Advocacy Update
Last week, CEO Barrie Elvish, incoming Chair Emmett Williams, and I traveled to Canberra to engage with Federal Parliamentarians. Among those we met with were the Shadow Minister for Immigration, the Member for Fisher (QLD), the Member for Macarthur (NSW) and Chair of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport, the Member for Cook (NSW), Senators from WA and Victoria, the Shadow Treasurer (NSW), the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, and Treasury (ACT) and the advisor to the Health Minister (SA).
We discussed the feedback from AUSactive’s Fit for Office Challenge, which took place in November last year. During the three-week event, 37 federal politicians competed to see who could engage in the most physical activity, raising awareness about the physical and mental health benefits of exercise and leading by example from the top. AUSactive plans to run this challenge again later this year.
We also discussed AUSactive’s Federal Budget Submission, which includes the following asks of government:
- Increase preventive health spending to 5%
- Implement a National Public Health Campaign to increase physical activity
- Reform Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) policy for gyms/health centre facilities
- Introduce Means-Tested Physical Activity Vouchers
You can find the full Budget Submission on our website here
While projects funded by the Federal Budget are expected to be announced in March, the upcoming election may delay consideration of our proposal until new politicians are elected in May.
We also met with the Advisor to the Assistant Treasurer, who is currently reviewing unfair trading practices related to contracts. He highlighted that any contracts, to include gym/health centre contracts, should not be designed to be impossible to cancel, as this is unfair to consumers. The government plans to consult with AUSactive on proposed changes to legislation governing contracts, and we will keep our members updated on any developments.
Written by: Mariana Ivantsoff
