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Social and economic contributions of licensed clubs in Western Australia

Final Report

August 2009

Prepared for Clubs WA under contract to Edith Cowan University

The Allen Consulting Group ii

The Allen Consulting Group Pty Ltd

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Disclaimer: While the Allen Consulting Group endeavours to provide reliable analysis and believes the material it presents is accurate, it will not be liable for any claim by any party acting on such information. © The Allen Consulting Group 2009

The Allen Consulting Group iii

Foreword by the Executive Director, Clubs WA

Clubs WA is the not-for-profit governing body that represents the interests of all licensed community clubs in Western Australia. With majority support from those clubs it provides a focal point for clubs to establish a sense of common purpose on key issues and the opportunity for the club movement in Western Australia to work together to meet the challenges and opportunities that the future holds.

The aim is to be a strong but reasoned advocate of club interests and to realise a dynamic and prosperous club sector that enhances the quality of life of club members and the Western Australian community generally. Clubs WA is recognised by the State and Federal Government and its agencies as the leader of the club movement in Western Australia. In this capacity it makes submissions and representations to the Government and its agencies on all issues that affect the club movement, and maintains close liaison with the Government and with members of the Parliament to ensure that the interests of clubs are represented and protected.

Clubs WA is the public voice of the club movement — a key role of which is to interact with the media (press, radio and television) and present a good public image of clubs and the club movement. It also provides advice and assistance to clubs on matters affecting club administration. Through arrangements with affiliates and corporate partners, members are able to access expert advice on legal issues, accounting, business planning, marketing and promotion, and industrial relations.

Clubs WA welcomes this report on the socioeconomic contributions of licensed clubs in Western Australia.

Peter Seaman Executive Director Clubs WA 28 August 2009

The Allen Consulting Group iv

Preface

This study emerged from a submission made by Clubs WA, the peak body representing the interests of the club industry, to the State Government in 2001. The submission noted the need for a comprehensive socio-economic assessment of licensed clubs in Western Australia. In 2008, funds were secured from the State Government’s Financial Assistance Agreement with Edith Cowan University to undertake the study. The Allen Consulting Group was engaged by Edith Cowan University to conduct the study, with advisory from Clubs WA and the Western Australian Government, including the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Sport and Recreation and the Department for Communities.

The Allen Consulting Group v

Contents

Chapter 1 7 Introduction 7

1.1 Background 7 1.2 Project objectives 8 1.3 Framework for identifying benefits 9 1.4 Survey method 10 1.5 Survey responses 11 1.6 Extrapolation of sample results to all clubs 12

Chapter 2 14 Profile of clubs in Western Australia 14

2.1 Club types 14 2.2 Geographic distribution 14 2.3 Club membership and revenue base 14 2.4 Activity levels of club membership 16 2.5 Club facilities 17

Chapter 3 19 Economic contributions 19

3.1 Introduction 19 3.2 Employment and training 19 3.3 Operating expenditure 23 3.4 Capital expenditure 25 3.5 Tax contributions 26 3.6 Asset values 27

Chapter 4 28 Social contributions 28

4.1 Introduction 28 4.2 Benefits to members 28 4.3 Benefits to the wider community 30

Chapter 5 36 Relationship with government 36

5.1 Introduction 36 5.2 Relationship with local government 36 5.3 Relationship with state government 36

The Allen Consulting Group vi

Chapter 6 39 Outlook for clubs in Western Australia 39

6.1 Future development plans 39 6.2 Opportunities and concerns 39

Chapter 7 43 Conclusions 43 References 46

Appendix A 47 Technical survey methodology 47

A.1 Survey design 47 A.2 Survey delivery 47 A.3 Survey response 48

Appendix B 50 Survey booklet 50

Appendix C 51 Additional data 51

C.1 Year of club establishment 51 C.2 Membership type 52 C.3 Reimbursement of ‘out of pocket expenses’ 52 C.4 Operating income 53

Appendix D 54 Map of ABS Statistical Divisions 54

D.1 Technical note 54

S O C I A L A N D E C O N O M I C C O N T R I B U T I O N S O F L I C E N S E D C L U B S

The Allen Consulting Group 7

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background

Clubs are groups of people sharing a common interest coming together to provide facilities to promote and pursue that interest. This common interest can be related to a particular sport, religion, ethnic identity, political affiliation or occupation. Examples of the main types of licensed clubs in Western Australia include:

• bowling clubs;

• Returned Service League (RSL)/Services clubs;

• golf clubs;

• league and football clubs;

• other sports and recreation clubs;

• community and workers clubs; and

• ethnic and religious clubs.

Clubs WA is a not-for-profit governing body that represents around 1,000 licensed clubs in Western Australia. This study only surveyed a subset of these club — those 439 clubs with a full club licence (referred to as parent clubs). These clubs typically own or lease premises, invest in community infrastructure plus employ and train staff. The parent clubs typically represent themselves and an amalgamated group of affiliated smaller clubs that are not licensed but generally operate with the support and assistance of the parent club.

A separate and additional 560 clubs operate with a restricted licence. The role and value of these clubs to the community was not included in this study. Whilst the size and structure of these 560 clubs prohibited securing an accurate assessment in relation to their socioeconomic contributions, it should be noted that they are run almost entirely by volunteers and tend not to employ staff or own premises. The contributions made by volunteers operating within these 560 clubs has not been surveyed and is in addition to what has been estimated for the parent clubs.

