Deadline: 31-Mar-25
The Significant Sporting Events Program (SSEP) is a Victorian Government funding program that assists event organisers to enhance the delivery of national or international level sporting events in Victoria.
The sport must be recognised by the Australian Sports Commission and the event must be sanctioned by the recognised national or international sporting body
Objectives
- The SSEP is designed to:
- support the development of, or expansion of, existing sporting events, or to attract new events to Victoria
- build capability of the Victorian sporting sector, and their workforce, to host high quality, inclusive sporting events
- extend the activities around national and international events to encourage more Victorians to engage in, and develop their skills in, active sport
- support the development of high performance and talent pathways for athletes, and potential athletes, of all abilities
- drive economic activity across the state and in local communities surrounding sporting events
- grow Victoria’s reputation as a leader in delivering world class sporting events
- provide a platform to deliver government to government outcomes and foster sport diplomacy relations.
Priorities
- The refreshed Active Victoria 2022‑2026 outlines six priority objectives including:
- Increasing equitable participation in sport and active recreation
- Delivering quality infrastructure that is accessible, respectful and inclusive
- Building the capability of the sport and active recreation workforce
- Implementing good governance practices to ensure a safe and sustainable sector
- Supporting a pipeline of sporting events within the Victorian events calendar
- Encouraging Victorians to achieve success at the highest level through high performance.
Streams
- The SSEP has two streams of grants available:
- Event Assistance Grant
- To assist with offsetting general operational costs associated with staging events
- Event Development Grant
- To develop or expand existing events or to attract new events to Victoria that deliver key outcomes for the State
- Event Assistance Grant
Types of Events
- Eligible events must meet all the criteria for one of the following event types:
- National Championship
- Event is sanctioned by the recognised national sporting organisation as a national championship for the sport/discipline/category in Australia
- The winner is declared the national champion.
- National Series Event
- Event is part of a series sanctioned by the recognised national sporting organisation as the top tier national series for the sport/discipline/category in Australia
- Points or rankings are issued that contribute to an overall national series champion.
- National Competition Match
- A regular season or finals series match/es of the top tier national competition for the sport/discipline/category in Australia
- Single pre-season or friendly matches will only be eligible if held in regional Victoria where the match is not played at the home teams’ regular venue or town.
- International Championship
- Event is sanctioned by the recognised international federation as an international championship for the sport/discipline/category
- The winner is declared the champion of a specific region (e.g. World, Oceania, Asia).
- International Series/Qualifying Event
- Part of an international series for the sport/discipline/category in the region
- Points, rankings or qualifying positions are on offer that contribute to an overall international series champion.
- International Competition Match
- Australian national team competing against another international team or two international teams competing for the sport/discipline/category in Australia.
- National Championship
Funding Information
- Event Assistance Grant
- Up to $20,000
- Event Development Grant
- Up to $150,000
Outcomes
- The anticipated outcomes from the SSEP program are:
- More Victorians are attending and actively engaging in national and international sporting events.
- Victorian sporting bodies have more capability and capacity to host significant sporting events.
- Athletes have more opportunities to participate in events that encourage high‑performance and talent development, including those of all ages, genders, sexualities, ethnicities and cultures.
- Supported events are driving growth in the local visitor economies.
- Victoria’s national and international sporting events are run more inclusively.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible sporting events must:
- be delivered in Victoria
- be for a sport recognised by the Australian Sports Commission and listed on the Australian Sports Directory as the National Sporting Organisation for their sport in Australia
- be nationally or internationally sanctioned by a recognised sporting body and meet the criteria of at least one Event Type
- occur at least six months after the date of the submitted application
- offer equal prizemoney for people of all genders, where prizemoney is awarded.
- To be eligible, an organisation must:
- be the organisation with the rights to host the eligible event
- be an incorporated body, cooperative or association (including business associations)
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be financially solvent
- provide evidence of public liability insurance coverage to a value appropriate for the event
- have satisfactorily met reporting requirements on any grants received from the Victorian Government
Ineligibility Criteria
- The SSEP will not allocate funding to support:
- events that do not strongly align with the SSEP outcomes
- community or state level events
- sport or business conferences including trade shows
- charity fundraising events
- events that have received funding from the Victorian Government’s Major Event Fund for the same event in the same year
- retrospective funding where event delivery has commenced or is completed
For more information, visit Sport and Recreation Victoria.