Striving for Fair Access to our Sport and Recreation Facilities

The City of Ballarat is striving to make access to sporting and recreation facilities as equitable as possible for all genders.

To lay the foundation to achieve this, a draft Fair Access Policy document has been created, which seeks to address known barriers experienced by women and girls in accessing and using community sports infrastructure.

The policy will be specific to the City of Ballarat and is a requirement under the State Government’s Fair Access Policy Roadmap. It is set to be developed in mid-2024.  

Community members and organisations are invited to view the draft Fair Access Policy document and complete a survey on a City of Ballarat MySay page.

The City of Ballarat’s draft Fair Access Policy focuses on 'intersectional gender inequality’, which recognises that gender inequality may be compounded by other forms of disadvantage or discrimination that a person may experience based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and other attributes.

Community feedback from Ballarat residents will be helpful in creating an Action Plan, by learning about the barriers currently being experienced, and understanding how the City of Ballarat can best support the community to embrace the Fair Access Policy Principles.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said although there had already been a major focus on creating female-friendly sporting facilities in Ballarat in recent years, there was always more work that could be done.

“For many years now we have invested heavily in female-friendly infrastructure in Ballarat because we know that not having the right facilities can be a major barrier to encouraging participation,” he said.

“Having said that, we still want to hear from the community about what else can be done and how we can continue to improve in this area because we know there is still a lot of work to be done.”

In the last four years the City of Ballarat has completed 12 projects with a focus on female-friendly access, with new builds or refurbishments at seven football/netball facilities and five soccer facilities.

Most recently, this includes the North Ballarat Netball Changerooms, the Victoria Park Sport and Community Facility, and the Strengthening Wendouree Community Recreation Precinct – Soccer Pavilion, all completed in 2023.

The Active Women and Girls Strategy, created in 2018, also shows that improving female-friendly accessibility has long been a priority for the City of Ballarat.

To access the draft Fair Access Policy, fill out the survey or find out more about the Fair Access Policy Roadmap, visit the City of Ballarat MySay page.

The survey is now open and closes on Monday 1 April 2024.