In Western Australia there is no legal requirement for a club to be licensed or registered, but clubs wanting to serve alcohol on club premises must obtain a liquor licence under the Liquor Control Act 1988 and those operating as an incorporated club must comply with certain corporate governance, accountability, membership, mutuality and club entry requirements as outlined in the Associations Incorporation Act 1987.



Licensed clubs form an important part of the social fabric of the community. Clubs provide affordable facilities and services to members, promoting comradeship, self esteem and a supportive social environment for people of all ages. Clubs encourage the ethos of volunteering, which yields benefits for both club members and the wider community. Recent research in New South Wales has found that clubs in that state have helped the elderly to manage the impact of late life transitions and vastly improved their wellbeing by facilitating social participation, reducing social isolation and enabling access to resources to improve the quality of daily living.1

The clubs movement also contributes to the economy through job creation, training, investment in community and sporting infrastructure, spending money in the community and the payment of taxes to governments.

Despite these important contributions, there is relatively little quantification of the economic and social benefits generated by clubs in Western Australian. Compared to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, where the socio-economic contributions of clubs are well documented2, the nature and scale of benefits attributable to clubs in Western Australia is poorly understood.

1.2 Project objectives

The overarching objective of this project is to build a robust platform of knowledge about the clubs movement in Western Australia – in particular the socioeconomic contributions made by licensed clubs in this state. In the absence of this basic information it is difficult for state and local government to craft effective policies and programs to support clubs, where required, in their ongoing delivery of various services to the community. It is also difficult to assess, with objectivity, the future outlook for clubs if there is no baseline information on how clubs are performing in a financial and non-financial sense.

Specific aims under the terms of reference for the project are

• to identify the economic and social impacts of clubs and where possible estimate the dollar value of these impacts;

• allow comparisons to be made between the Western Australian clubs movement and clubs operating in eastern Australia;

• benchmark the current contributions of clubs with a view to repeating the study at some future date for the purpose of identifying changes and trends;

• identify club perceptions of future opportunities and concerns; and

• identify club views and attitudes about relationships between clubs and state government and local government.

It was beyond project scope to undertake a rigorous assessment of the financial viability of clubs. This would require a specialised survey method and extensive collection of financial information. 1 Virginia Simpson-Young, Club-going as a strategy for managing change and maintaining social connectedness

in later life: an ethnographic account of the day-to-day life of the older club-goer, in Shanley, C. & Roberts, T. (Eds). Proceedings of the 5th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Aging: Research Informing Positive Outcomes in Older Persons, University of Sydney, 21st November 2006.

2 Allen Consulting Group (2007), Socio-economic impact of clubs in New South Wales, a report prepared for

ClubsNSW; and Allen Consulting Group (2008) Socio-economic impact of clubs in ACT, a report prepared for Clubs ACT.



1.3 Framework for identifying benefits

Clubs generate social and economic benefits for the Western Australian community via a number of channels.

Club members are direct beneficiaries of the activities, facilities and services provided as part of membership. Some of these benefits are defined as ‘market’ goods and services — that is, they are supplied in equivalent commercial venues (for example, sporting facilities, meals and entertainment). Other, less tangible benefits are defined as ‘non-market’ services. These include factors such as healthy lifestyles through participation in sport, mateship, self esteem and a sense of belonging.

Club employees, trainees, and volunteers also derive market and non-market benefits. Market benefits include wages and skill development. People who volunteer their time often do so for non-market benefits such as the satisfaction and reward gained from helping others.

The wider community benefits from clubs in a number of ways. Clubs make cash and in-kind contributions to worthy community causes. Club facilities are often made available to guests that accompany members (thus extending the ‘reach’ of clubs beyond direct members). And the presence of clubs in regional towns and metropolitan suburbs can have numerous beneficial spill-over effects, including improved social cohesion and less crime. While these are difficult to value in dollar terms, they are nevertheless important benefits.

Economic contributions

Clubs generate direct economic benefits by spending money on club operations (operating expenditure), club facilities (capital expenditure), employing and training staff, and through the payment of taxes to commonwealth, state and local governments. The values of these economic contributions are quantified as part of this study.

The amount of expenditure and investment made by clubs is an indicator of the economic impact of the clubs movement in Western Australia. However, it should be noted that expenditures in and of themself do not equate to welfare gains in the community. Welfare improvement is measured by how much people actually benefit from (or value) the outcomes ‘purchased’ by the expenditures. For example, while all cash contributions are likely to result in a positive impact to community wellbeing, the size of the welfare benefit arising from these expenditures depends on how the contributions are spent and how they are targeted as some types of activities may have higher payoffs than others.

Social contributions

In this study, social contributions of clubs are measured in the following ways:

• Quantification of the number of club volunteers involved in activities that benefit club members and/or the wider community.

• The total number of volunteer hours injected into club activities and into community causes outside club premises.

• The market value of this voluntary time (hours multiplied by the average wage rate).



• Cash grants and in-kind donations (such as the donation of goods or services).

Clubs also generate a range of intangible social benefits, such as enhancing social capital , building self esteem in youth, providing a social hub and contributing to ‘healthy communities’ by encouraging people to participate in sport. The value of these benefits is not estimated in this study.

