Sport Australia defends ‘sports rorts’ funding allocations in Federal Court

The Australian Sports Commission’s Sport Australia division has been defending its role in the allocation of funds from the Federal Government’s Community Sports Infrastructure Grant (CSIG) program in the Federal Court this week, insisting it had the final on funding approvals despite numerous changes requested by former Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie.

Sport Australia is defending a claim in the Federal Court by the Beechworth Lawn Tennis Club in Victoria seeking to overturn the refusal to give the club a $500,000 grant.

With the case challenging the validity of grants made under the CSIG , Sport Australian has insisted it retained the final say on which applications would be approved for funding despite a flurry of late changes to grant recipients requested by the then-Minister Mckenzie and her office.

In its defence, Sport Australia blamed language copied from a Federal Finance Department template for the program guidelines stating the minister would “provide final approval” and the minister’s decision was “final in all matters”.

Sport Australia rejected the Beechworth Lawn Tennis Club’s claim that it granted funding “in accordance with the minister for sport’s approval of applications”.

Rather, the agency claimed that after projects were identified, it sought additional information from applicants and retained “full discretion” to withdraw the grant or vary its terms.

The agency said in its defence “there were occasions when Sport Australia determined that, for an application that had been approved by the minister, it would not make a grant or would change the scope of a grant.

“That is, Sport Australia did not enter into grant agreements for all projects approved by the minister or for all grant amounts approved by the minister.”

In January 2020, a scathing report from the Australian National Audit Office found that Senator McKenzie had skewed the program towards targeted and marginal seats.

After then-Minister McKenzie’s office ran a parallel assessment process, Sport Australia awarded funding to more than 400 projects that would not have received grants if its original recommendations were followed.

The Beechworth Lawn Tennis Club’s case argues that Sport Australia inappropriately took direction from the Federal Government about which projects to award grants to.

The legal action also asks the Court to reverse the decision to give a $35,980 grant to the Wangaratta Clay Target Club.

Senator McKenzie failed to declare she was a member of the club, in breach of ministerial standards, which prompted her resignation.

Minutes from Sport Australia’s Finance Audit and Risk Committee revealed that in December 2018 it believed the then-sport minister had “overturned” its recommendations, a “variation in the approval process” that it noted as a risk.

Speaking to the Guardian Australia, University of Sydney law school constitutional expert, Professor Anne Twomey, noted that Sport Australia’s response was “inconsistent” with its pleadings.

Professor Twomey pointed out that Sport Australia’s “own records show that it regarded the minister as the final decision-maker”.

The case will return to court on 8th June.

Lower image courtesy of the Beechworth Lawn Tennis Club.