The Collective Drive Submits Federal Proposal to Establish Sport Culture Australia Hub
The Collective Drive has formally submitted a proposal to the Australian Federal Government to establish the Sport Culture Australia Hub — a nationally coordinated platform designed to strengthen safety, inclusion and accountability across Australian sport.
The proposed Hub positions sport as a critical national infrastructure, recognising its unique reach into communities, workplaces and education systems. With more than 14 million Australians participating in sport each year, and billions in public and private investment flowing through the sector, the submission calls for a more consistent, evidence-led approach to ensuring sport delivers positive social outcomes.
At the centre of the proposal is a shift from fragmented, sport-by-sport initiatives to a shared national framework that supports sporting organisations to move beyond intent and demonstrate measurable impact on participation, safety, leadership representation and culture.
The submission outlines how the Sport Culture Australia Hub would:
Provide shared governance and accountability mechanisms for inclusion and safety initiatives
Reduce duplication across sporting bodies and jurisdictions
Support early identification of cultural and safety risks
Enable consistent, transparent reporting for government and industry
The Hub would also be underpinned by Level, a proposed accountability platform designed to translate DEI commitments into practical action through benchmarking, implementation pathways and reporting.
Founder and Director of The Collective Drive, Estelle Clapham, said the submission responds to a long-standing gap in Australia’s sporting system.
“Sport has enormous social power, but right now we don’t have the infrastructure to consistently measure whether inclusion and safety initiatives are working,” Clapham said. “This proposal is about helping sport do what it already wants to do — but with better coordination, clearer accountability and evidence to support long-term change.”
The Collective Drive’s proposal builds on its prior research and program delivery across participation, workforce pathways and digital culture, including initiatives that use sport as a pathway into education and employment outcomes.
The submission has been lodged as part of the Federal Government’s pre-budget process and reflects growing recognition that preventative, system-level approaches are required to strengthen sporting environments and protect participants, fans and the workforce.
For more information, visit www.thecollectivedrive.net/sportsculturehub