Every Australian state and territory except the ACT gives families a government voucher towards a child's sport or activity fees — worth $100 a year in New South Wales and up to $300 a year in Western Australia — and as of 16 September 2026 all seven schemes are open. Victoria's Round 11 opened on 15 September and now closes at 10am on Thursday 22 October 2026 (extended from 13 October), the soonest deadline in the country. Whether your child qualifies depends mostly on where you live: Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory have no card or income test, while NSW, Victoria, WA and Tasmania ask for Family Tax Benefit, a concession card or another eligibility route first.
Below is each scheme as it stands today. Every figure and date was re-checked on the official program pages on 16 September 2026, including Victoria's Round 11, which opened on 15 September. At the end: where to spend it, and what to do if you don't qualify.
Key takeaways
- Seven schemes, one gap. NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS and the NT each run a kids' activity voucher; the ACT has none (its Future of Education Equity Fund covers sport and music for low-income families instead).
- The biggest single allowance is WA's: up to $300 a financial year. (Its temporary $500 boost ended in June 2025.) QLD, SA, TAS and NT are worth $200 a year; Victoria pays up to $200 per round; NSW is two $50 vouchers.
- Three schemes have no card or income test; four do. QLD (any child aged 5–17 on a Medicare card), SA (Reception to Year 9) and the NT (school-enrolled children in urban areas) have no income test. NSW needs Family Tax Benefit Part A or B; VIC, WA and TAS start from a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and VIC and TAS also accept children on temporary, provisional or student visas (TAS also accepts FTB Part A).
- Open today — all seven. VIC (Round 11, closes 10am on 22 October 2026), QLD (until 18 December 2026), NSW (both 2026 vouchers), TAS (until 28 May 2027), WA (all year), SA (claim through the provider any time this year) and the NT (first 2026–27 voucher).
- The voucher pays the provider, not you — Victoria's reimbursement option is the one exception. The club or class must be registered with the scheme, and the money goes to fees: equipment and uniforms are excluded in NSW, QLD and SA, and covered only through the provider in VIC, WA and the NT.
The short version: state by state
| State | Program | Worth | Who qualifies | Status on 16 Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Active and Creative Kids | $50 voucher, twice a year | Ages 4.5–18, on Medicare, family receives FTB Part A or B | Both 2026 vouchers available (use by 31 Dec 2026 and 30 Jun 2027) |
| VIC | Get Active Kids Voucher Program | Up to $200 per round | Ages 0–18: Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card plus Medicare, an eligible visa, or in care | Open — Round 11 closes 10am 22 Oct 2026 |
| QLD | Play On! Sports Vouchers | Up to $200 per financial year | Ages 5–17 on a Medicare card, no income test | Open 27 Jul – 18 Dec 2026 |
| SA | Sports Vouchers Plus | 2 × $100 per calendar year | Reception to Year 9, no means test | Open all year |
| WA | KidSport | Up to $300 per financial year | Ages 5–18, Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card | Open, rolling |
| TAS | Ticket to Play | 2 × up to $100 per round | Ages 5–18, concession card, FTB Part A or eligible visa | Open 6 Jul 2026 – 28 May 2027 |
| NT | Sport Voucher Scheme | 2 × $100 per year | Transition to Year 12, enrolled in school in an urban area, no means test | First 2026–27 voucher open; both close 24 May 2027 |
| ACT | — | No voucher | — | Future of Education Equity Fund instead (closes 27 Nov 2026) |
New South Wales: Active and Creative Kids — $50, twice a year
The NSW voucher is the smallest and, since February 2024, the most tightly targeted. Service NSW issues a $50 voucher twice a year: the Term 1 voucher is available from 15 January and must be used by 31 December; the Term 3 voucher is available from 15 July. Use the 2026 Term 3 voucher by 30 June 2027: the program's terms and conditions, republished on 28 September 2026, list that expiry and say the program operates until 30 June 2027, although the application page still shows 14 July 2027. Two unexpired vouchers can be combined into one $100 payment to a single provider.
