At the meeting, AOC President Ian Chesterman AM announced three major initiatives with:

• A new athlete funding scheme in addition to the AOC's Medal Incentive Funding;
• An Indigenous Athlete Performance Grants program; and
• A fund to support initiatives to grow the number of Olympic Indigenous athletes through to Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

In his address, Mr Chesterman also reflected on preparations for the Summer Games in Paris, the opportunity for Australian sport through Brisbane 2032, the success of the AOC’s community programs over the past 12 months and the Committee’s sound financial position with a surplus of $4m.

New fund to boost direct athlete support

For the past 20 years, the AOC has supported Australian athletes directly through the Medal Incentive Funding (MIF) scheme.

Mr Chesterman outlined the creation of the Australian Olympic Athlete Incentive Scheme which will allow philanthropists to make tax deductable donations to two separate funds via the Australian Sports Foundation.

“The first fund is our existing Medal Incentive Fund, which will continue to distribute our AOC funds according to the set criteria, but now will also allow donors to contribute additional funds to medal winning athletes including team sports.

“The second fund is new, called the Aspiring Australian Olympic Athlete Fund, which will be structured to allow donations to individual athletes. It will be focussed on providing support to those aspiring to attend an Olympics, or those who do qualify to attend a Games.

“Once donations have cleared the Australian Sports Foundation, the money will flow through to the athlete, just as the current Medal Incentive money does.

“The AOC will promote the opportunity to philanthropists, growing the pool of funds, tax deductable to the giver, flowing through to athletes as they work so hard to represent Australia on the world stage.

“Unlike MIF, the new fund will not be tied to Olympic performances, but it will be subject to criteria to ensure Australian athletes aspiring to the Olympic Games will benefit,” Mr Chesterman said.

For an Olympic year, MIF payments to individual athletes for achieving a Games performance are paid at $20,000 for Gold, $15,000 for Silver and $10,000 for Bronze.

In non-Olympic years, the MIF is applied to a “Benchmark Event” (BME) for each sport.  The BME is usually a World Championships (or similar) and agreed by the AOC with each Member Sport.

The MIF scheme will be reviewed after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Indigenous Athlete Performance Grant

Furthering the AOC’s objective to provide practical support to Indigenous Australians, the Indigenous Athlete Support Grant scheme has been developed for the Paris Olympic Games to support Indigenous athletes selected in the Australian Olympic Team.

Grants of $5,000 will be awarded to eligible athletes to assist their Olympic journeys to Paris 2024 to athletes who meet the criteria approved by the AOC Indigenous Advisory Committee.

A New Fund to support AOC Indigenous athlete initiatives

A Fund is being created to enhance opportunities and pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes in high-performance Olympic sports, while simultaneously promoting increased representation of First Nations athletes at Olympic Games leading up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games and beyond.

Mr Chesterman announced the creation of the Australian Olympic Indigenous Athlete Fund which is designed to generate between $500,000 to $1 million per year.

“The AOC will encourage high net worth individuals seeking a return on investment, to invest through the Fund, thus gaining access to a curated portfolio of Australian and global fund managers.

“The fund managers will forgo their fees, effectively providing around 1% of each invested amount to flow to the Fund.

“This is a simple but effective method of providing a pool of funds that can assist the AOC deliver on its ambitions to deliver practical support for Indigenous Australians,” Mr Chesterman said.
 Patrick Johnson, Chair AOC Indigenous Advisory Committee welcomed the initiative.

“The creation of the Australian Olympic Indigenous Athlete Fund is a wonderful initiative that will assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island athletes realise their Olympic dreams.

“As we look to Paris, LA2028 and importantly towards Brisbane 2032, the Fund will make a real difference to those talented athletes overcoming real hardship to get to the starting line.

“We know the talent is out there. To see more Indigenous Australians on our Olympic Teams is something the AOC Indigenous Advisory Committee holds dear. It’s heartening to see this real commitment turning ideas into action,” he said.

Constitutional Changes

Further celebrating and strengthening the AOC’s commitment to Indigenous reconciliation through sport, the Annual General Meeting also voted to amend the AOC’s Constitution, in particular, a small but significant change to Clause 6.6.

Following consultation with the AOC’s Indigenous Advisory Committee Clause 6.6 now reads:

To recognise and value the heritage, culture and contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australia and the Olympic Movement, and to promote and give practical support to the journey of reconciliation through sport.

Other constitutional changes bring the AOC Constitution into line with recent amendments the Olympic Charter, including changes which strengthen its human rights commitment.

In his address to the meeting, AOC Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll outlined the AOC’s strong financial position with a $4 million surplus, underpinned by the achievement of a sponsorship target of $74 million across the Paris Quad.

“Sponsorship revenues increased by $3 million from the previous year, highlighting the continuing strength of our commercial program.

“This allows us to do the things that we do, including the $25 million needed to send the team to Paris in July, the $8 million we invest in athletes each Quad through the Medial Incentive Scheme and in partnership with State Governments, the $6million allocated annually to our community programs Olympics Unleashed and Olympic Change-Maker.

“We also continue to advocate on behalf of our member sports to ensure the funding support they need to achieve their goals as we all look to the opportunity presented by a home Games in 2032.

“Our thanks to Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells for the $20 million allocated last year with the Games Qualification Fund. That has been critical in providing the opportunities for our athletes to qualify for Paris in the face of rising travel costs.”

Mr Carroll thanked the AOC Executive, Senior Management Team and AOC Staff for their support as preparations for Paris 2024 continue with the Games a little over two months away.

The AOC Annual Report for 2023 can be found here.