Contents:

1. 🚀 Idle to Income: The Aussie Schools Generating Real Revenue from unused space

2. ⚽The “Matildas Effect” Once Again on Full Display

3. 📮PitchUp x Australian Sports Commission - “State of Play” Questionnaire

4. 🪙Grant releases - Available Grants for Sport That You May Have Missed

5. 🏫Venue Spotlight - Welcome aboard Springvale Indoor Sports!

NEWS
Idle to Income: The Aussie Schools Generating Real Revenue from unused space - Could Yours be Missing Out?

Most school leaders will already be familiar with the concept of facility hire. But the gap between knowing it's possible and actually making it work - consistently, sustainably, without drowning your admin team - is where a lot of schools struggle.

To understand what's genuinely achievable, NSW public school data offers a useful window into one state's experience. The policy framework there is well-established: principals have the authority to approve community use arrangements, and any income generated stays with the school.

In 2022, NSW public schools collectively earned close to $40 million from hiring their facilities (NSW Gov - Open Data, 2023). The top performers were striking - Lane Cove West Public School earned $484,659 and Killara Public School $473,777 - generating serious supplementary income from a mix of sports courts, classrooms and community tenants. The median school, however, earned just $9,460. The mean sat at $22,817 (M. Ward, 2023).

That gap between the highest earners and the middle of the pack is the most interesting number in the dataset - and it raises a fair question: is it a difference in available assets, or a difference in how actively those assets are being managed?

For sport-specific facilities in particular - courts, ovals, synthetic pitches, gymnasiums - the demand from local clubs and community groups is consistent and growing, especially on evenings and weekends when school grounds sit largely unused.

Where It Gets Complicated

In theory, community access to school facilities is great. In practice, as it stands currently, the community access experience can be overwhelming. The hesitation most schools have isn't about whether facility hire is viable. It's about what it takes to run it well. Fielding availability enquiries, drafting hire agreements, managing insurance requirements, tracking payments, maintaining records for Department reporting - it can quietly become a significant time commitment for admin teams already stretched thin. The revenue is real, but so is the overhead.

This is the part of the conversation that doesn't get enough attention. A school with a quality multi-use court and genuine community demand could be earning meaningful income - but if the process for managing bookings is fragmented across emails, phone calls and spreadsheets, the effort can start to outweigh the return.

Where Things Are Shifting

Platforms like PitchUp are designed specifically to reduce that friction for Schools. Schools can list their sporting facilities, set their availability windows and let community groups discover, book and pay directly - with the administration largely handled in the background. It won't replace the judgement of a principal or business manager in setting terms and vetting users, but it does remove the operational drag that makes ongoing facility hire feel unsustainable for lean school teams.

The schools already sitting at the top of that earnings table have generally found a way to make the process repeatable. The tools to do that more easily are now more accessible than they've ever been.

📥 Want a practical starting point? Download our free Community Access Toolkit - a step-by-step guide covering hire rate setting, Community Use Agreements, insurance requirements and booking management, written specifically for school leaders. [Get the free toolkit →]

NEWS
The Matilda Effect Once Again on Full Display…

Right now, as the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup unfolds across Perth, the Gold Coast and Sydney, something quietly extraordinary is happening. The Matildas are doing it again. Over 60,000 fans packed Stadium Australia for Australia's 3-3 draw with Korea Republic - a new AFC Women's Asian Cup attendance record - and ticket sales have already surpassed 250,000 nationally. Let that number sit for a second. This isn't a fluke. It's a continuation.

Cast your mind back to 2023. The Matildas placed fourth at the FIFA Women's World Cup - the best result in Australian football history - and the country essentially stopped. Their semi-final loss to England became the most-watched television broadcast in Australian history, peaking at 11.15 million viewers, with matches averaging 3.44 million - figures that beat AFL grand finals and State of Origin. Women's football wasn't just competing for the nation's attention. It was winning it. Three years on, that fever hasn't broken. It's evolved into something more permanent.

Three years on, that fever hasn't broken — and it's starting to attract serious attention at the highest levels. What's happening at this Asian Cup tells a bigger story about where Australian sport is heading. The Matildas are a genuine drawcard - not just for football fans, but for families and young girls who want to be them. Women's sport in Australia is gaining legitimacy, commercial value and cultural cachet at a pace nobody predicted a decade ago. This is the tide lifting all boats. And now, government is taking notice.

But Here's the Question We Need to Ask

All of this is worth celebrating - especially record-breaking funding for women and girls sport participation initiatives. And yet, sitting alongside the sold-out stadiums, there's a pressing question: Is Australia's grassroots infrastructure keeping pace?

A record 231,435 women and girls now play the game - up 11% in a single year, with total participation exceeding 1.9 million Australians. Remarkable growth. But it comes with a catch. Football Australia has flagged a $2.8 billion infrastructure gap - aging facilities, insufficient female changerooms, inadequate lighting and overcrowded fields. The demand is surging, but the system hasn't caught up.

