Sport Infrastructure Recovery Fund ECSAP FAQs

The Essential Community Sport Assets Program (ECSAP) is a program under the $207 million Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package. ECSAP is a key recovery measure of the Sport Infrastructure Recovery Fund to help communities assess, repair, reconstruct and build flood resilience into sport facilities enabling normal activities to return sooner.

The ECSAP is an initiative of the NSW Government.

The Essential Community Sport Assets Program (ECSAP) will provide financial support to eligible Local Government Areas (LGAs) for the repair, restoration, and betterment (i.e., improvement) of directly damaged local community sport facilities. The ECSAP has been designed:

• To support a partnership approach between all levels of government and to complement existing flood recovery package support measures
• To support eligible LGAs and sporting organisations to establish partnerships and engage with their communities, user groups and members, to demonstrate and prioritise project need and urgency 
• In two streams with notional funding allocations for each stream to support diversity in project grant requests, types of projects, sport beneficiaries and deliverability of projects.

The Program objectives are:

• Improve the standard of directly damaged community sport facilities to enable the return of sport activities as soon as possible through repair, reconstruction, and betterment
• Increase the utilisation of community sport facilities
• Provide inclusive and accessible community sport facilities to grow participation for women and girls, people with a disability, First Nations peoples and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• Upgrade sport facilities to be more resilient to future extreme climate events/ natural disasters.

Stream one

• Total funds available: $33 million

Stream two

• Total funds available: $10 million

Eligible applicants for Stream one and two must be from the following Australian Government natural disaster declared LGAs.

Australian Government natural disaster declared LGAs
 

Stream one eligible applicants

• Councils in an Australian Government natural disaster declared LGA – ARGN 1012 and AGRN 1025 (including Joint Organisations or Regional Organisations of Councils where at least one member council is from an Australian Government natural disaster declared LGAs).

Stream two eligible applicants

• NSW Office of Sport recognised NSW State Sporting Organisations (including National Sporting Organisations where the state body is part of a unitary governance model)
• Incorporated, community-based, not-for-profit sporting organisations (clubs and associations whose primary purpose is to organise sporting activities/deliver sport programs)
• Organisations providing sport programs that benefit the community, such as PCYCs, YMCA and YWCA
• Private enterprises (companies established under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), incorporated associations established under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW) or incorporated limited partnerships established under the Partnership Act 1892 (NSW).

Stream one

• Minimum grant amount: $150,000
• Maximum grant amount: $1,000,000

Stream two

• Minimum grant amount: $15,000
• Maximum grant amount: $500,000

No.

Infrastructure Betterment is repairing or building-back an asset that can better withstand future natural disasters while delivering benefits associated with improved resilience and generating productivity, economic and social outcomes. Betterment is made up of the following core values:

• Resilience – Reduce the risk of impact to an asset over its lifecycle to better withstand natural disasters, and improve the ability to respond, recover and adapt after asset disruption.
• Productivity – Maintain or improve the level of service and sustainable function that an asset provides.
• Economic – Achieve net benefits across the asset lifecycle based on the betterment value proposition and provide a return on investment.
• Social – Maintain or improve a community’s ability to function during and after a disruption to an asset.

The Essential Community Sport Assets Program has been designed to assess, repair, reconstruct and build flood resilience into sport facilities that have been significantly impacted by the 22 February 2022 onwards and 27 June 2022 onwards severe weather, flood and storm events.

The NSW Government offers other funding and assistance packages for smaller grant requests. This includes natural disaster financial assistance to help sporting and recreation clubs directly affected by a declared natural disaster including flood, fire or storm damage. This low interest rate loan up to a maximum of $10,000 can help meet the costs of restoring essential club facilities, equipment or other assets that have been damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster. Further information can be found at: Disaster relief loans - Sporting and recreation clubs (nsw.gov.au).

Further information on NSW Government grants and funding including the Local Sport Grant Program is available at: Grants and funding | NSW Government.

No. The Essential Community Sport Assets Program does not include costs incurred in the clean-up and make safe of community sport facilities. Exemptions may be considered in exceptional circumstances where works were required to be undertaken to ensure safety and/or accessibility to the public or property. This will be determined by the Office of Sport.

Applications will be assessed in line with the Essential Community Sport Assets Program (ECSAP) Guidelines. The ECSAP is administered by the Office of Sport in two stages:

1. Eligibility check
2. Merit assessment.

Applying for the Essential Community Sport Assets Program is a simple process using the SmartyGrants platform. You can download a copy of the application form prior to commencing your application.

Applications must be lodged by 2pm on Friday 9 December 2022, via SmartyGrants.

No. The application process is competitive. It is anticipated there will be multiple applications competing for the available funding. Successful applications will be those that best meet the objectives and purpose of the program and the assessment criteria.

If the funding allocation per stream is not fully exhausted, then funding from either stream may be redistributed to projects in the other stream for projects that align to the Essential Community Sport Assets Program objectives and purpose and meet the eligibility criteria. Redistribution will be undertaken at the recommendation of the Grant Assessment Panel, in accordance with the assessment criteria, with approval by the Minister for Sport.

