NCOSS acting chief executive Ben McAlpine said the scheme did not reflect modern-day expectations for a taxpayer-funded grants program.
“The fact that clubs are feathering their own nests by funnelling vast sums of money into their own operations,like football clubs – and that the scheme rules allow this – shows how fundamentally flawed the whole scheme is,” McAlpine said.
“NSW is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis that is unrelenting on all fronts. Instead of funding well-heeled football clubs,this scheme should be doing more to support those who can’t put food on the table or a roof over their head.”
Clubs are entitled to a tax rebate of up to 1.85 per cent on every dollar of poker machine profit over $1 million,provided that a proportion of those profits is spent on community development and support.
At least 0.75 per cent of their profits over $1 million must be spent on welfare and social services. The remainder,up to 1.1 per cent,can be spent on community development,including the club’s core activities such as sport,golf and bowling green maintenance or staff wages to carry out that maintenance.
Rugby league clubs used the scheme to return a combined $19 million to their own operations,of which $6.8 million was eligible for a rebate. Canterbury League Club gave a $4,894,610 grant to its subsidiary,the Bulldogs Rugby League Club,of which $892,841 was eligible for a rebate,and South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club granted $2.2 million to itself,of which $383,274 was eligible for the rebate.
The second-ranked charity recipient,behind Learning Links,was counselling service Oakdene House,which received $553,554 in cash and kind from Fairfield RSL Memorial Club.
Liberal and Labor Party branches as well as a retired Catholic bishop were among the recipients.
ClubsNSW said in a statement that of the $121 million donated by clubs under the scheme,only $71 million was claimable as a tax rebate. Clubs were permitted to use funding for their core purposes,and it was entirely appropriate that leagues clubs allocated funding to rugby league and that bowling and golf clubs used funds for maintaining their greens.
“ClubsNSW welcomes the review of the ClubGRANTS scheme that has been announced by the NSW government,and we look forward to working with stakeholders to make a good scheme even better,” the statement said.
Some clubs have privately raised concerns that the scheme is not meeting community needs. Campbelltown Catholic Club chief executive Michael Lavorato said he hoped the government review would provide some clearer guidelines.
“ClubGRANTS is a great program which benefits numerous charities,community organisations and sporting clubs,” Lavorato said. “It’s probably fair to say that the program has a few anomalies and requires some improvements to ensure its purpose is being respected and understood.”
A spokeswoman for Liquor and Gaming NSW said ClubsNSW now lists the grant recipients on its website to improve transparency. The NSW government’s decision to review the scheme demonstrated a commitment to “robust and transparent grants”,she said.
“Importantly,the review will include a period of public consultation where industry and the community can have their say on the effectiveness of the scheme,” the spokeswoman said.