Sport and Recreation’s popular FairPlay program will open to all Queensland children aged from 5 to 17 years from 1 July 2024, with the voucher value increasing per child to $200 to offset the rising cost of junior sport for families.

Announced as part of the Queensland Budget for the 2024-2025 financial year, the injection of an additional $33.5 million has expanded the FairPlay program to $40 million, addressing cost-of-living pressures faced by families as they juggle the household budget with the rising prices of registering their children for organised sport and recreation activities.

Through the Queensland Budget, the value of vouchers will increase from up to $150 to up to $200 for every voucher, to help reduce the cost of sports memberships, registration and participation fees for families.

The number of vouchers for the program has also increased from up to 50,000 to up to 200,000.

The additional 150,000 vouchers will be available for Queensland children and young people aged between 5 and 17 years to participate in sport and active recreation.

Importantly, 50,000 vouchers remain guaranteed to those under the current eligibility criteria of children and young people aged between 5 and 17 who hold, or whose parent, carer or guardian holds a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card with the child’s name on it. Vouchers will need to be redeemed by June 2025, enabling summer and winter sports and activities to be accessed.

FairPlay ensures more Queensland children have access to sports and active recreation activities such as rugby league, AFL, netball, BMX, table tennis, basketball, orienteering and abseiling.

Since the program began in 2019, over $30 million has been redeemed by activity providers with more than 210,000 vouchers used by eligible families.

The FairPlay program is part of the Queensland Government’s 10-year Activate! Queensland Strategy to get more Queenslanders moving more often.

More information on how to apply and eligibility criteria will be available from mid-June. Subscribe to the newsletter or follow on Facebook for updates.