No. Packaged up projects will only be accepted if integrated into a community sport facility that include multiple facility components and are proposed to be delivered within one sporting precinct/site. For example, the repair of a damaged clubhouse and field drainage upgrade at the same site.

Yes. Applicants can submit up to three (3) applications, with each requesting up to the maximum amount per funding stream.

No. Applicants cannot duplicate grant funding from another NSW or Australian Government grant program for the same project scope.

Project are expected to be completed by 31 December 2025.

Project commencement varies depending on the project. It may include the awarding of contracts, engagement of consultants, undertaking detailed damage assessments, feasibility studies, detailed designs and technical reports, and preparation of business cases. It may include the physical construction or preparation of materials offsite. For large and complex projects, it may be approval from council to proceed with the project through a council resolution or executive minute.

Physical works that are part of the project construction. These works include, but are not limited to, early works construction packages, site clearing and demolition, earthworks or building works and the physical construction or preparation of materials offsite.

Applications involving partnerships between government and non-government groups are encouraged and will be considered favourably. If successful, eligible applicants will be the grant recipient and responsible for the project’s delivery.

The first milestone payment will be made on execution of the Funding Agreement. This is expected to be in early 2023. The Office of Sport will support successful applicants to finalise project milestones, establish and execute a funding agreement.

The NSW Government through Resilience NSW and in partnership with the Australian Government has declared several NSW LGAs as impacted by a natural disaster following severe weather and floods from 22 February 2022 onwards and 27 June 2022 onwards .

The list of disaster declared LGAs is at the Natural Disaster Declaration website.

The NSW Government in partnership with the Australian Government will continue to revise the list of disaster declared LGAs based on continuing severe weather and flood events and announce response measure where appropriate.

Inclusive design keeps the diversity and uniqueness of everyone in mind and allows maximum use, by the widest range of people, without the need to adapt or add accessories. It includes the incorporation of universal design principles and providing safe, dignified and equitable access through functional space. Designs should be beyond Building Code of Australia or Access standards to ensure facilities are accessible to more people.

For further information:

• Design for Dignity Guidelines
• NSW Government Architect
• NSW Government Architect - Urban Design for Regional NSW
• Infrastructure Australia – Universal Design Considerations

If you are provided a grant, it is your responsibility to put in place adequate controls to prevent fraud and corruption and avoid negligence. This requirement is stipulated in the funding agreement terms and conditions.

Fraud is defined by the Independent Commission Against Corruption as “dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or causing a loss, by deception or other means”, and corruption as “deliberate or intentional wrongdoing, not negligence or a mistake”. Grant recipients may experience fraud, corruption or negligence when dealing with contractors in the project, or within their own organisation or its governance. In general, negligence can be defined as the failure to take proper care over or for something.

Appropriate management of procurement processes, the management of contracts and contractors, the establishment of appropriate project management practices (including governance and oversight), and the declaration and management of conflicts of interest are common controls used to prevent or control such incidents. The Office of Sport does not cover the loss of project funding due to fraud, corruption or negligence on behalf of the grant recipient which may also result in the termination of a funding agreement for a grant.

If you experience fraud, corruption or negligence, you should notify the Office of Sport. The Office of Sport can help your organisation work any variations required, except additional funding, to manage the impact on the project.

Fraud and corruption should always be reported to the police. More information about reporting fraud and corruption can be found at:

https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/crime/frauds_and_scams

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/report-fraud

https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/buying-products-and-services/scams

The 2022 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Program (2022 CLIRP) is a $207 million package to support the social wellbeing of NSW 2022 flood-impacted communities through community focused, social recovery measures. The 2022 CLIRP will support the rebuild, repair and betterment of essential community assets targeted for arts and culture, sports and Aboriginal communities.

The program will be delivered in two stages:

1. Priority Needs Program
2. Essential Community Assets Program

An Essential Community Asset is an asset that is not an essential public asset defined by the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements 2018 and plays a demonstrated, important role in providing one or more of the following:

• Basic social, cultural and recreational amenity to local residents and visitors
• Help support or safeguard community cohesion and/or wellbeing
• Support the preservation and continuation of cultural significant items and practices for Aboriginal communities.

The ECSAP provides funding for the repair, restoration, or betterment of directly damaged community sport facilities in eligible Local Government Areas.

Projects that have already been fully funded by insurance or other NSW or Australian Government grant programs or flood recovery initiative(s) for the repair, restoration, or betterment of directly damaged community sport facilities are not eligible.

A project that has received partial funding from insurance or other NSW or Australian Government grant programs or flood recovery initiative(s) for the repair, restoration, or betterment of directly damaged community sport facilities are eligible to apply. However, projects that have received partial funding for the same project should clearly demonstrate where the requested ECSAP grant will deliver significant new and additional scope and any project scope that will not be covered by the requested ECSAP grant.

The ECSAP does not provide funding for costs associated with the maintenance or construction of local roads, car parks (public or private) or any other core service infrastructure works that are ordinarily the responsibility of council, other level of government or private enterprise.