Blueprint for an Active Australia

Introduction

Why focus on physical activity?

Physical inactivity is one of the most pressing public health challenges facing Australia. Insufficient levels of physical activity contribute to a growing burden of chronic diseases (including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, dementia, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders, and some cancers),^1-4 with associated increased healthcare costs and reduced workplace productivity.^5,6

The health benefits of physical activity begin early in life, with documented improvements in physical literacy, cognition, learning, and physical and mental health development in active children and young people.^7-10 Among adults, benefits include improved metabolic and weight management, cardio‑respiratory function and fitness, immunity, energy levels and quality of life.^11-14 Physical activity improves fitness, strength and balance, as well as mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan, from early childhood to older age.^15-18 Physical activity participation can bring people together, such as through sport and active recreation, foster a sense of inclusion and belonging, and improve social connectedness, which in turn promotes improved mental health.^19,20

Physical activity also has clear economic benefits. Estimates suggest that in 2018–19, physical inactivity accounted for approximately $2.4 billion in health spending, including $1.7 billion directly attributed to inactivity and $763 million through related risk factors such as high blood pressure.²¹

Optimal amounts and types of physical activity

The Australian 24-hour movement guidelines for adults and older adults, released in 2026, highlight the levels of physical activity and sleep required for optimal health outcomes.²² These guidelines supplement the 24-hour movement guidelines for children and youth,23,24 to create a suite of recommendations that promote increased movement, reduced sedentary behaviour and optimal sleep.²⁵ The guidelines focus on the importance of accumulating light, moderate and vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity, as well as muscle strengthening activities, across the lifespan. They also recommend reducing time spent in sedentary behaviours, limiting recreational screen time for children and young people, and for adults of all ages, breaking up long periods of sitting. This is important, as technological changes have resulted in increased sedentary time due to automation of daily tasks and services and increased screen time in home, work, education and entertainment settings.^26-28 The guidelines emphasise that all movement counts and that physical activity may be accumulated as a result of planned or structured activity. This can include leisure time through sport and recreation, active travel, in education settings, and during paid and unpaid work. Light physical activity can be accumulated through movement that is incidental to doing something else (i.e. unstructured and unplanned physical activity), often in the context of daily activities, or in caring or occupational duties.

Snapshot of physical activity participation in Australia

Despite the increasing awareness of the health, social and economic benefits of physical activity participation levels remain low. Different guidelines for each age group have made it difficult to compare the prevalence of meeting guidelines across the lifespan. This includes data collected from previous physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for adults and older adults compared to 24-hour movement guidelines for children and young people.

Current national data shows that:

• Just over two-thirds of young children in Australia (2–5 years) meet the target of 3 or more hours of physical activity every day.²⁹ Only 18% of children and young people in Australia (5–17 years) achieve the Australian recommended amount of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day, and 3 times weekly strengthening activities.²⁹
• Fewer than one quarter of adults in Australia (18–64 years) meet the combined national physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines which includes both aerobic (30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity on most days) and strengthening (twice weekly) components.³⁰ In this age group, 56% meet the aerobic guideline and 27% meet the strengthening guideline.³⁰
• Only one in three (33%) older adults in Australia (65 and older) meet both the aerobic (30 minutes on most [5 or more] days per week) and strengthening (twice weekly) guidelines. Fewer than half (43%) meet the aerobic guideline and 25% meet the strengthening guideline.³⁰
• Many priority populations are less likely to meet the guidelines, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability and people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Only 18% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in non-remote areas meet the physical activity guidelines^31-38 (see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Priority populations action areas).

Joining up action for an active Australia

Increasing physical activity depends on action in the places where people live, learn, work, travel and play. The levers for change sit across every level of government and many portfolios. They also sit with non-government organisations, sporting bodies, employers, education providers, researchers and communities. This section draws on the evidence in the 12 action areas that follow. It brings together the priorities they share and makes the case for a National Physical Activity Plan to deliver them. The detailed evidence behind each priority sits in the relevant action area, and we point to those action areas throughout.

The Blueprint sets out what needs to be done. A national plan would set out who does what, by when, and with what investment. It would join up the strategies Australia already has, giving them shared targets and a common way to measure progress.

Meeting Australia's 2030 targets

The National Preventive Health Strategy 2021–2030 sets three national physical activity targets for 2030:³⁹

• reduce the prevalence of insufficient physical activity among children, adolescents and adults by at least 15%
• reduce the prevalence of people undertaking no physical activity by at least 15%
• increase the prevalence of people meeting the muscle strengthening guidelines by at least 15%.

These targets align with the World Health Organization's Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030 (GAPPA), which calls for a 15% relative reduction in physical inactivity by 2030.⁴ They also support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Figure 1).⁴⁰

With four years to go, most children, young people and adults in Australia remain insufficiently active. Closing that gap by 2030 will take coordinated effort on a scale beyond any single strategy.

Figure 1 – Sustainable Development Goals relating to physical activity

For more information on sustainable development goals and physical activity, see Appendix 1.

