FAQs

Generally no. User groups on a lease agreement with Council are subject to Council’s standard leasing process, including adhering to the terms and conditions outlined within the respective lease. It is proposed that future lease agreements will include a requirement for the leasee to develop a business or strategic plan, as per section 2.2.3 of the draft Policy.

No, the process to apply for bookings remains relatively the same. Going forward the draft policy requires groups to submit various documents as part of their application. The document requirements are outlined within the eligibility criteria within the draft policy and will also be outlined within the respective application form.

This proposed eligibility criteria applies to sporting clubs only. Clubs will be given until the winter 2022 tenancy period to develop a plan tailored for their club. Throughout this time Council will provide resources and support to help clubs in developing their plans.

The draft eligibility criteria around outstanding debts to Council will be applied for the 2022 winter tenancy period and beyond. User groups with a debt to Council will be permitted to use this grace period to arrange payment plans or settle fees owed. After this time, user groups with an outstanding debt to Council will not be eligible for an allocation, unless an agreed payment plan is in place (where the agreed payment terms are being met).

Yes, the draft policy proposes that personal trainers will only be allowed to apply to use sporting fields. General open space is not maintained to a standard that can accommodate high intensity activities such as personal training, whereas sporting fields receive higher levels of maintenance to provide a safe environment for these activities. This ultimately provides a safer environment to train. Low intensity activities such as Tai Chi may be considered in general open space on a case by case basis.

The draft policy requires a casual booking to be submitted if your group wishes to undertake preseason training or practice matches. Other regulations will apply as determined by Council at the time.

A number of changes have been made to the existing guidelines including:

• A new facility hierarchy that categorises each sports field and pavilion;
• New facility standards based on the type of sport, and level which the sports field and pavilion sits within the hierarchy;
• Amendments to financial contributions towards facility developments, particularly floodlights;
• Addition of in-kind contributions being considered within a user groups financial contribution.

The facility hierarchy has been developed to ensure each sports field and pavilion has infrastructure that is fit for purpose. This means Council will provide infrastructure based on the type of activity played at a reserve to maximise benefit for all tenant user group.

Currently, user groups are required to fund 50% of the total project cost to upgrade floodlighting to training standard, and 100% of the difference between training and match standard. The proposed changes will see Council fully fund up to training standard, and provide 50% of the funding to upgrade from training to match standard. It is noted that where a sport’s training and match standard are the same, Council will fund 50% of the total project cost.

It is anticipated that the final policy will be presented to Council to be endorsed at the end of 2020. The policy, including the standards and financial contributions, will come into effect once adopted by Council. The policy will only apply to projects occurring after the policy has been adopted. Projects already underway will be subject to the conditions within the existing Outdoor Sports Infrastructure Guidelines or relevant funding agreement.

Clubs and key stakeholders will be contacted when the policy has been adopted.

Council will not retrospectively undertake works to existing facilities to comply with this policy. The policy will be applied to new and upgrade projects as determined by Council’s Capital Works process. It is noted that the Capital Works process is highly competitive, with priority projects ranked based on a pre-determined criteria.

No and guidelines are currently being developed to determine suitable locations to host night matches. This includes developing a list of requirements that must be satisfied before Council approval is given.