In our last newsletter update, I mentioned that we were eagerly awaiting the Federal Budget announcement to see if our requests to the government would be successful. We had asked for the following actions:
• Exempt employers from the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) legislation, allowing them to offer gym memberships to their employees without penalties.
• Permit Australians to deduct active health participation expenses, including gym memberships, from their income tax.
• Collaborate with us and grassroots organisations to develop and launch a national public health campaign promoting the importance of physical activity for overall well-being.
On 14 May, around lunchtime, I received an email from an advisor to the Health Minister who wanted to discuss the Federal Budget. I anxiously answered her call and learned that we would not receive any allocations in this year's budget due to the government responding to other pressing priorities, like the immediate cost of living crisis. However, their office expressed keen interest in working with us to develop a public health campaign promoting physical activity.
While we were disappointed not to receive funding this round, we were heartened by our positive relationship with the government, as evidenced by their respectful communication. We have since met with the advisor again, who indicated an interest in working on a public health campaign for the March 2025 Federal Budget. This progress is very encouraging.
From that meeting, the advisor requested data from our recent Million Moves campaign to understand the lessons we learned from undertaking a campaign to increase physical activity, our target audience and the participants in our initiative to promote moving more. We are currently awaiting Sunshine Coast University's analysis of Million Moves to provide this information to the government.
I want to thank all of you who signed our petition to the government to permit Australians to deduct active health participation expenses, including gym memberships, from their income tax as part of our Federal Budget submission advocacy. This has helped us gain momentum in having the importance of physical activity acknowledged by the government. So, all in all, we are excited about what the future holds for our industry. Stay tuned for more updates!
– Written by Mariana Ivantsoff, AUSactive's Senior Advisor Policy and Advocacy Officer