^{For more information on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, visit www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment.}

^{Disclaimer: The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States.}

^{This image has been inspired by ACTIVE: a technical package for increasing physical activity, Figure 4, by the World Health Organization. Available at iris.who.int, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. This translation was not created by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the binding and authentic edition.41}

^{Figure 1 is reflective of key concepts and SDG’s that align with content included in the 4th edition of the Blueprint for an Active Australia.}

Applying what works internationally

Countries that have developed stronger policy frameworks, with multisectoral and integrated action, show evidence of increasing population levels of physical activity.⁴² A review of national physical activity policies across 64 countries shows how widely nations now use national policy to drive population-level change.⁴²

GAPPA sets out four objectives: active societies, active environments, active people and active systems.⁴ Active systems provide the foundation for the other three. They include leadership and governance, partnerships across sectors, data and monitoring, research, workforce development and sustained funding.

The International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) identifies eight investments that work for physical activity.⁴³ Each one aligns with an action area in this Blueprint:

whole-of-school programs

• active transport
• active urban design
• healthcare
• public education, including mass media
• sport and recreation for all
• workplaces
• community-wide programs.

A national plan is the mechanism that brings these investments together, so that each strengthens the others.

Connecting existing national strategies

Australia has several national strategies that support physical activity. Each makes an important contribution within its own portfolio (Table 1).

States and territories also have their own strategies across health, sport, transport and planning. Their scope and targets vary between jurisdictions.

These strategies cover much of what is needed, but each relies on other portfolios and other levels of government to deliver key parts of the agenda. Transport, planning, education and workplaces each shape how active people are, and each sits largely beyond the health and sport portfolios that lead current strategies. A national plan would connect these efforts, align their targets and track their combined progress.

The National Physical Activity Network (NPAN) shows what is possible. It brings together policy officers from the Commonwealth, states and territories to share evidence and practice (see case study). As an informal network, its reach depends on goodwill. A national plan would build on this foundation with formal coordination, shared accountability and dedicated resources.

Mobilising every level of government

The action areas that follow in the Blueprint show where responsibility and capability for change lie.

The Australian Government provides national leadership, sets targets and guidelines, and funds national programs. It holds key levers for:

• national surveillance and research funding
• Medicare and primary care (Action area 9: Healthcare)
• national campaigns (Action area 12: Mass reach strategies)
• sport participation programs (Action area 7: Sport and active recreation).

State and territory governments hold many of the levers with the greatest reach. They are responsible for:

• land use planning (Action area 5: Built environments)
• public transport and road networks (Action area 6: Active travel)
• schools (Action area 8: Education and childcare)
• public hospitals and community health services (Action area 9: Healthcare).

They are well placed to coordinate action across these portfolios and respond to local and regional needs.

Local governments are closest to communities. They shape streets, parks, paths and public spaces, provide sport and recreation facilities, and deliver local programs (Action areas 1: Children and young people, 2: Older adults, 5: Built environments and 7: Sport and active recreation). They also partner with state and federal governments on infrastructure and community initiatives.47

Partners beyond government also play important roles. Non-government organisations, sporting bodies, employers, education providers and researchers deliver programs, generate evidence and reach people in their communities. Communities and people with lived experience help shape programs and spaces that meet local needs. Co-design is a recurring recommendation across the action areas (Action areas 2: Older adults, 3: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 4: Priority populations and 5: Built environments).

WSYD Moving shows how a place-based systems approach can bring these partners together to improve levels of physical activity (see case study).

Acting on shared priorities

Each action area sets out the evidence and recommendations for its own population group or setting. Read together, they show a clear pattern. The same priorities recur across many action areas, and each depends on several portfolios and levels of government to deliver (Table 2).

These shared priorities make the case for a national plan. Each one reaches across multiple strategies, portfolios and jurisdictions, and each needs a coordinated response to succeed.

What a National Physical Activity Plan should deliver

The Heart Foundation calls on the Australian Government to lead the development of a fully funded National Physical Activity Plan, in partnership with state, territory and local governments, and non-government organisations such as sporting bodies, employers, education providers, researchers and communities and the sector.

Drawing on the evidence across this Blueprint, the plan should deliver:

• Shared targets and accountability. Adopt the National Preventive Health Strategy targets for 2030, with clear milestones and public reporting of progress.
• Clear roles. Set out who is responsible for each priority across portfolios and levels of government.
• Aligned and sustained investment. Direct funding to the interventions with the strongest evidence, including the eight investments that work, and sustain it beyond short-term funding cycles.
• National surveillance. Establish a comprehensive physical activity surveillance system that captures change across population groups and settings, including priority populations.
• A national communication platform. Deliver an ongoing national campaign with consistent messages that states, territories and partners can adapt.
• A skilled workforce. Build physical activity promotion into training and professional development across the health, education, planning, sport and community sectors.
• Equity from the start. Embed co-design with priority populations, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, in the design, delivery and evaluation of the plan.
• Research and evaluation. Invest in research and evaluate initiatives, so the plan learns and improves over time.

The 12 action areas that follow provide the evidence and detailed recommendations to inform each of these elements, and a foundation for the plan.