NSW families will again be able to take advantage of the Active Kids rebates with the popular government program continuing in 2023.
Launched in 2018, the program aims to increase participation of school-enrolled children in sports and physical activity by providing parents with vouchers to help cover registration and membership fees.
The program was implemented after a NSW Population Health Survey revealed that 75 per cent of children in NSW were not meeting the daily recommended level of physical activity, with a further 22 per cent of children aged five to 16 years reported as being overweight or obese.
Minister for Sport, Alister Henskens, said Active Kids was a nation-leading initiative delivering enormous benefits for community sporting organisations and clubs across NSW.
"The Active Kids program has significantly accelerated sporting participation and pumped unprecedented funding into community sporting organisations and clubs," he said. "There are more than 11,000 Active Kids providers in NSW, and with summer sport in full swing, school holidays are the perfect time to register kids in their favourite sport or recreation activity."
The Active Kids program provides two $100 vouchers for parents, guardians and carers of school-enrolled children to use towards sport and active recreation costs each year. The first voucher is valid from January to December, while the second is valid from July to December. The vouchers may be used with a registered activity provider for registration, participation and membership costs for sport, fitness and active recreation activities.
In a boost to families, the NSW government recently announced that families could now use their Active Kids vouchers to enrol children in eligible school holiday programs. NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, said the changes would help ease pressure on family budgets.
"These school holidays will be a summer NSW kids never forget with hundreds of sports activities to be added to the Active Kids program, so children can get active, have fun and enjoy the outdoors," he said. "So, whether the little ones want to do their favourite sport or try something new, the Active Kids program and NSW government have got kids covered this summer."
The Active Kids program has dramatically increased sporting and physical activity participation across NSW, with more than 4.67 million vouchers redeemed, saving families $462 million. To learn more about the Active Kids program, apply for vouchers, or find a provider, visit service.nsw.gov.au/active-kids.
