facilities, opportunities for Victorian businesses to connect with overseas markets and deliver significant economic benefits to the Victorian economy.

The sports sector is a key part of Victoria’s economy, around $5.4 billion is spent each year on sport in Victoria. The sector employs 20,447 full time equivalent staff and has an annual economic contribution in excess of $4 billion.

Victoria has a world class major events calendar, which contributes an estimated $2 billion in direct economic contribution to the Victorian economy annually and directly employs an additional 3,350 people. Collectively, our professional sport and major event sectors are significant contributors to Victoria’s visitor economy, supporting our title as the world’s “Ultimate Sports City”.

Financial support is required to ensure that NSOs and professional clubs can survive the shutdown period, retain essential staff in the sector and resume operations on the other side of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Objectives of the program

The core objectives of the program are to:

Contribute to the short-term survival and viability of:

o Victorian professional sporting teams (participating in national or international competitions), ensuring jobs, economic activity and Victoria’s strong sports presence is retained locally.

o NSOs based in Victoria, including Victorian based organisations that are licenced to perform NSO functions on behalf of their NSOs and ensuring jobs, economic activity and Victoria’s strong sports presence are retained locally.

Eligible Organisations

The program will be open to Victorian-based:

Professional teams and National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) with professional teams

NSOs of Olympic sports

NSOs of non-Olympic sports

Organisations that are licenced to perform NSO functions on behalf of their NSOs, recognised by Sport Australia.

Level of funding available

The funding available to organisations is presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Program Funding

|Program |Average Funding Allocation |Total Funding |

| | |Allocation |

|Stream 1: Professional teams and NSOs with professional |An average of $200,000 is available per organisation |$9.0 million |

|teams |if fully subscribed | |

|*Assuming 45 eligible organisations | | |

|Stream 2: NSOs of Olympic and non-Olympic sports |An average of $230,000 is available per organisation |$7.0 million |

|*Assuming 30 eligible organisations |if fully subscribed | |

Applications, approvals, agreements

Program Delivery

The program will be delivered via two streams:

• Stream 1: Funding support to ensure professional teams and NSOs with professional teams remain operationally viable

• Stream 2: Funding support to ensure NSOs (excluding NSOs with professional sporting teams) remain operationally viable. This includes NSOs of Olympic sports and NSOs of non-Olympic sports

Grant application process

Step 1 Complete your application through the DJPR Online Grants portal

Step 2 Applications will be assessed by Sport and Recreation Victoria staff against the program aims and assessment criteria. Input and assessment advice may be provided by other sector stakeholders where necessary.

Eligible to apply:

|NSO |Professional Team |

|Sport Australia recognition |Team competes in an NSO recognised or licensed, peak national or |

| |international competition |

|Organisation is a non-government, not for profit or registered as|Organisation is a non-government, not for profit or registered as|

|an incorporated body |an incorporated body |

|NSO is based in Victoria |Team is based in Victoria |

|Annual report and audited financial statements |Annual report and audited financial statements |

|Policies relating to member protection, safe and ethical sport, |Policies relating to member protection, safe and ethical sport, |

|gender equity and child safe standards |gender equity and child safe standards |

Ineligible to apply:

• Organisations that are not NSOs or professional sporting teams

• Organisations that are not based in Victoria

Eligible Expenses:

Eligible expenses are those that have been paid, are unavoidable during the eligibility period (1 March to 31 August 2020) and are essential to maintain operational viability.

Eligible expenses can only be claimed from this fund where they cannot be funded via an alternative funding source or an application for this support has been unsuccessful. Eligible expenses that are being subsidised or waived through other support cannot be claimed.

Further information on eligible and ineligible expenses is provided in Appendix B.

Conditions of funding

Funding is provided to contribute to the continuity of NSOs and Professional Teams for the duration of the shutdown period and upon recommencement of their sport following the shutdown period. State support will be based on the minimum required to sufficiently support the organisation's financial position for a temporary period of time. The following conditions apply:

• Funding will be based on evidence of demonstrated need, including an assessment/validation of revenues and expenditures.

o Funding requirements during the coronavirus period will be assessed. That is funding needed between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2020. This will include funding in arrears to cover this period.

o Organisations are required to provide cashflow forecasts to 31 December 2020 demonstrating the need for funding and the level of funding required. Cashflow forecasts should be prepared on the assumption of a 6-month shutdown period.

o Assistance is aimed at supporting the professional bodies themselves (administration and high-performance staff) not salary costs for players.

o Funds will be required to be acquitted by 31 December 2020.

Organisations are required to apply for all other relevant State and Federal government coronavirus assistance packages, as well as relevant Sport Australia funding before seeking funding through this grant program.

A summary of available assistance packages is provided in Appendix A. In particular, organisations should apply for:

o The Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper package where they require support for essential staff salaries

o Other Victorian or Commonwealth Government support packages where they require support for business expenses including loans, rental, taxes, insurances and other operating expenses. A list of these support packages is provided in Appendix A.

Return to Play

• High performance and professional sport(s) can return to full training and competition subject to them having a finalised coronavirus (COVID-19) Risk Management and Community Safety Plan in place addressing risk mitigation strategies related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• No plan(s) to resume training and competition activities should compromise the health of players, participants (and their families), club support staff or the Victorian community; Professional sports must have regard to their Occupational Health and Safety obligations to their employees.

• Any plan to resume training and competition activities should be in accordance with the directions issued by the Chief Health Officer and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Framework for Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment; and

• Organisations must stay up-to-date with changes to directions issued by the Chief Health Officer (available at dhhs..au/coronavirus) and Human Services and be ready to respond at any time to changes.

Assessment criteria

The criteria presented in Table 1 will be used to assess application.

