What is Fair Access?
The Victorian Government is taking steps to ensure a future where there is a level playing field for women and girls in sport and active recreation, so they can fully participate in and enjoy the benefits of community sport right through to senior leadership roles.
It is difficult for some people to participate in sport and active recreation due to a variety of reasons, such as gender, ability and religion. By considering different things that might prevent someone from participating in sport, changes can be made to remove these barriers and promote inclusion.
This is how Fair Access aims to increase opportunities in sport and active recreation for everyone, in particular women, girls and under-represented groups.
What is the Fair Access Policy?
In 2022, the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation announced that all local councils in Victoria and Alpine Resorts Victoria were required to adopt a Fair Access policy to support equal access to sports facilities for everyone.
This Policy and any resultant action plan are based on six (6) Fair Access Principles which were developed by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, Sport and Recreation Victoria and VicHealth, in consultation with representatives from local government and the state sport and recreation sector. These are:
- inclusivity
- full participation
- equitable access
- equal representation
- encouraging and supporting user groups
- prioritising user groups committed to equality.
The Central Goldfields Shire Council Fair Access Policy was adopted in 2024. In alignment to our commitments under this policy and the Fair Access Principles, Council will:
- provide opportunities for local sport and recreational clubs to learn about gender equality and inclusion
- conduct Gender Impact Assessments on all current community sports infrastructure access and use policies and processes, and to consider opportunities to strengthen gender equitable access and use of community sports facilities
- develop a gender equitable access and use policy and action plan (or equivalent)
In turn, organisations who engaging with gender equality work may find benefits in:
- new ways to attract more participants including players, volunteers and officials;
- stronger, more connected community and organisation;
- increased funding opportunities
- strengthen grant applications
Read the Central Goldfields Shire Fair Access Policy here
What does Fair Access mean for clubs?
As part of Fair Access, Council is encouraging clubs to learn about why promoting gender equality in sport is still important and have discussions with their sporting communities about barriers that might be preventing women, girls and under-represented groups from joining or maintaining their sporting journey.
Additional support for clubs
Council will be partnering with Sports Focus to providing face-to-face workshops that help local clubs learn more about the gender equality in sports, barriers to participation and how they can take action to build a stronger, more inclusive sporting community. These workshops are voluntary and free, however places are limited. They’re designed to be practical, supportive, and easy to follow.
Fair Access resources and guides have also been provided on the Council website to help assist those sporting and recreational clubs in Central Goldfields who want to undertake gender equality work at their own pace. The outcome of the five recommended Gender Equality steps will be a Gender Equality Action Plan that will address barriers to participation and promote fair and equitable access.
Find out about these workshops and other resources here
This policy is not about taking away time from men or boys who might make up large part of some clubs; it simply encourages you to balance things out by considering the needs of women and girls too.
Outcomes of the Fair Access process might include:
- using respectful language on and off the field
- working towards making facilities and training times available to all genders, not just the men and boys
- developing a flexible uniform policy
- consulting with players, coaches and parents to understand the needs of participants before allocating training and game times
Why Fair Access?
We all want community sport and recreation to have safe and welcoming environments. But research shows that men and boys still are often given the best courts, training grounds, and practice times. This can make it harder for women and girls to get involved and reach their full potential.
Fair Access will ensure that everyone has the chance to get involved, be encouraged, have equal opportunities, access support, and be rewarded.
What factors may affect a person participating in sport or active recreation?
How we see a space or opportunities is dependent on our life experiences. Aspects* of a person's identity may affect these experiences and how welcome and safe a person feels participating.
For example, certain sporting uniforms might make women uncomfortable or stop them playing at their best. This was demonstrated in the below two articles.
*Aspects of a person’s identity may include (but is not limited to) gender, age, cultural background, ability, religion and sexual orientation. Under-represented groups are people that are participating in lower numbers relative to the population in the broader community, and may be grouped by aspects of a person’s identity.
What are the benefits of Fair Access to my organisation?
Fair Access will help organisations identify ways to improve how they address the motivators and needs of existing participants and potential new participants. In turn, organisations may experience:
- more participants, such as players, volunteers and officials
- increased performance, where all members can bring their best selves
- increased long-term sustainability of organisation
- stronger, more connected community and organisation
- increased community support
- increased sponsorship opportunities
- increased grant funding opportunities
Clubs and recreational organisations that complete their GEAP’s will be promoted on the Council website as a Fair Access sporting organisation.
Anyone is welcome to join our organisation, why do I need to do more?
We are not all starting at the same place. People may have different needs and power and these differences should be identified and addressed in a manner that fixes imbalances. Equity is the process of being fair to everyone in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities, and makes adjustments to address imbalances.