Leslie Massey
Australian Olympic athletes do not receive salaries or retainers from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Instead, they rely on a mix of grants, sponsorships, and medal bonuses. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) offers means-tested grants of up to AUD$17,500 to athletes with a strong chance of medalling. Athletes can also negotiate their own sponsorship deals, although the IOC imposes strict rules on advertising campaigns featuring Olympic athletes. Under Australia's Medal Incentive Funding program, individual athletes receive AUD$20,000 for a gold medal, AUD$15,000 for silver, and AUD$10,000 for bronze.
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Medal bonuses
Australian Olympic athletes do not receive salaries or retainers from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). However, there is an annual AOC athlete incentive scheme, called the 'Medal Incentive Funding' program, which rewards athletes who make the podium at the Olympic Games. Under this program, individual athletes are paid $20,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for a silver, and $10,000 for a bronze. These figures are largely consistent with the 2016 Games in Rio. However, each athlete can only receive one payment, corresponding to their best result. For team sports, the payment varies depending on the team's size and comes directly from the AOC, not the government.
On top of medal bonuses from the AOC, Aussie athletes who strike gold in athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympics could pocket an extra $50,000 USD from World Athletics, the first international federation to award prize money at the Olympic Games. The federation has set aside a total prize pot of $3.6 million to reward gold medalists in all 48 track and field events.
In addition to medal bonuses, Australian athletes may also receive grants from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). These grants are typically means-tested and given to athletes with a strong chance of winning a medal. The AIS offers grants of up to AUD$17,500, with eligible athletes claiming up to $35,000 per year.
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Sponsorship deals
Australian Olympic athletes do not receive salaries or retainers from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Instead, they rely on a mix of grants, sponsorships, and medal bonuses. Athletes can negotiate their own sponsorship deals, but the International Olympics Committee has a list of strict guidelines regarding advertising campaigns that feature Olympic athletes. Athletes are not permitted to issue more than one 'thank you' statement to personal advertisers who are not also “Olympic Partners”.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) offers means-tested grants of up to AUD$17,500 to athletes with serious potential to earn a medal at the Olympic, Paralympic, or Commonwealth Games. These grants come in six-month blocks, meaning eligible athletes can claim up to $35,000 a year. In addition, private donors, such as Gina Rinehart, provide financial support to specific sports that they believe will win big, most often swimming and rowing. Rinehart also provides a $525-a-week wage for the nation's top 50 rowers in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Some Australian athletes have done a great job of securing major sponsorship deals, including swimmer Ariarne Titmus, who has a brand ambassador role with the retail company Harvey Norman.
In addition to sponsorship deals, athletes can also receive prize money from national and international competitions. In 2024, World Athletics will become the first international federation to hand out prize money at the Olympic Games. A total prize pot of $US2.4 million ($3.6 million) has been allocated to reward athletes who win a gold medal in any of the 48 track and field events. Under Australia's Medal Incentive Funding program, individual athletes are paid $20,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for a silver, and $10,000 for a bronze.
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Grants
The reality for most Australian Olympic athletes is a low-income lifestyle that relies on unreliable and unpredictable sources of income. While sponsorships and brand deals are a common channel of revenue for Olympians, they are often restricted and typically only lucrative for notable athletes. As a result, many athletes turn to fundraising to support their Olympic dreams.
The Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) is the only way to make tax-deductible donations to Australian sports. Through the ASF, eligible athletes can receive up to $17,500 twice a year through a means-tested grant. In addition, athletes participating in the $1 Million Challenge can be supported through the ASF or the Aussie Athlete Fund's project.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) also offers funding to athletes. The dAIS Grant is a means-tested grant designed to support athletes with significant potential at events. In April 2021, the AIS also launched an $8,000 grant for athletes to fund training-related expenses. In the 2021-2022 budget, the federal government committed $50.6 million in "high-performance grants" for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Wealthy private sponsors, such as Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person, also provide grants to Olympic hopefuls. Rinehart offers a quarterly grant of up to $8,000 for swimmers and an incentive pool of $170,000 for medallists and top-eight finishers. She has also underwritten a $525-a-week wage for the nation's top 50 rowers.
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Prize money
Australian Olympic athletes do not receive salaries or retainers from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Instead, they rely on a mix of grants, sponsorships, brand deals, and medal bonuses.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) offers grants of up to AUD$17,500 to athletes with a strong chance of making the podium. These grants are means-tested and come in six-month blocks, meaning eligible athletes can claim up to AUD$35,000 per year.
Under the AOC's 'Medal Incentive Funding' program, athletes receive a payment if they make the podium at an Olympic Games or an equivalent top-level competition in non-Olympic years. Individual athletes are paid AUD$20,000 for a gold medal, AUD$15,000 for a silver, and AUD$10,000 for a bronze. Athletes who win multiple medals receive the compensation relevant to their best result. For team sports, the payment varies depending on the team's size and comes from the AOC rather than the government.
In addition to the AOC's funding program, athletes can also receive prize money from national and international competitions. For example, World Athletics will offer a prize pool of US$2.4 million (AUD$3.6 million) at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to reward gold medal winners in all 48 track and field events. This means that Aussie athletes who win gold in athletics events could receive an extra US$50,000 on top of their medal bonuses from the AOC.
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Athlete incentive schemes
Australian Olympic athletes do not receive salaries or retainers from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). However, the AOC runs an annual athlete incentive scheme called 'Medal Incentive Funding' to incentivise athletes to represent Australia in future Olympic Games. The incentive scheme includes the following:
- Under the Medal Incentive Funding program, individual athletes are paid $20,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for a silver medal, and $10,000 for a bronze medal.
- Each athlete can only receive one payment, corresponding to their best result.
- For team sports, the payment varies depending on the team's size and comes from the AOC rather than the government.
- The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) offers grants of up to AUD$17,500 to athletes with a strong chance of making the podium.
- The Aspiring Australian Olympic Athlete Fund, a new fund as of 2024, directly supports up-and-coming athletes.
- The Medical Incentive Fund and the Aspiring Athletes Fund enable philanthropists to make tax-deductible donations to support the nation's athletes.
On top of these incentives, athletes can also receive prize money from national and international competitions, as well as sponsorship and brand deals.
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Frequently asked questions
Australian athletes are rewarded $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. This is consistent with the 2016 Games in Rio.
No, Australian Olympic athletes do not receive salaries or retainers from the AOC. However, they can receive grants, sponsorships, and medal bonuses.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) offers means-tested grants of up to $17,500 to athletes with a strong chance of winning a medal. Athletes can also receive grants of up to $8,000 to fund international or domestic travel, medical support, or other training-related expenses.
Athletes can negotiate their own sponsorship deals, but there are strict rules in place. For example, they can't issue more than one "thank you" statement to personal advertisers who are not official Olympic partners.