Table 1: Assessment criteria

|Criteria |Description |

|Demonstrated financial viability of the|Organisation has an audited set of financial statements that demonstrates the organisation was |

|organisation prior to coronavirus |solvent prior to the coronavirus restrictions. |

|restrictions | |

|Demonstrated loss of revenue resulting |The expected funding required will be based on: |

|from coronavirus restrictions |reduction in total annual revenue resulting from the coronavirus restrictions (excluding grant |

| |funding) |

| |revised cashflow forecasts following coronavirus restrictions (assuming a six-month shutdown period).|

|Use of existing cash reserves |Organisations can fully demonstrate that existing cash reserves have been utilised, considering the |

| |need to maintain a reasonable level of working capital. |

|All relevant grant funding programs |Evidence is provided that all efforts have been made to access other state and federal funding |

|have been explored |packages available for businesses impact by the coronavirus restrictions. |

|Evidence that any planned discretionary|All necessary steps must be taken to minimise expenditure, including deferring discretionary internal|

|expenditure has been deferred |projects, while maintaining core activities as required. |

|Access to other funds sources |If your organisation has access to a line of credit or other sources of funds, the assessment panel |

| |will take this into consideration when considering applications  |

Application supporting material and documentation

To apply for funding, each organisation is required to provide:

A completed application form through the DJPR Online Grants portal

Your organisation’s most recent audited financial statements.

Confirmation of your organisation’s eligibility or ineligibility for other coronavirus State and Federal funding packages set out in Appendix and the reasons why the organisation was ineligible.

Your organisation’s original budget and reforecast budget/cashflow forecast for 2020 showing expected loss of income and any adjustments to planned expenditure. This should include changes to staffing costs (reflecting any redundancies and JobKeeper payments) new coronavirus grant revenue and any other changes.

How are applications assessed and approved?

Financial information provided by applicants will be reviewed by external, expert financial analysts and used as part of the assessment against the criteria along with other information provided in the application. The amount of funding required will also be confirmed by external financial analysis.

Applications will be assessed by a panel comprised of Sport and Recreation Victoria staff.

Grants will be approved by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events.

All contracts and payments will be managed through DJPR’s Grants Management System.

1. Need for Victorian Government Funding

Assessment will consider:

• the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on organisational revenue, staffing and use of cash reserves

• efforts to minimise expenditure, including deferring discretionary projects, while maintaining core activities

• eligibility and access to other government grants.

2. Operational viability

Assessment will consider:

• the organisation’s level of financial viability prior to COVID-19 restrictions

• projected profit and loss (projected income) for 2019/20 financial year

• identified eligible expenses for the period 1 March to 31 August 2020

Reporting

Grants will require a standard project acquittal report on completion.

Appendix A – State and Federal Government COVID-19 support

Victorian Government grant funding and support programs

| |Business Support Fund |Payroll tax refund for Business |Land tax relief for land subject to |Land tax payment deferral |

| | | |commercial and residential leases | |

|Description |One-off $10,000 payment per business for |Full payroll tax refunds/waivers for 19-20 financial|25 per cent discount on land tax to |Deferral of 2020 land tax payment to be paid |

| |small and medium enterprises |year and option to defer any payroll tax for the |commercial and residential landlords that |between 1 Jan 2021 – 31 March 2021 |

| | |first three months of 20-21 financial year until 1 |provide rent relief to affected tenants who | |

| | |Jan 2021 |have been affected by Covid-19. | |

|Size of business |Turnover of more than $75,000 |Payroll (annual taxable wage bill) between $650,000 |N/A |Land owners that have at least one taxable |

| |Payroll of less than $650,000 |and $3 million | |non-residential property and total taxable |

| | | | |landholdings below $1 million |

|Reduction in turnover |No numeric criteria but must demonstrate they|N/A |N/A |N/A |

| |have been "subject to closure or highly | | | |

| |impacted" by restrictions | | | |

|Exclusions |Companies that are part of a group of |N/A |N/A |N/A |

| |companies that is registered for payroll tax | | | |

| |and will receive the payroll tax refund | | | |

|Other eligibility criteria |Holds an ABN and held it at 16 March 2020 |Includes employers that are a member of a group |All or part of the property is rented or |N/A |

| |Employs people |(eligibility threshold applies to each employer |available for lease | |

| | |individually) |Commercial tenants must be eligible for | |

| | | |Jobkeeper and have an annual turnover of less| |

| | | |than $50 million | |

| | | |Commercial landlords must provide rent relief| |

| | | |in proportion to the tenant's loss in | |

| | | |turnover | |

| | | |Residential landlords must pass on the | |

| | | |equivalent amount in rent relief to the | |

| | | |tenant | |

Federal Government grant funding and support programs

| |Jobkeeper |Boosting cash flow for employers |Supporting the flow of credit (Coronavirus SME |Supporting the flow of credit (Quick and |

| | | |Guarantee Scheme) |efficient access to credit for small businesses)|

|Description |$1,500 per worker per fortnight paid directly to|Two payments to be made, the first from 28 |50% loan guarantee for new unsecured loans to be|Helps small businesses access credit quickly |

| |organisations to support them to pay staff |April, the second from June to September |used for working capital |Exemption from responsible lending obligations |

| |wages. |Each payment equal to 100% of salary and wages |Maximum loan of $250,000 for up to three years |for lenders providing credit to existing small |

| |Businesses are required to pass on the payment |withheld, minimum of $10,000 and maximum of |Repayment-free for six months |business customers |

| |to workers in full and effectively sets a |$50,000 (each) | |Available or 6 months |

| |minimum wage for employees of $1,500 per | | | |

| |fortnight. | | | |

|Size of business | |Aggregated annual turnover ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download