In 2019-20, the Community Support Fund (CSF) received $112.23 million in revenue and incurred $148.07 million in expenditure. Funding from the CSF was provided to support various projects with community benefits that align with the CSF funding objectives legislated in the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.
The revenue amount received by the CSF in 2019-20 is lower than expected due to the State’s restrictions on hotels since March 2020 required to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Cash reserves from the CSF trust account were used to ensure all required grant payments were made.
Below is a percentage breakdown of the CSF 2019-20 grant expenditure by funding purpose:
- 82.05 per cent of the CSF funding in 2019-20 was allocated for tackling problem gambling (24.54 per cent) as well as drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation (57.51 per cent), which are the top two priorities for the CSF.
- The remaining 17.95 per cent of funding was allocated across various other funding objectives.
Community Support Fund 2019-20 grant expenditure by funding purpose
Table 1: CSF 2019-20 Operating Statement
| 2019-20 | $ million |
| Revenue | |
| from the operation of electronic gaming machines | 111.81 |
| from interest received from deposits | 0.33 |
| from forfeited winnings | 0.09 |
| Total revenue | 112.23 |
| Expenditure | |
| total grant expenditure in 2019-20 | 147.79 |
| DTF administration costs | 0.28 |
| Total expenditure | 148.07 |
| Net deficit* | 35.84 |
Note: Community Support Fund cash reserves have been used to make required grant payments during 2019-20 financial year due to reduced revenue from gaming machines as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
Table 2: CSF Outstanding Commitments (up to 2023-24) as at 30 June 2020
| 2019-20 | $ million |
| Outstanding commitments (up to 2022-23) as at 30 June 2019* | 370.64 |
| New projects approved in 2019-20 with funding commitment up to 2023-24 | 11.61 |
| Existing funding commitments for 2023-24 | 1.41 |
| Total grant expenditure for 2019-20 | (148.07) |
| Less Treasurer’s Advance funding** | (114.45) |
| Less CSF funding no longer required (Table 3) | (2.78) |
| Outstanding commitments (up to 2023-24) as at 30 June 2020 | 118.36 |
* This figure has been adjusted from 370.48 as reported in the 2018-19 Annual Report.
** Treasurer’s Advance funding was provided to replace the CSF funding allocated to the VRGF Program ($29.45 million) and the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Services Program ($85 million), as the CSF as a result of lower revenue earned from electronic gaming machines to fund these programs in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Table 3: Allocated CSF funding that is no longer required
| Project | $’000 |
| Community Facilities Funding Program 2014-15 | 177.27 |
| Community Facilities Funding Program 2015-16 | 2 513.13 |
| Enabling Vulnerable Students to Go to School Project – WEstjustice | 87.50 |
| Total CSF Funding no longer required | 2 777.91 |
Departmental grant expenditure breakdown for 2019-20
A breakdown of grant expenditure to individual Departments is provided in CSF Expenditure to Department by Project in 2019‑20.
Several CSF initiatives contain multiple projects within. A breakdown of the departmental grant expenditure is provided on these CSF initiatives for 2019-20 in CSF Combined Projects in 2019‑20.
New CSF projects approved in 2019-20
There have been 26 new CSF projects approved in 2019-20. These projects support a wide range of community organisations and councils to build strong and sustainable communities across Victoria.
Details of the new CSF projects can be found in CSF New Project Approvals in 2019-20.
Outstanding commitments (up to 2023-24) as at 30 June 2020
There is a total of $118.36 million in outstanding commitments for the Community Support Fund as at 30 June 2020. A breakdown of these commitments can be found in Outstanding Commitments (up to 2023-24) as at 30 June 2020.
Final outcomes summary for the CSF projects completed in 2019-20
There have been 22 CSF projects completed in 2019-20. The relevant government portfolio departments have administered the delivery of these projects and provided the final outcomes summary on these projects.
A summary of these completed projects can be found in CSF Final report outcomes 2019-20.
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