1.4 Survey method

Data on club contributions was collected using a mail-out questionnaire that was developed with input from a reference group comprising representatives from Clubs WA, Edith Cowan University and different clubs and associations within the State.3 The Allen Consulting Group also received comments on the draft survey from the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Sport and Recreation and the Department of Communities.

In designing the survey, care was taken to ensure that questions were articulated so that cross-comparisons could be made with data collected by the socioeconomic impact survey undertaken in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Uniformity of design was possible for those elements of the clubs movement that are common across the States and Territories. Questions about gaming machine revenue, for example, were irrelevant for Western Australian clubs as gaming is prohibited in this State.

A copy of the final questionnaire used in this study is contained in Appendix B.

The sampling frame for the survey was all 439 parent clubs listed on the Clubs WA register of licensed clubs.4 These clubs were telephoned by market research company iView in March 2009 to explain the study and invite them to participate in the questionnaire. A total of 420 clubs were sent a survey booklet in April 2009. This sample included those clubs that agreed to participate and those that could not be contacted after three calls. Nineteen clubs opted out of the survey.

The survey was in the field for approximately six weeks, after which time a total of 116 useable survey responses were completed and returned. This represents a response rate of 28 per cent, which is similar to that achieved for the New South Wales socioeconomic impact survey in 2007 (which yielded a response rate of 32 per cent).

3 The reference group comprised representatives from the Western Australian Football Commission, the

Western Australian Sports Federation, the East Fremantle Football Club, the Marmion Angling Club, the Willetton Sport Club, the Maylands Bowling and Recreation Club and ClubsWA.

4 The 439 clubs selected for this survey were those with contact details. A small number of clubs had to be

excluded from the survey due to out-dated contact information.



1.5 Survey responses

Survey responses were received from clubs across Western Australia. The number of responses from each region (classified by the ABS’ statistical divisions – see Appendix D) was broadly consistent with the share of registered clubs located in each region (defined as the number of clubs in a particular region as a percentage of the total population of 439 clubs on the register). The respondent sample is characterised as having a small over-representation of clubs from the Perth metropolitan region and a slight under-representation of clubs from regional districts, with the exception of the South West region, which was adequately represented in the sample (Figure 1.1).

A summary of the types of clubs that responded to the survey is presented in Figure 1.2. Multi-activity clubs, bowling and golf clubs had the highest representation in the sample.

Figure 1.1 REGIONAL REPRESENTATION IN CLUBS POPULATION AND RESPONDING SAMPLE



Figure 1.2 SURVEY RESPONSES BY TYPE OF CLUB

Note: The sporting and recreation total (8 per cent) includes tennis clubs, boating clubs, aquatic and angling clubs and other sporting and recreation clubs.

Percentages are rounded to nearest whole number so the sum of individual pie segments may not add to 100 per cent

1.6 Extrapolation of sample results to all clubs

The survey results were specific for the sample of clubs that responded to the survey. In order to determine the total impact of all parent clubs in Western Australia, the results were ‘scaled-up’ to the entire population of clubs. Club types were grouped into six categories for the purpose of scaling up the data. These categories were:

• bowling clubs;

• golf clubs;

• other sport clubs (including football, soccer and league clubs, boating and aquatic clubs, tennis clubs and other sport and recreation clubs);

• community workers clubs, ethnic and RSL clubs;

• multi-activity clubs; and

• other clubs (motor racing, horse racing and card playing).



The scale-up factors were based on the sample of club types that responded to the survey and the proportional representation of these club types in the population With reference to Figure 1.3, it can be seen that multi-activity clubs were over-represented in the sample relative to the population. And workers/ethnic/RSL clubs were under-represented. The scale-up factors adjusted for these differences. The calculations used to determine the scale-up factors are set out in Table 1.1.

While this is a standard procedure for extrapolating sample results to a population of interest, the method assumes that the responding sample of clubs are not systematically different to non-responding clubs (for example, it may be the case that responding clubs had greater resources at their disposal to complete the questionnaire). It was beyond project scope to test for these potential differences.

Figure 1.3 REPRESENTATIVENESS OF SAMPLE

Table 1.1 DETERMINATION OF SCALE-UP FACTORS

Club type No. of clubs in responding

sample

No. of clubs in population

Scale-up factor

Bowling 21 66 3.14 (=66/21)

Golf 17 78 4.59 (=78/17)

Other sport 11 70 6.36 (=70/11)

Community, Ethnic & RSL

11 79 7.18 (79/11)

Multi-activity 48 123 2.56 (=123/48)

Other 8 23 2.88 (=23/8)

Total 116 439

Source: Number of clubs in populated taken from the Clubs WA database of licensed clubs.



Chapter 2

Profile of clubs in Western Australia

2.1 Club types

Bowling and golf clubs are the most common types of single activity clubs in the Western Australia, comprising one third of all clubs. Community, ethnic and RSL clubs also have a strong representation (18 per cent). Over a quarter (28 per cent) of clubs are ‘multi-activity’ clubs. Table 2.1 contains a breakdown of the number of parent clubs in the state, by type and location.

2.2 Geographic distribution

About 55 per cent of the State’s clubs are located in regional Western Australia and the remainder are located in the Perth metropolitan area (Table 2.1).

