Federal budget set to deliver further $500 million for Brisbane Olympics but no funds for Victoria's Commonwealth Games

Set to deliver the Federal budget this evening, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers is reported to be due to announce a further $500 million for the Brisbane Olympics - funding beyond its $3.4 billion commitment announced for the Games in February.

However, the budget will not include financial support for Victoria's 2026 hosting of the Commonwealth Games - which has been estimated at $2.6 billion.

The Victorian Government is understood to be seeking $1.3 billion from the Federal Government for its regional Games.

Speaking prior to the release of the 2023/24 budget, Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson said that he hoped the federal government would back the Commonwealth Games to same degree it has backed the Olympics.

Assistant Treasurer Pearson advised “what I would say is that the Commonwealth has provided funding to the Olympic Games in Brisbane in 2022, so we would hope that they would come forward with some level of funding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games."

Offering further clarity on likely funding support, a spokesperson for Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King stated "the Commonwealth is exploring opportunities with the Victorian government on the development of Commonwealth Games villages, where this aligns with our goal to build more social and affordable housing.

“We note that the Victorian Government has already announced and started tendering for games venues.”

The Federal Budget will see $504.6 million allocated to the Brisbane Games over a four year period including $16.8 million over 2023 and 2024, $34.8 million in 2025, followed by $133.9 million and $319.1 million over 2026 and 2027.

Treasurer Chalmers added "in only our second budget we’ve done something the Coalition never could - deliver on our promise to fund the Games and that’s only possibly thanks to our responsible fiscal approach which is helping us make strong inroads in cleaning up the mess they left behind."

The Federal Government has already committed to a 10-year $7 billion joint funding deal with the Queensland Government to build a number of venues to support the Olympic and Paralympic games.

A full account of Federal budget funding for the leisure industry will follow tomorrow.

Image: Concept for a redeveloped Gabba in Olympics mode.