Who qualifies: a child aged 4.5 to 18 who lives in NSW and is listed on a Medicare card, where a parent, guardian or carer receives Family Tax Benefit Part A or Part B. That Family Tax Benefit test replaced the old universal $100 Active Kids and Creative Kids vouchers; when the change was announced in June 2023, the NSW Government estimated about 600,000 of the state's 1.35 million school-aged children would be eligible.
What it covers: registered sport, recreation, creative and cultural providers — the Service NSW list runs from football, gymnastics, martial arts and tennis to dance, music, drama, visual arts, coding and languages. It does not cover school activities, travel, uniforms or equipment you would normally buy from a shop, exams, academic tutoring, before- and after-school care, cookery, gaming or gardening.
Note the two schemes that no longer exist: the First Lap learn-to-swim voucher and the $500 Before and After School Care voucher have both ended, so ignore older articles that still mention them.
How to claim: apply through your MyServiceNSW account, then give the voucher code to a registered provider. Find a class in the state's 2,292 listed kids' activities and ask the provider whether they're Active and Creative Kids registered before you book.
Victoria: Get Active Kids Voucher — up to $200, Round 11 open until 22 October
Victoria's voucher is worth up to $200 per child per round off registration and membership fees at a registered provider, including any uniform and equipment that comes with the registration. If you have already paid, you can instead claim a reimbursement for at least $50 of membership or registration fees paid since 1 May 2026.
Who qualifies: Victorian children aged 0 to 18 who are named on a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and a Medicare card, who hold a temporary, provisional or student visa, who are undocumented migrants, or who live in Victorian care services or kinship care.
Status: Round 11 opened on 15 September 2026 and now closes at 10am on Thursday 22 October 2026 — the program extended the date from 13 October — or earlier if the budget allocation runs out, so don't leave it to the last day. Vouchers from this round expire on 27 April 2027. Apply through the program's own page, getactive.vic.gov.au, which hands you over to Service Victoria. One trap to avoid: an older vic.gov.au page, last updated on 17 September 2025, still says applications "reopen at 10am on 15 October". That was last year's round, and waiting for that date this year would mean missing Round 11 altogether. The program is funded in the 2025–26 State Budget to June 2027.
Browse Victoria's 2,046 listed kids' activities, then ask the provider whether they're registered with Get Active Kids before you apply.
Queensland: Play On! Sports Vouchers — up to $200, no means test, open until 18 December
Queensland's Play On! Sports Vouchers have no card or income test: any Queensland child aged 5 to 17 on a Medicare card can get one voucher of up to $200 per financial year for membership or participation costs — weekly game fees, coaching, facility access, events — at a registered provider. Equipment, uniforms and other non-participation costs are excluded, and each voucher can only be used once.
Status: the current round opened on 27 July 2026 and closes on 18 December 2026, or earlier if the vouchers run out — they're first-come, first-served. You then have until 18 June 2027 to present the voucher to your provider.
How to claim: apply on the Queensland Government Play On page with your child's Medicare details, then pass the voucher to the club. Queensland has 1,577 listed kids' activities to choose from.
South Australia: Sports Vouchers Plus — two $100 vouchers a year, every child
South Australia gives two $100 vouchers per child per calendar year to every child from Reception to Year 9 (born 2011 to 2021) — no income test, just a Medicare or visa number. You can use both at one provider or split them across two. From 2027 the program widens to every South Australian child aged 5 to 18.
What it covers: sport, active recreation and music tuition fees — and dance counts, provided the studio is registered with a peak dance body such as Ausdance SA. The program has to run for at least eight weeks, so one-off holiday clinics, exam fees, equipment and gym memberships without a program don't qualify.
How to claim: there's no application round — you hand the completed 2026 voucher form to the registered provider, who claims it. SA's 698 listed kids' activities include plenty of eight-week term programs.
Western Australia: KidSport — up to $300 a financial year
WA's KidSport is worth up to $300 per child per financial year, which can be spread across several KidSport-registered clubs, and the allowance resets each financial year on 1 July. Vouchers are valid for 90 days from issue.