While the survey found that the number of clubs is approximately equally split between metropolitan and regional areas, it is known that most of the State’s population (approximately 70 per cent) resides in Perth.5 This means that on a per capita basis, regional areas are better serviced by clubs than the metropolitan area.

The membership numbers of clubs in regional areas, however, are typically lower than those in Perth. Therefore, while the number of clubs in regional areas slightly outnumber those in Perth (242 compared to 197 in Perth), the total membership of clubs located in regional Western Australia accounts for just 30 per cent of the State’s total club members.

2.3 Club membership and revenue base

Total club membership (including full-paying and reduced fee and honorary members) in Western Australia is estimated at over 310,000 people, or about 14 per cent of the State’s population.6 Some clubs have membership bases of over 1,000 (the largest club by membership reported a membership base of 4,600) while other clubs have less than 50 members. On average, clubs in Western Australia have about 600 members.

Of the 310,000 people who are club members, about one third belong to a club in the ‘other sport’ category — that is, football, soccer and league clubs, boating and aquatic clubs, tennis clubs and other sport and recreation clubs. Community, ethnic and RSL clubs account for 20 per cent of members and a further 20 per cent belong to golf clubs (Figure 2.1).

Shares of revenue earned by the various club types are similar to the shares of club members (Figure 2.1). In total, clubs earned about $396 million in operating income during 2007-08. Other sport clubs and golf clubs accounted for the largest shares of revenue. The average income earned per club for the year was $700,000.

5 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2008, cat. no. 3101.0.

6 Based on a population estimate for Western Australia of 2,204,000. From Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009,

Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2008, cat. no. 3101.0.

Regional areas account for approximately 30 per cent of the State’s total club members.

Total club membership in Western Australia is estimated to be over 310,000.

In total, clubs earned about $396 million in operating income during 2007-08.



Table 2.1 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF CLUBS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Club type Perth South West

Great Southern

South Eastern

& Midlands

Central Pilbara & Kimberley

Total

Bowling 26 10 10 10 9 1 66

Golf 21 19 13 19 4 2 78

Other sport 42 12 6 5 4 1 70

Community, Ethnic & RSL 45 8 5 14 3 4 79

Multi-activity 52 14 15 18 10 14 123

Other 11 6 1 5 23

Total 197 69 50 71 30 22 439

Figure 2.1 MEMBERS AND REVENUE BY CLUB TYPE

Note: Percentages are rounded to nearest whole number so the sum of individual pie segments may not add to 100 per cent



The majority of club members are in the 19 to 65 years of age bracket (Figure 2.2). However, some types of clubs have a large cohort of members aged over 65 years. For example, nearly 40 per cent of bowling club members are aged over 65 years and about 26 per cent of members of multi-activity and other clubs are also within this age bracket. People under the age of 18 account for a relatively small proportion (less than 10 per cent).

Figure 2.2 AGE PROFILE OFCLUB MEMBERS

2.4 Activity levels of club membership

In total, it is estimated that over 65 per cent of club members are active members, defined as members who use the club services or facilities on a regular basis or contribute time to club activities. Figures 2.3 and 2.4, respectively, show the distributional breakdown of active membership by club type and geographic region. Active club members are located in clubs throughout Western Australia, with a strong presence in Perth and the South West.

Figure 2.3 ACTIVE CLUB MEMBERSHIP BY CLUB TYPE



Figure 2.4 ACTIVE CLUB MEMBERSHIP BY REGION

2.5 Club facilities

Clubs play a valuable role in the community by providing people with low cost access to facilities that can be used by both club members and the wider community. The provision of sporting facilities is common. The survey found that the most common form of sporting facilities provided by clubs include tennis courts, bowling greens and billiard tables (Table 2.2). 86 per cent of respondents indicated that non-club members are able to access some (42 per cent) or all (44 per cent) of their clubs sporting facilities.

Collectively, clubs in Western Australia provide over 2700 sporting facilities for members and their guests.



Table 2.2 NUMBER OF SPORTING FACILITIES OPERATED BY CLUBS

Facility type Number of facilities provided by clubs

Bowling greens 388

Gyms 24

Sporting fields 94

Golf courses 116

Swimming pools 3

Tennis courts 447

Squash courts 87

Billiard tables 293

Carpet bowls 117

Boat / ski facilities 43

Other facilities 1,127

Total 2,739

Clubs also make important contributions to the community through the provision of non-sporting facilities such as entertainment areas, meeting rooms and bars (Table 2.3). The majority of non-sporting facilities are able to be used by non-club members. 82 per cent of respondents indicated that non-club members are able to access some (33 per cent) or all (49 per cent) of their clubs non-sporting facilities.

Table 2.3 NUMBER OF NON SPORTING FACILITIES OPERATED BY CLUBS

Facility type Number of facilities provided by clubs

Meeting rooms 609

Playgrounds 47

Bars 556

Bistro / restaurants 214

Indoor entertainment venues 365

Accommodation facilities 59

Libraries / collections 72

Outdoor entertainment areas 310

Other facilities 57

Total 2,288



Chapter 3

Economic contributions

3.1 Introduction

There are various ways in which clubs make contributions to the Western Australian economy. Clubs provide direct employment and training for Western Australians. Clubs also spend money in the economy in the form of operating and capital expenditure and this creates benefits to various sectors of the State’s economy. Taxation paid by clubs generates revenue for three levels of government.

