The Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra has been thrown the lifeline to build housing for athletes, an indoor training facility and a high-performance training and testing centre.
The funding will "rescue" the neglected facility, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said as he unveiled the package ahead of Tuesday's federal budget.
A report into the condition of the institute found it was non-compliant for para-athletes. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
"This facility has been allowed to decay and not be as good as it should be," he said on Friday.
"This national asset will now be of enormous quality and will be something that we can be proud of. And that will benefit not just Canberra, but will benefit the entire nation."
Australian Sports Commission chief executive Kieran Perkins said "the largest investment into the AIS since inception" would put Australian athletes on the front foot for Olympic Games success.
The funding forms part of the government's response to an independent review into the state of the AIS.
A report found the AIS was rundown and no longer fit-for-purpose. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
The review's authors - Robyn Smith and Erin Flaherty - said the AIS was "the benchmark model to achieve sporting success" when it was established in 1981, but had since become "tired, not fit-for-purpose and in particular, non-compliant with the needs of para-athletes".
While major sporting codes have set up their own high-performance pathways, the centralised model still provided "an essential spine" for smaller sports, such as combat sports and "millennial sports" such as skating and mountain biking.
The report recommended constructing a multi-storey 250-bed accommodation facility, a fully accessible multi-sports dome for track and field and rectangular football codes and a training and testing centre to replace ageing assets.
A further $10 million will be set aside to develop a precinct masterplan to ensure the Bruce site is fit for purpose. A detailed plan for the site's redevelopment is being finalised.
Our Aussie athletes are making their final preparations for the Paris Olympics. — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) We're backing them - and the next generation of sports stars - with an investment to upgrade the Australian Institute of Sport here in Canberra. pic.twitter.com/kmgq7IorMoMay 10, 2024
Sports Minister Anika Wells said investment was needed now because it takes up to eight years to prepare an athlete for the highest level of competition.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles in February backed calls from AIS chair John Wylie and director Andrew Fraser to relocate the facility to the Sunshine State, but this was rejected by the report and the federal government.
Acting ACT chief minister Yvette Berry called it a great day for Canberra as the overhaul would create local jobs and recognise the city's role as the national capital.
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