By Disability Sports Australia Media Team
Disability Sports Australia, with support from Victoria University and the Australian Sports Commission, is launching a new learning opportunity on the Australian Sport Learning Centre: Building Inclusive Sport Clubs.
Drawing from the successful Building Inclusive Clubs program, this free online course has been designed to help sporting clubs across Australia become more inclusive, welcoming, and accessible for people with disability.
The course reflects insights gained from over 400 community sport clubs through workshops, mentoring, and community of practice sessions focused on embedding sustainable inclusive practices and building leadership capacity among women with disability.
The new online course comprises three modules and provides:
- Practical strategies to improve accessibility and participation
- Tools for recruiting and supporting employees, volunteers, and participants with disability
- Guidance on advocacy, allyship, and person-centred language
- Case studies, videos, and authentic insights from people with lived experience of disability, as well as coaches and sport administrators
Sarah Stewart PLY, Lead Facilitator Building Inclusive Sport Clubs Program said:
“It’s fantastic to see the further expansion of our Building Inclusive Sports Club program into this e-learning course come to fruition.
We are very grateful to the Australian Sports Commission and our expert facilitators with lived experience of disability for helping bring these learnings to life through the online modules.
This course gives clubs practical, real-world guidance they can apply straight away. It’s vitally important that all clubs ensure people with disability can participate in sport in a way that’s meaningful to them.
By making these learnings accessible and available online, more people can access this knowledge anywhere, helping clubs create welcoming and inclusive environments for everyone.”
Professor Clare Hanlon from Victoria University added:
“Working with DSA on the Building Inclusive Sport Clubs program showed us that clubs are keen to encourage people living with disability as members—particularly when they receive the right support and knowledge.
This freely accessible online course will enable staff and volunteers at sport clubs to build their understanding and practices to be more welcoming and inclusive, so everyone feels like they belong.”
This initiative aligns with Disability Sports Australia’s purpose of building the capability of sport to enable greater participation for people with disability, and supports the organisation’s recently released 2025–2028 Strategic Plan focused on creating inclusive, accessible opportunities across all levels of sport.
The course builds on the foundation of DSA’s Accessibility Champion course, providing clubs with further tools and strategies to embed inclusive practice.
The Building Inclusive Sport Clubs course is available via the ASC’s Learning Centre.
Participants can complete the course and earn a certificate as part of their professional development.
Open access also available through the Disability Sports Australia website.
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact:
Disability Sports Australia:
Ayden Shaw
Chief Executive Officer, Disability Sports Australia
Email: [email protected]
About Disability Sports Australia
Disability Sports Australia (DSA) is a national non-profit, registered charity, and National Sporting Organisation for people with disability, dedicated to increasing participation in grassroots sport.
For over 60 years, DSA has been at the forefront of disability sport in Australia, starting with wheelchair sports and continually expanding opportunities for people with disability across the country. Today, DSA is disability-agnostic, focusing on building the capability of sports organisations to ensure inclusive and accessible opportunities for people with disability.
Our goal is to raise awareness of the positive impact sport can have, remove barriers to participation, and build a future where sport is inclusive for all Australians.