Survey data presented in this chapter provides an indication of the magnitude of contributions to the economy.

3.2 Employment and training

In total, 5895 people were employed by clubs in 2007-08. The most common form of employment was casual employment (accounting for 44 per cent of total) followed by full-time employment (29 per cent) and then part-time employment (23 per cent).

Clubs belonging to the “other sports clubs” category are responsible for employing the largest number of people — approximately 1,800 people in 2007-08. Community, ethnic and RSL clubs employ about 1,600 people and golf clubs employ about 1,300 (Figure 3.1).

Golf clubs have strong reliance on full-time staff relative to other clubs. About 50 per cent of staff employed at golf clubs are full-time. The majority of other clubs display a tendency to utilise casual staff as the most common form of employment. Bowling clubs are most reliant on casual staff. About 57 per cent of bowling club staff are casual staff.

Table 3.1 EMPLOYMENT AT CLUBS

Type of employment

Number of employees

Share of total employment (%)

Full-time 1,709 29.0

Part-time 1,352 22.9

Casual 2,596 44.0

Trainees 79 1.3

Apprenticeships 158 2.7

Total 5,895 100.0

Clubs provide full time, part time or casual employment to almost 6000 people and in 2007-08 paid about $133 million in wages and salaries.



Figure 3.1 FORM OF EMPLOYMENT BY CLUB TYPE

Wages and salaries

Clubs paid about $133 million in wages and salaries (including superannuation) to employees during 2007-08. Average wages and salaries paid per employee equated to about $22,600 (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2 WAGES AND SALARIES PAID TO CLUB EMPLOYEES

Club type Total wages and salaries paid ($m)

Average wages and salaries paid per

employee ($)

Bowling 3.8 12,600

Golf 39.2 29,800

Other sport 41.1 22,600

Community, ethnic and RSL 34.2 21,700

Multi-activity 11.0 14,500

Other 3.78 33,200

Total 133.0 22,600

Employee demographics

Clubs employ people from a wide range of age groups, although the most common age of category of employees is the 25 to 44 years category, which accounts for 45 per cent of employees. Employees between the ages of 16 to 24 years and 45 to 65 years each accounted for approximately one quarter of employees (Table 3.3).



Clubs do offer employment to elderly people aged over 65 years, but this is the exception rather than the rule — with just three per cent of employees in this age category. This is only slightly higher than the representation of people aged over 65 years in the total Australian workforce (which is 2.4 per cent.7).

Club types with a relatively young employee profile include ‘other sport’, ‘golf’, and ‘community, ethnic and RSL’ clubs. Clubs with an older age profile of employees include ‘multi-activity’ and ‘bowling’ clubs (Figure 3.2).

Based on aggregate employment across all clubs, 59 per cent of employees were female and 41 per cent were male. Most club types had male and female employment mixes that were similar to these aggregated results. Golf clubs were the only type of club to employ more males than females (58 per cent male versus 49 per cent female).

Table 3.3 AGE PROFILE OF CLUB EMPLOYEES

Age bracket Share of total club employment (%)

16 to 24 years 26.3

25 to 44 years 45.0

45 to 65 years 25.6

Over 65 years 3.1

Total 100.0

Figure 3.2 EMPLOYMENT BY AGE AND CLUB TYPE

7 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Census Data, available at http://www.abs.gov.au.



Contribution to regional employment

Seventy per cent of club employees (or 4149 people) are located in the Perth metropolitan area. The remaining 1745 employees are located in regional areas. About 1,000 people are employed by clubs in the South West region and another 630 people are employed by clubs in the Central, South East, Midlands and Great Southern regions (Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3 CLUB EMPLOYEES BY REGION

Training

Within the total employment statistics above, clubs reported that they employ 212 trainees and apprentices. In addition to the training and experience provided to the trainees and apprentices, clubs also provide formal training to their employees and volunteers.

In 2007-08, clubs provided formal training to over 2,700 people, or almost half of their employees (excluding trainees and apprentices8). In total, clubs spent approximately $920,000 on formal training for employees at an average cost of about $280 per person that received training (Table 3.4).

8 People in these positions are already assumed to be receiving training.

Clubs provide direct employment for 1745 people in regional Western Australia.

In 2007-08, clubs provided training to over 2,700 people and spent almost $1 million on formal training.



Table 3.4 EXPENDITURE ON FORMAL TRAINING

Club type Number of employees that received formal

training

Expenditure on formal training

($)

Average expenditure per person trained

($)

Bowling 308 71,200 231

Golf 252 206,700 819

Other sport 528 197,300 374

Community, ethnic and RSL

919 353,800 385

Multi-activity 641 82,400 129

Other 121 7,700 64

Total 2,769 919,200 279

3.3 Operating expenditure

Operating expenditure is expenditure on day to day expenses associated with the running of clubs. Total operating expenditure outlays by clubs in 2007-08 was about $360 million (Table 3.5). This is money that is largely spent in the Western Australian economy. In total, about 78 per cent of club expenditures were made by clubs located in the Perth region. Clubs in regional areas accounted for 22 per cent of expenditure, or $78.4 million (Figure 3.4). While not all expenditure made in a particular region necessarily stays in a region, it is expected that a large proportion of the money spent by regional clubs would stay in local area – thus benefitting local businesses.