Why you may have seen $500: the WA Government lifted KidSport to $500 per child in July 2024, but only until June 2025. It has been back at $300 since 2025–26 — the figure in the October 2025 program guidelines and on the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport's parent page (reviewed 9 March 2026). An older copy of the page on the former dlgsc.wa.gov.au site still says $500, so don't budget on it. The WA Government also announced that from 1 July 2025 the vouchers can be used with Scouts and Girl Guides groups.
Who qualifies: children aged 5 to 18 living in WA and named on a current Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, with a special-consideration path for families in financial hardship, asylum seekers, refugees and children in care.
What it covers: registration, membership and participation fees. Uniforms and equipment are covered only where the club has opted in and you buy them from that club — there's no cash rebate to parents.
Status: applications are open all year, with no rounds; allow up to 10 to 15 business days for assessment, longer in the January–May peak. Find a club among WA's 844 listed kids' activities.
Tasmania: Ticket to Play — two vouchers of up to $100
Tasmania's Ticket to Play gives eligible children two vouchers worth up to $100 each for club membership or registration fees at an approved Tasmanian sport or active-recreation provider, usable at one club or split across two.
Who qualifies: children aged 5 to 18 who are listed on a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, whose family received Family Tax Benefit Part A in the current or previous financial year, who are in approved out-of-home care, or who hold a temporary or provisional visa (undocumented migrants and international students are also eligible).
Status: the 2026–27 round opened on 6 July 2026 and closes on 28 May 2027 (or when all vouchers have been issued), and vouchers must be handed to an approved provider by Friday 4 June 2027. The Tasmanian Government reports more than 15,000 vouchers redeemed in the 2025–26 round, the largest uptake since the program began in 2019. Tasmania's 206 listed kids' activities are a good place to start.
Northern Territory: Sport Voucher Scheme — two $100 vouchers a year
Every child in an urban area of the NT — Greater Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy — who is enrolled in school from transition to Year 12, including home-schooled children, can get two $100 sport vouchers a year: applications for the first open in July and for the second in January. There is no means test.
What it covers: the widest list of any state — sport, recreation and cultural activities including registration, insurance and membership fees, uniforms and equipment bought through the same registered provider, and even music and swimming lessons during school hours. It does not cover after-school care, tutors, school-run activities, travel to competitions or purchases from retailers.
Status: applications for the first 2026–27 voucher are open now, and the second opens in January 2027. Applications for both close on 24 May 2027 and both vouchers expire on 31 May 2027, so an unused voucher doesn't roll over. Children under five who aren't yet at school get a separate pair of $100 Learn to Swim vouchers. See the NT's 102 listed kids' activities.
Australian Capital Territory: no voucher — but an equity fund that covers sport
The ACT is the one jurisdiction with no per-child activity voucher. The closest equivalent is the Future of Education Equity Fund, which pays low-income families with a child at an ACT school, from preschool to Year 12, $400 (preschool), $500 (primary) or $750 (high school and college) per student, and explicitly lists "sporting activities and music lessons" as eligible spending. Applications close at midnight on 27 November 2026. Canberra families can browse the 146 listed kids' activities in the ACT.
What the vouchers can and can't pay for
The rules differ in the detail, but four things hold everywhere:
- The provider must be registered with the scheme. Ask before you book — a great club that hasn't registered can't accept the voucher, and most states publish a provider search.
- Fees first, gear rarely. Registration, membership and term fees are the target. Equipment and uniforms are excluded in NSW, QLD and SA; Victoria covers them only when they come with the registration, WA only through a club that has opted in, and the NT only when bought from the same registered provider.
- Ongoing programs beat one-offs. SA needs a program of at least eight weeks and excludes shorter school holiday clinics, and NSW, SA and the NT all exclude school-run activities.
- Vouchers expire. NSW's first 2026 voucher lapses on 31 December 2026, Victoria's Round 11 vouchers on 27 April 2027, the NT's on 31 May 2027 and WA's 90 days after issue. Use it in the term you get it.
Where to spend it
A voucher is only worth what you can find nearby. AroundSchools lists 7,911 kids' activities across 2,836 suburbs — sport dominates, with music, dance, art, STEM and tutoring behind it — and every listing has a suburb hub, so you can search from your child's school outwards.
