Media release

From: The University of Sydney

A study led by University of Sydney researchers has found that the NSW Government-funded Active Kids program has significantly increased children’s physical activity. The state-wide Active Kids voucher program shows promise as a scaled-up intervention to increase children and adolescents’ physical activity participation.

The key findings from the program which began in 2018 showed that:

• Kids who used an Active Kids voucher added an extra day of physical activity to their week. From 4 to 5 days doing the recommended 60 minutes per day. This positive trend was seen in children of all ages, sex and cultural backgrounds.
• The differences in physical activity participation was reduced, with the voucher having a greater impact on supporting girls to be active.
• Each activity the voucher was used on supported over 2 hours of children and adolescents’ weekly active time  - making a greater contribution to participation for active kids who were 15-18 years old, Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander, spoke a language other than English, had a disability, lived in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, or were obese.
• The $100 voucher supported 20 percent of annual expenditure on structured physical activity programs (sport/dance etc)
• The Active Kids voucher helped kids who had lower self-efficacy to be active and reported finding it difficult to join programs to increase their physical activity.
• Children who increased their physical activity after using and Active Kids voucher reported feeling significantly happier and full of energy and were less likely to report feelings of loneliness or be unable to concentrate, than those who maintained or decreased their activity.

The Active Kids program is still being implemented in NSW and has also been extended based on these results to be delivered until 2023. Families can now access 2 x $100 vouchers per year, which will become available again on January 1st.

Background:

In 2018, the NSW Government allocated $207 million 114 across four years for a universal voucher program, entitled Active Kids. More than 1.2 million school-enrolled children aged between 4.5 and 18 years old were potentially eligible to register for one AUD $100 voucher 118 per calendar year. The voucher aimed to increase structured physical activity participation outside of school by reducing the cost barrier. We have previously reported the population awareness and reach of the Active Kids program; the objective of this study was to fill the gap in understanding of the impact of a universal, state-wide financial incentive intervention (Active Kids voucher) on children’s physical activity participation, and the contribution of the voucher to support structured physical activity participation. Personal and social associations with being active were explored to understand whether the voucher influenced underlying contextual factors.