Table 3.5 OPERATING EXPENDITURE

Club type Total operating expenditure ($m)

Bowling 16.2

Golf 97.5

Other sport 141.1

Community, Ethnic and RSL 63.0

Multi-activity 8.7

Other 33.7

Total 360.2

In 2007-08 clubs spent approximately $360 million in operating expenses, of which $78.4 million was spent by clubs located in regional areas.



Figure 3.4 CLUB OPERATING EXPENDITURE BY REGION

Figure 3.5 OPERATING EXPENDITURE OF CLUBS




With reference to Figure 3.5, wage and salary payments account for the largest share of total club operating expenditure (37 per cent of total expenditure), followed by restaurant expenses (21 per cent of total expenditure) and administration and overhead expenses (15 per cent of total expenditure).

3.4 Capital expenditure

Capital expenditure made by clubs is another avenue by which money flows from clubs to the Western Australian economy. Clubs spent a total of $110 million on capital expenditure in 2007-08. Much of this expenditure was on facilities, particularly sporting facilities that are utilised by both club members and the wider community.

In total, expenditure on sporting infrastructure and related items accounted for three quarters of the total capital expenditure made by clubs. This expenditure was comprised of:

• expenditure on sporting infrastructure amounting to 50 per cent (or $55 million) of total capital expenditure;

• expenditure on sporting fields amounting to 17 per cent (or $19 million) of total capital expenditure; and.

• expenditure on sporting equipment amounting to 8 per cent (or $9 million) of total capital expenditure.

Other items of capital expenditure included club buildings and extensions, refurbishments of buildings and motor vehicles (Figure 3.6).

Figure 3.6 COMPONENTS OF CAPITAL EXPENDITURE


Clubs spent a total of $110 million on capital expenditure in 2007-08.



3.5 Tax contributions

Clubs in Western Australia pay a range of commonwealth, state and local government taxes. These taxes include:

• goods and services tax (GST), paid to the Commonwealth Government but accrued by the states;

• pay as you earn tax (PAYE), paid to the Commonwealth Government;

• council rates and tax, paid to local governments;

• payroll tax, paid to the Western Australian Government; and

• fringe benefits tax, paid to the Commonwealth Government.

Respondents were asked to identify the amount of taxes by their club for each of the above tax categories. Responses to this question indicate that the value of total taxes paid by clubs during 2007-08 lies within the range of $42 to $63 million (Table 3.6).

The number of respondents that provided answers to the survey questions on taxes was relatively low (see right hand column of Table 3.6). For this reason a series of range estimates have been provided. The lower bound estimates have been derived using the standard scale factors that have been used throughout this report. An alternative set of scale factors was used to determine the upper bound estimates. The revised scale factors took account of the relatively low rate of response to the survey questions on taxes.9

Table 3.6 TAXES PAID BY LICENSED CLUBS

Tax type Total taxes paid by clubs

($m) Lower bound

Total taxes paid by clubs

($m) Upper bound

Number of respondents that reported payment of

tax*

GST 18.4 24.0 83

PAYE tax 16.6 25.3 64

Council rates and taxes 3.6 5.1 74

Payroll tax 3.0 8.6 41

Fringe benefits tax 0.1 0.3 31

Total 41.8 63.3 91

* From the sample of 116 received survey responses. The number of respondents that reported the payment of taxes includes those respondents who reported values of zero.

9 A useful check on the accuracy of the range estimates is to determine an alternative estimate of the total GST

paid by clubs. This can be done by calculating 10 per cent of the value of total operating expenditure less wages and salaries (i.e. it is assumed that clubs pay GST at the rate of 10 per cent on all operating expenditures less wages and salaries, which are GST exempt). This approach yields an estimate of the value of GST paid by clubs of about $23 million. This estimate lies within our estimated range provided in Table 3.6 of $18 million to $24 million.

The value of total taxes paid by clubs during 2007-08 lies within the range of $42 to $63 million.



3.6 Asset values

Assets held by clubs include buildings, equipment and investment assets. The total value of club assets, as at the end of 2007-08, is estimated at about $860 million (Table 3.7). This estimate excludes land value, as in the majority of cases clubs do not own the land on which the club is located. Ownership is usually vested in municipal councils or the State.

As indicated earlier in this report, both club members and the wider community are able to benefit from the use of assets that are held by clubs.

Table 3.7 CLUB ASSETS

Club type Value of club assets ($m)

Bowling 36.8

Golf 224.6

Other sport 245.0

Community, ethnic and RSL 248.9

Multi-activity 88.9

Other 18.0

Total 862.1



Chapter 4

Social contributions

4.1 Introduction

Clubs provide a range of social contributions to the Western Australian community. Members benefit directly from the services provided by clubs, many of which are offered at below commercial prices, due to the lower operating cost structure of clubs relative to commercial businesses. Costs can be reduced due to

• the input of volunteers to club activities;

• no requirement to generate a profit to shareholders or equity holders (all profits are reinvested in the club);

• no requirement to generate a commercial rate of return club assets; and

• in some cases, land has historically been made available to clubs at below market value.

