With kids increasingly spending less time outdoors, providing them with a diverse range of engaging activities is more important than ever to support their physical, mental, and social development.

Finding ways to encourage kids into sports, outdoor recreation, and team activities develops social skills, forms long-term friendships, promotes physical exercise, reduces adverse health outcomes, and improves relationships with our natural environment.

In 2011, the then-Liberal Government created the KidSport program aimed at supporting lower-income families to participate in club-based activities.

The Kidsport program provides financial assistance of up to $300 for children to cover club fees.

These clubs, however, must be included on the Kidsport approved list for kids to be eligible for support.

In 2017, WA Labor changed the eligibility under the program, excluding clubs that were only considered ‘active recreation’, regardless of activities or outdoor elements.

At this time, Scouts WA and Girl Guides WA lost their KidSport funding, impacting around 750 children who used the voucher from Scouts alone.

This is despite Scouts and Girl Guides featuring participation activities such as bushwalking, abseiling, and canoeing, as part of the organisation.

The WA Liberals know we should do everything possible to encourage kids to take up outdoor and group activities, especially during a cost of living crisis.

This change has made it harder for many ineligible clubs to grow their participation rates, especially with rising club fees, despite outdoor and group activities being fundamental to the long-term wellbeing of children.

At a time when financial pressures are making it harder for kids to participate in extra-curricular activities, promoting and supporting all forms of outdoor, group, and sport-related activities should be the priority.

Only a WA Liberal Government will make sure it is.

The WA Liberals believe physical exercise, team building, and social participation are cornerstones of a healthy and happy childhood and lead to long-term friendships, hobbies, and personal growth.

While KidSport was created to facilitate greater participation in this area, there are still many families that would like to get their kids involved but are being limited by funding and scope.

Under the current KidSport program, many parents are still struggling with club fees or finding a suitable organisation for their child’s interests that fits the criteria.

Expanding this program’s accessibility will not only increase participation rates but will also help the long-term sustainability of clubs and organisations across our state.

A WA Liberal Government will reinstate the previous criteria for approving clubs under the KidSport program, allowing more clubs — including the Scouts and Girl Guides — to be eligible under the program.

This will work alongside a review of the program criteria, to make sure the eligibility promotes a wide range of clubs and recreational activities for the benefit of all children.

We will also increase the financial assistance to $500 per child for one year, incentivising kids to get back into these activities without the added pressures of the current cost of living crisis.

By amending the eligibility of this program and increasing the payment, not only will it benefit over 26,000 children across WA, but benefit the organisations that run these sports and recreational activities into the future.

Western Australian parents and children deserve a government dedicated to promoting positive physical and mental outcomes in sports and recreation by providing financial relief to those struggling to participate.

Only the WA Liberal Party is committed to providing meaningful cost of living relief to families and supporting businesses and not-for-profit organisations across our state.