When you enquire with a provider through a listing, ask two questions: are you registered with the state voucher scheme, and does this program meet the minimum length. Those two answers decide whether the voucher works.
If you don't qualify
Missing the means test in NSW, VIC, WA or TAS doesn't leave you without options:
- Council programs are mostly free. Local councils run free or gold-coin holiday programs and library activities; the school holiday finder lists what's on by city.
- Ask the club about its own concession. Many junior clubs and swim schools run sibling discounts or hardship rates that aren't advertised.
- Budget for the real cost. A 2026 study put the annual cost of one child's organised sport in the thousands once travel, uniforms and equipment are counted — the full breakdown is here, and it's the reason the voucher matters more for registration than for gear.
- Childcare, not sport? Before- and after-school care attracts the Child Care Subsidy under the 3-Day Guarantee — a different scheme, but the same families.
What's changed recently
- Victoria opened Round 11 on 15 September 2026. It now closes at 10am on 22 October, extended from 13 October, and the program is funded to June 2027.
- South Australia has announced that from 2027 its vouchers will cover every child aged 5 to 18, not just Reception to Year 9.
- Queensland opened its current Play On! round on 27 July 2026; it runs to 18 December or until the vouchers run out.
- Tasmania opened its 2026–27 Ticket to Play round on 6 July, after more than 15,000 vouchers were redeemed in 2025–26.
- Western Australia is back to up to $300 a year per child: the $500 KidSport boost ran only from July 2024 to June 2025.
- NSW is still the most tightly targeted: $50 twice a year, only for families receiving Family Tax Benefit. Its terms and conditions, republished on 28 September 2026, give the second 2026 voucher an expiry of 30 June 2027 and say the program operates until that date.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a voucher in more than one state? No — each scheme requires the child to live in (or, for the NT, attend school in) that state or territory.
Does the voucher come to me as cash? No. Every scheme pays the registered provider directly, except Victoria's reimbursement option, which repays a documented spend of $50 or more.
My child is under five — is anything available? Victoria (from birth), NSW (from 4.5) and the NT's Learn to Swim vouchers (under five) cover pre-schoolers; QLD, SA, WA and TAS start at school age.
My child is on a temporary or student visa — can we get a voucher? Victoria and Tasmania explicitly include children on temporary, provisional or student visas (Tasmania also names international students). South Australia accepts a Medicare or visa number. Queensland asks for a Medicare card, or a Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card. NSW requires Family Tax Benefit, and WA a concession card, with special consideration for asylum seekers and refugees.
Can I use the voucher for holiday programs? Sometimes, but check first. SA excludes school holiday clinics shorter than eight weeks, and most schemes are built around club membership, registration and term fees — so look up the scheme's eligible activities and ask the provider whether their holiday program qualifies before you book.
What if the provider I want isn't registered? Ask them to register with the scheme. Until they do, the voucher can't be used there.
Correct as at 16 September 2026, with Victoria's Round 11 closing date and the NSW voucher expiry dates re-read on getactive.vic.gov.au and service.nsw.gov.au on 12 October 2026. Every scheme was re-checked on 16 September on its official page: Service NSW (Active and Creative Kids page and guidelines, last published 31 July 2026); getactive.vic.gov.au (Round 11, updated 15 September 2026) and sport.vic.gov.au; qld.gov.au Play On! (27 July 2026); sportsvouchers.sa.gov.au and its provider eligibility rules, plus the SA Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing release of 18 May 2026; cits.wa.gov.au KidSport information for parents (reviewed 9 March 2026) and the KidSport Voucher Program Policy and Guidelines (October 2025); tickettoplay.tas.gov.au and the Tasmanian Premier's release of 5 July 2026; nt.gov.au Sport Voucher Scheme and its policy; and act.gov.au (cost of schooling, 17 February 2026). Some government hosts block automated checks, so the Tasmanian, NT and parts of the Victorian and SA pages were read through a text proxy of the official page. Activity counts are from the AroundSchools Activity Index generated on 22 July 2026. Program rules change mid-year — confirm on the state page before you rely on a date.