The reach of the social contributions made by clubs extends beyond the direct benefits to members. This study shows that many of the benefits that are available to club members are also accessed by non-club members or club guests. Clubs also provide a source of volunteers for community causes and donations of cash and in-kind contributions to community causes.

The survey information presented in this chapter documents the nature and scale of social contributions that are made by clubs in Western Australia.

4.2 Benefits to members

Clubs provide a large range of services to members. Services that are most commonly provided by clubs include bar, restaurant and meals (provided by 95 per cent of clubs), competitive and social sport (82 per cent of clubs), coaching and tuition (provided by 53 per cent of clubs) and live entertainment (provided by 57 per cent of clubs) (Figure 4.1).

The role of volunteers in servicing clubs

Volunteers are an integral part of the clubs movement. All respondents to the survey reported that volunteers had contributed to club activities in some way during 2007-08. The most common forms of volunteer contributions to club activities included contributions to club busy bees and asset maintenance, club meetings, fundraising and club administration and management.

Just over 24,500 volunteers made contributions to club activities during the year and, in total, these volunteers contributed about 728,000 hours (or about 19,413 standard working hour weeks10) (Table 4.1). Based on data on the average weekly earnings of Australian adults, it is estimated that the value of the volunteer contributions to club activities is in the order of $23 million.

10

Based on a 37.5 hour work week.

Just over 24,500 volunteers contributed their time to club activities in 2007-08, which amounted to a total of 728,000 hours.



Figure 4.1 SERVICES PROVIDED BY CLUBS TO MEMBERS

Table 4.1 VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTIONS TO ‘IN-CLUB’ ACTIVITIES

Club type Number of volunteers that

contributed time to club activities

Number of volunteer hours contributed to

club activities

Bowling 2,600 171,581

Golf 4,401 73,537

Other sport 7,766 114,205

Community, ethnic and RSL 2,024 119,327

Multi-activity 1,906 27,665

Other 5,855 221,764

Total 24,552 728,078

Note: All 116 respondents to the survey provided answers to the questions on volunteer contributions to club activities, from which the estimates in the table above have been derived. 30 per cent of respondents indicated that they were ‘very confident’ in the accuracy of their responses to these questions and 70 per cent indicated that they were ‘moderately confident’.



For Western Australian clubs, the ratio of total volunteers to total employees in 2007-08 was about four volunteers for every employee. For New South Wales clubs, this ratio (measured in 2006-07) was about one to one.11 The Western Australian clubs data show that smaller clubs tended to have a higher reliance on volunteers. On average, clubs with fewer than six employees relied on assistance from 14 volunteers per employee whereas clubs with over twenty employees utilised just two volunteers per employee (Table 4.2). A similar trend is apparent in New South Wales clubs, with small clubs (defined as those earning less than $200,00 in annual revenue) having three volunteers per employee and larger clubs (with more than $5 million in revenue) having an average of 0.5 volunteers per employee.

Table 4.2 NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS PER EMPLOYEE BY CLUB SIZE – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Club size (by total employment) Average number of volunteers per employee

Less than 6 employees 14

6 to 10 employees 9

11 to 20 employees 4

More than 20 employees 2

Average across all clubs 4

4.3 Benefits to the wider community

The social benefits of clubs extend beyond direct provision of services to members. This study found that during 2007-08, non-members made in the order of 1.9 million visits to clubs. Put another way, for each club member, there were on average six club visits made by non-members (Table 4.3). It is clear from these results that the services provided by clubs extend well beyond immediate club membership.

11

Allen Consulting Group 2008, Socio-economic impact study of clubs in NSW, Final Report, February 2008.

During 2007-08, non-members made in the order of 1.9 million visits to clubs.



Table 4.3 VISITS TO CLUBS BY GUESTS AND TEMPORARY MEMBERS

Club type Number of club

members

Number of visits by non-

members

Number of non-member visits to club

per club member

Bowling 20,000 317,000 16

Golf 62,000 522,000 8

Other sport 104,000 370,000 4

Community, ethnic and RSL 63,000 76,000 1

Multi-activity 51,000 557,000 11

Other 11,000 94,000 9

Total 310,000 1,936,000 6

One way in which the wider community derives benefits from clubs is by being able to access club services that are not exclusively provided to members. Over 90 per cent of clubs provide bar, restaurant and meals to non-members and over 70 per cent provide competitive and social sport services. Other services commonly provided to the wider community include coaching and tuition and live entertainment (Figure 4.2).

The four most common services provided to club members (bar restaurant and meals; competitive and social sport; coaching and tuition; and live entertainment) are also provided to the wider community in the majority of cases. For example,

• 94 per cent of clubs that provided bar, restaurant and meal services to members also provided them to the wider community;

• 84 per cent of clubs that provided competitive and social sport services to members also provided them to the wider community;

• 62 per cent of clubs that provided coaching and tuition services to members also provided them to the wider community; and

• 89 per cent of clubs that provided live entertainment services to members also provided them to the wider community.



Figure 4.2 SERVICES PROVIDED BY CLUBS TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY

The role of club volunteers in servicing the wider community

About 38 per cent of clubs (equivalent to 167 clubs) committed volunteers to provide services to the wider community during 2007-08. Volunteers made their time available for a variety of community services. The most common services included sport and recreation activities (for example, coaching and umpiring junior sport), charity work services, education and training services and disability care services (Figure 4.3).

