2026 HP Para Coach - Mentor Roles Grant Program

This new Grant Program is a Project Para initiative introduced to increase the capability of Para coaches. It aims to do so by retaining and supporting targeted serial winning coaches to share their knowledge and expertise across the system.

For the purposes of this Grant Program, serial winning coaches are defined as: “coaches who have coached multiple athletes to medals at multiple benchmark events, including the Paralympic Games”. In other words, coaches who have reliably and repeatedly developed athletes to be best in the world and then prepared and supported them to perform at their best and win medals at benchmark events, including World Championships and Paralympic Games.

Traditionally, the knowledge and expertise of serial winning coaches have been lost to the Australian high performance (HP) system as they neared the end of their Paralympic coaching careers and retired. This Program aims to help retain and share that knowledge and expertise.

This Grant Program will be run as a pilot, with two coach-mentor roles available. Consideration will be given to expanding the Program in future years, subject to inaugural Program objectives and outcomes being met and funding availability.

The objectives of the new Para Coach-Mentor Roles Grant Program are to:

• Ensure the knowledge and expertise of serial winning coaches is retained within the system, for the benefit of the system.
• Provide HP and developing HP Para coaches with the opportunity to be mentored by coaches who have repeatedly guided athletes to medal winning performances at benchmark events, including the Paralympic Games.
• Recognise and reward the knowledge and expertise of the serial winning coaches selected as coach-mentors.
• Determine whether the inaugural pilot program should be expanded, to provide more support to more Para coaches, across more Paralympic sports.

The desired outcomes of the program are:

• The knowledge and expertise of the selected coach-mentors (serial winning coaches) is retained within the system.
• The capability of the HP and developing HP Para coaches exposed to the coach-mentors is increased.
• Serial winning coaches appreciate and benefit from the recognition and reward and are motivated to continue to contribute to the system as a result.
• The Program is expanded to offer an increased number of coach-mentor roles, to support more Para coaches (and, by virtue of that, more athletes) across more Paralympic sports.

Applications must be made by an eligible organisation, on behalf of the targeted coach-mentor to address an identified coach-mentoring need.

The success of the Grant Program will be evaluated against measurable outcomes, including: the number of Para coaches/specific coaching needs supported, increases in coaching capability and contribution to performance progression and pathway outcomes aligned to 2032+ ambitions. 

Important: This Grant Program is not a funding source for sports to add a coach onto international or domestic tours. It is designed to provide financial support that enables targeted coach-mentors to provide ongoing mentoring support (across the year) to targeted mentees to address individual Para coach or organisation Para coach development needs.

Applications must be submitted by an eligible organisation. To be eligible, the organisation must meet the following criteria:

• Be an ASC recognised NSO/D for a Paralympic sport or a NIN Partner (collectively referred to as ‘eligible organisations’).
• Identify and support a coach with the ability, qualifications, experience and commitment required to meet the identified coach-mentoring need.
• Clarify the roles and responsibilities of and proposed schedule for the coach-mentor (including targeted mentees/mentee groups), in consultation with the coach-mentor. (Consider the addition of coach-mentoring opportunities with other Paralympic sports, in consultation with the coach-mentor and the AIS HP Coach Development Team).
• Provide/source additional funds should the funding amount not be sufficient to support the coach-mentor for the grant period.

• Confirm that the coach-mentor targeted for the Grant Program:
  • is an Australian citizen or has been granted permanent residency status;
  • has the ability, qualifications, experience required to meet the identified mentoring need and meets the criteria of a serial winning coach[1];
  • is willing to undergo Safeguarding and Integrity checks from ASC Safeguarding and Sport Integrity Australia (organised by the ASC);
  • is interested and available to meet the identified coach-mentoring need;
  • will commit to and deliver agreed coach-mentoring support to Para coaches identified by the relevant NSO/D and/or NIN Partner during the 2026/27 financial year;
  • will engage fully and be willing to work collaboratively with the Program (NSO/D, NIN partner, AIS) staff and coaches;
  • will be open to feedback and monitor their own progress during the year and be willing to provide feedback;
  • will be highly motivated and committed to improving their craft as a Para coach and coach-mentor;
  • will complete the evaluation tasks for the Program.
• Submit a financial acquittal, written report and recommendations and an evaluation of the Grant Program to the SmartyGrants platform by 30 April 2027.

[1] In this context, a serial winning coach is defined as, “coaches who have coached multiple athletes to medals at multiple benchmark events, including the Paralympic Games”.