The Opportunity in Front of Us

Football Australia has set an ambitious 50/50 gender participation target by 2027 - but ambition without infrastructure is just a press release. The girls watching Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler light up Stadium Australia this month deserve more than inspiration. They deserve somewhere to train on Monday night.

Australia has proven it can fill a stadium. The real test is whether it can fill the pipeline.

SURVEY
PitchUp x Australian Sports Commission - State of Play Questionnaire

Access to quality facilities remains one of the most persistent barriers in Australian sport. As part of our research through The Park - the Australian Sports Commission's virtual innovation hub - PitchUp is one of five Australian companies working alongside athletes, coaches and administrators to develop practical solutions for the sport sector's most pressing challenges.

We want to hear from you. Whether you're a player, coach, club administrator, school leader or facility manager, your perspective matters.

👉 Take our short survey and help shape how facility access is planned and delivered across Australian sport.

The survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.

Your responses are anonymous and treated confidentially.

GRANTS
What You Might Have Missed 

Grants are a great way to contribute to school and community fundraising. It’s important to know what to look for, where to look and be prepared!

PitchUp has put together resources for grant applications and will continue to compile these resources in each newsletter edition to make sure you don’t miss anything.

PitchUp Grant updates will cover:
- Public School Grants
- Private School Grants
- Education Grants
- Grants for sporting clubs

1. QLD | Games On! Grassroots Infrastructure Program

The $30 million Games On! Grassroots Infrastructure Program is helping local Queensland organisations upgrade sporting facilities, get more people active, and build a lasting community legacy ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Funding is available through two streams:

• Field of Play Fund — $20 million for community-level projects, such as upgrading fields, courts, and club amenities to encourage greater participation in sport

• Partnership Fund — $10 million for larger-scale regional projects across multiple sports, typically led by local government

Grant funding of up to $830,000 is available depending on project location.

Eligible to: Incorporated sport or active recreation organisations, national sport organisations operating in Queensland, and local governments.

Applications close: Wednesday, 18 March 2026 (URGENT) — Get more info here

2. TAS | Active Clubs Program 2025–26

The 2025–26 Active Clubs Program provides a total funding pool of $815,000, with grants of up to $10,000 available to help clubs access safe, well-maintained equipment. Building on strong momentum from the previous year, the 2024–25 round saw 162 sport and active recreation projects statewide receive support to upgrade or replace equipment.

This program is designed to increase opportunities for sport and active recreation participation right across Tasmania — from equipment upgrades to facility improvements.

Eligible to: Clubs, not-for-profit organisations and local government entities delivering sport and active recreation opportunities to the Tasmanian community.

Applications: Open now — Get more info here

3. WA | Healthy Partnerships Funding (over $5,000) — Healthway

Healthway's Healthy Partnerships program provides funding to sport, arts and racing programs to help WA achieve good health now and into the future. The over $5,000 funding stream is designed for organisations seeking to deliver more substantial health-promoting initiatives through their sport or recreation programs.

Funding is prioritised toward health issues and population groups aligned to Healthway's Strategic Plan 2024–2029, and for most programs, applications are open year-round.

Eligible to: Sport, arts, racing and community organisations across Western Australia delivering projects that promote healthy environments and behaviours.

Applications: Open year-round — Get more info here

4. NSW | ClubGRANTS

ClubGRANTS is one of Australia's largest grant programs, providing more than $100 million in cash each year to a variety of worthy causes across NSW — with charities, sporting organisations and not-for-profit community groups among the tens of thousands of recipients funded through the program each year.

Funding is available across three categories:

• Category 1 — Community welfare, health services and support for disadvantaged groups

• Category 2 — General community development activities, including junior and grassroots sport and veteran welfare

• Category 3 — Up to $300,000 for sport and recreation infrastructure including pools, courts, playgrounds and multipurpose facilities

Eligible to: Not-for-profit community groups, charities and sporting organisations across NSW.

Applications: Vary by local government area — Get more info here

5. NSW | Capital Grants for Independent Schools — Independent Schools NSW

Independent Schools NSW administers both the Australian Government's Capital Grants Program (CGP) and the NSW Government's Building Grants Assistance Scheme (BGAS), delivering essential capital grants and funding for Independent schools across NSW. Each year, a fixed pool of funds is allocated for capital projects based on demonstrated educational need.

Under the Building Grants Assistance Scheme, eligible non-government schools may apply for financial assistance for capital works, with funding directed toward areas of greatest need. Key eligibility criteria include:

• Must be registered with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)

• Must operate on a not-for-profit basis

• Must be affiliated with a Block Grant Authority

• Must demonstrate financial viability

• Must own the land or hold a lease commensurate with the grant repayment period

Funding is prioritised toward new schools and new capital developments undertaken to provide educational facilities for increased student enrolments, with the scheme also encouraging opportunities for shared community use of facilities.

Eligible to: Independent and Catholic non-government schools registered in NSW operating on a not-for-profit basis.

Applications close: 30 April annually — Get more info here

VENUE SPOTLIGHT
PitchUp Welcomes Springvale Indoor Sports!