Local Sport Defibrillator Program (LSDP) 2025/26

It is very important that applicants work through the form in sequence, including the eligibility requirements. Questions asked throughout the application are based on your responses provided in the initial sections of the application. 

Before you apply, please read the guidelines and related materials to make sure you understand all relevant requirements. You can find the guidelines here.

The Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program is aimed at providing Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and associated equipment to NSW sport and active recreation facilities and clubs.

Eligible applicants have a choice of approved AED Service Providers and a variety of approved AED products and services.

The NSW Government has allocated up to $500,000 in 2025/26 for this Program.

• The grant amount will fund the cost of an approved AED package up to $3,000.
• There is no mandatory financial contribution. However, where the cost of the selected package exceeds $3,000 the organisation must fund the additional cost.
• Applicants can request a grant for one approved AED package and are limited to one application per financial year.

Applications will be assessed in the order they are received. This will continue until the program funding allocation has been exhausted, or the closing date and time occurs.

The key objectives of the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program 2025/26 are: 

• To promote wider access to these devices across NSW.
• To support local sport and active recreational clubs or related incorporated organisations located in the most disadvantaged areas of NSW in purchasing an AED package.

The Applicant acknowledges and agrees that:

• submission of this application does not guarantee funding will be granted for any project, and the Department expressly reserves its right to accept or reject this application at its discretion;
• it must bear the costs of preparing and submitting this application and the Department does not accept any liability for such costs, whether or not this application is ultimately accepted or rejected; and
• it has read the Funding Guidelines for the Program and has fully informed itself of the relevant program requirements.

Information submitted in the application will be shared with the NSW Government. Should your application be successful, the Office of Sport may provide certain information to the media and Members of Parliament for promotional purposes. This information may include applicant name, project name, project description, location of the project, location of the grant recipient and amount funded and total project cost. Information provided in the grant application/milestone and project completion reports may be used to develop case studies including photos. The contact details supplied by the person submitting the application may also be provided to the relevant Members of Parliament.  

Names and contact details of successful applicants will also be provided to the AED Service Provider as nominated in the application, to assist in expediting the purchase and supply of the AED package. Successful applicants will have the option of opting to opt out of their details being provided to the nominated service provider. Successful applicants will retain the right to change their choice of AED package and service provider, subject to the approval of the Office of Sport.

To be considered eligible under the Program, applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

1. The organisation primarily operates in, or the majority of participants reside within, a postcode listed in Appendix C of the Program Guidelines, as ranked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in their Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). Information relating to the SEIFA indexes is available at the ABS website.

This must be demonstrated by meeting one or more of the following:

• The applicant organisation’s registered address* being located within an eligible postcode, or
• Applicants providing clear evidence of their sporting or active recreational activities being primarily undertaken at a facility(ies) in an eligible postcode, or
• Applicants providing clear evidence that a majority of their participants reside in eligible postcodes

*The determination of registered address will be based on the address associated with the applicant organisation’s ABN. If the organisation does not have an ABN, the incorporation registered address will be used.

OR

2. The applicant organisation does not meet eligibility criteria 1, but is experiencing financial hardship, which must be demonstrated by:

• Providing formal documentation to demonstrate financial hardship showing the organisation’s current financial position. Documentation must be one or more of the following:
  • Profit and loss statements and balance sheets
  • Cash flow statements
  • Tax returns and BAS statements
  • Letters from accountants or financial advisers confirming financial hardship.

The application must be submitted through SmartyGrants.

In addition to the meeting the eligibility criteria, eligible applicants are:

• Incorporated, not-for-profit clubs, associations or organisations in NSW that are sport or active recreation related.
• State or national sport or active recreation organisations on behalf of member clubs located in NSW.
• Licensed sporting or active recreation clubs in NSW, providing that the AED package directly benefits sport and active recreation members or participants.
• Sport clubs associated with a school, church or university in NSW providing they are an incorporated not for profit club in their own right.
• Councils, Service Clubs and other incorporated and not-for-profit owners or managers of facilities that are used for sporting or active recreational activities in NSW.

Applicants who have previously received funding under earlier rounds of the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program, will only be considered if program funds have not been fully allocated by the closing date.

For the purposes of these Guidelines, active recreation is defined as physical activity for the purposes of relaxation, health and wellbeing or enjoyment which can be self-directed or facilitated by a provider or organisation. All applicant organisations will be required to provide information around the nature of their activities and the population groups they are servicing.

Eligible applicants with an ABN must ensure that the incorporation details and ABN details are for the same organisation.

Sport or active recreation clubs at a multi-use facility are encouraged to collaborate on planning for medical emergencies, including the sharing of resources and locating defibrillators to maximise community access. 

All applicant organisations will be required to provide information around the nature of their activities and the population groups they are servicing.

You are not eligible for funding if your organisation type is not listed in the ‘Eligible Applicants’ section, and include (but are not limited to):

• Individuals, groups of individuals and unincorporated organisations
• Organisations who only deliver one-off annual events
• For profit, commercial organisations
• NSW Government departments and agencies
• Educational institutions including schools and their Parents and Citizens (P&C’s), Universities, TAFE, Colleges and childcare centres
• Organisations named: (i) by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse on its list of institutions that have not joined or signified their intent not to join the Scheme; or (ii) in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that has not yet joined the National Redress Scheme.

Projects or project components ineligible to receive funding include:

• Project that is not primarily for use by sport and active recreation facilities or organisations.
• Project that does not demonstrate a connection to one of the postcodes listed at Appendix C, except where the applicant has demonstrated they are experiencing financial hardship.
• Retrospective funding e.g., projects that have already commenced and/or purchases completed prior to application submission.
• Projects already funded by the NSW Government for the same project or same component of a project.

Ineligible Project Costs are:

• AEDs purchased from a service provider not listed on the approved list at Appendix A in the Program Guidelines.
• Ongoing maintenance outside of the scope of the six-year essential defibrillator maintenance
• Any extended warranty specified by an approved Service Provider.
• Accredited CPR, First Aid, ongoing or additional face to face AED familiarisation instruction except where this is included as part of an approved package.
• Out of warranty repair of equipment.
• Replacement costs of consumables including batteries and electrode pads.
• Replacement or temporary replacement of the AED if it is damaged or unrecoverable through wear and tear, vandalism, accident, theft or misuse.
• General first aid maintenance items or equipment (items requiring cleaning and disinfecting after use).

• It has been prepared by and is being submitted by an eligible applicant.
• Applicants will notify the Department if grant funding for this project is secured from another NSW Government source.