Draft Fair Access Policy open for community feedback

Council has released its Draft FairAccess Policy for public consultation.

The draft policy outlines the City’s plan to improve our ability to identify and eliminate systemic causes of gender inequality across community sport, and to support sporting clubs to do the same.

The Victorian Government’s ‘Change Our Game State of Play Survey 2022-23’ found that women are 2.5 times more likely to report feeling unwelcome at their sporting club compared to men, with 28 per cent of women saying they have considered leaving their club due to inequitable treatment.

Some of the concerns raised included women and girls not having access to the best courts or grounds, or being relegated to less convenient competition and training times.The proposal considers factors such as female-friendly sport infrastructure design, the provision of equitable allocation of resources and increased female representation in the governance of sports clubs.

Mayor Trent Sullivan:

We know that rates of sporting participation are considerably higher for men than women, but we also know about the significant benefits of greater participation in sport for our community.

This policy considers some of the underlying causes of the reduced participation of women and girls in sport, and identifies the steps we can take to make change.

Cr Eddy Kontelj:

Local sporting clubs are the experts in what the issues and challenges are for their specific club.

Getting as much input from the community as possible will ensure we get this policy right so we can make real change in this space.

By investing in women, we will accelerate positive progress.

The four-week consultation period will run from Tuesday 2 April until Tuesday 30 April.

The entire community can participate in the survey, but the City is especially interested in seeking input from local sporting clubs.

To view the draft policy and provide feedback.