Victorian Premier defends $100 million pandemic funding for Tennis Australia and Australian Open

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has defended financial support given to Tennis Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that hosting the Australian Open contributes millions to the state’s economy.

Tennis Australia financial accounts, lodged with the corporate regulator in December, revealed the Victorian Government forgave a $43 million loan that the body was accrued during the pandemic.

Guardian Australia revealed on Monday that the Victorian Government provided up to $63 million to Tennis Australia on the eve of the 2022 election to ensure it could meet its commitments for the 2023 Australian Open.

A ministerial briefing, obtained under freedom-of-information laws by the Victorian opposition and first reported by The Age, revealed that Victorian Treasurer, Tim Pallas, signed off on the release of contingency funds to “ensure that Tennis Australia remains solvent and can manage its cashflow”.

The move was backed by the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF), which according to the briefing, had estimated the cost of staging the 2022 Australian Open was “$70 million higher” than it otherwise would have been due to the Omicron wave and 50% stadium capacity cap.

The Department said Tennis Australia should be able to use the funds on an “as needs” basis and return any unspent funds at the end of the financial year. It remains unclear whether any funds were returned.

Arguing that any arrangements with Tennis Australia were commercial in confidence, Premier Allan told reporters on Monday “we have commercial arrangements with Tennis Australia for the operation of the world-class event that is the Australian Open.

“It’s one of our key anchors on our major events calendar. We saw yesterday 87,000 people attend the first day. The event on an annual basis brings $357 million of economic return to our city and state.”

According to Tennis Australia’s financial accounts, the “one-off derecognition” of the $43 million loan from the Victorian Government helped the organisation return to a surplus of $62 million in the last financial year, though losses for the period still increased to $6.4 million.

Tennis Australia’s revenues - which increased from $499 million to $542 million - include funding from the Australian Sports Commission, Department of Foreign Affairs and state tourism bodies.

Victorian Government highlight Australian Open benefits
Coinciding with the opening of the 2024 Australian Open, the Victorian Government has highlighted the value of the major events that it stages, referencing a recent independent study commissioned by Visit Victoria which found the major events calendar contributed $3.3 billion in value to the economy and generated more than 15,500 jobs for Victoria every year.

Welcoming the findings, Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sports and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos stated “something special happens when the Australian Open hits. The excitement from Melbourne Park spreads throughout the city’s hospitality, tourism, and arts and culture sectors and I encourage as many people as possible to experience it this January.”

For more information on the survey go to visitvictoria.com.

Images: The Australian Open in 2023 (top) and Australia's Alex de Minaur is the local favourite this year (below).