About 6132 volunteers made contributions to community services during the year and in total, these volunteers contributed over 108,182 hours or about 2884 standard working hour weeks12 (Table 4.4). Based on data on the average weekly earnings of Australian adults, it is estimated that the value of the volunteer contributions to club activities is in the order of $3.4 million.13

Not all clubs offered volunteer time and assistance to out-of-club community events or causes in 2007-08. The survey found that 54 per cent of clubs did not provide volunteer services and 8 per cent of respondents could not say whether their club provided volunteer services.

12

Based on a 37.5 hour work week. 13

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Average Weekly Earnings, February 2009, cat. no. 6302.0.

About 6100 volunteers made contributions to community services during the year and in total, these volunteers contributed over 108,000 hours.



Figure 4.3 VOLUNTEER SERVICES PROVIDED TO COMMUNITY

Table 4.4 VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY

Club type Number of volunteers that

contributed time to community activities

Number of volunteer hours contributed to community activities

Bowling 152 3,863

Golf 163 1,460

Other sport 2,851 72,299

Community, ethnic and RSL 1,561 9,811

Multi-activity 1,075 18,769

Other 330 1,980

Total 6,132 108,182

Note: Of the respondents that indicated their club provided volunteer services to the community 43 per cent reported that they were ‘very confident’ that the stated volunteer hours were accurate, 55 per cent of respondents indicated that they were ‘moderately confident’ and 3 per cent did not provide an answer to the question on confidence.

Cash grants, donations and ‘in-kind’ contributions

Other channels through which clubs provide social benefits to the community include through the payment of cash grants and donations to community causes and through the provision of ‘in-kind’ contributions whereby goods or services are provided to the community for no charge or for a nominal fee.



In 2007-08, clubs donated approximately $5.4 million in cash grants to charities and community groups. About 70 per cent of clubs (equivalent to 307 clubs) contributed towards this total. The majority of funding support was provided to education and training (Table 4.5).

‘In-kind’ contributions include the donation of goods to community groups. About 50 per cent of clubs provided community contributions in this form during 2007-08 and in most cases, the per-club value of these contributions was less than $1,000. In rounded terms, the total value of goods donated to the community is estimated to be in the order of $500,000 (Figure 4.4).

Table 4.5 CASH GRANTS AND DONATIONS TO CHARITIES

Type of community support Value of cash grants and donations

($ ‘000)

Share of total contributions

(%)

Elderly care 74.5 1.4

Education and training 3,790.8 70.3

Environment and conservation 19.2 0.4

Safety and emergency 137.0 2.5

Disability care 233.5 4.3

Sport and recreation 484.9 9.0

Youth camps and activities 57.0 1.1

Maintenance of public buildings 3.6 0.1

Other 594.5 11.0

Total 5,395.0 100.0

Figure 4.4 VALUE OF GOODS DONATED TO COMMUNITY BY CLUBS

In total, clubs provided about $5.4 million in cash grants or donations to charities during 2007-08. An additional $0.5 million of ‘in-kind’ contributions were made in the same year.



The majority of clubs (74 per cent) make their facilities available to community groups at no charge or a nominal fee. It is estimated that the total number of bookings of club facilities made under such arrangements exceeded 20,000 in 2007-08. Club halls, meeting rooms and gyms were the most common type of venue provided to the community (Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.5 FACILITITES PROVIDED BY CLUBS AT NO CHARGE OR FOR A NOMINAL FEE



Chapter 5

Relationship with government

5.1 Introduction

In this study clubs were asked to provide views about their own club’s relationship with state and local government. Survey participants were asked to respond to a series of statements that sought to examine views and preferences in relation to these matters. A standard five point scale ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’ was used to record club preferences. This section of the survey was completed by 98 per cent of participants.

5.2 Relationship with local government

The survey results indicate that clubs generally have a good working relationship with local government. Almost 64 per cent of respondents indicated that they either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that their club has clear and effective communication with local government (Figure 5.1). And about 47 per cent of respondents indicated that they either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that their club works closely with local government on day to day matters.

Despite the generally positive findings on the working relationships between clubs and local government, the majority of respondents agreed (strongly or otherwise) that their club seeks greater interaction with local government (54 per cent agreed or strongly agreed) and greater recognition from local government (58 per cent agreed or strongly agreed).

Over 50 per cent of respondents disagreed (strongly or otherwise) with the statement that their club has been asked to do the things that should be the responsibility of local government. A further 19 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement. Only 22 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement.

5.3 Relationship with state government

There is a marked contrast in the perceptions of respondents on the communication channels between clubs and local and state governments. While 64 per cent of clubs agreed that their club has clear and effective communication with local government, only 23 per cent of respondents agreed (strongly or otherwise) that their club has clear and effective communication with state government and 39 per cent disagreed (strongly or otherwise) with this statement (Figure 5.2).

On the statement of whether clubs seek greater interaction with state government, the most common answer given by respondents (44 per cent in total) was ‘neither agree nor disagree’. About 50 per cent of respondents did agree (strongly or otherwise) that their club seeks greater recognition from state government.



Figure 5.1 CLUB RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Figure 5.2 CLUB RELATIONSHIPS WITH STATE GOVERNMENT



Most clubs appear to be satisfied that state government is not shifting responsibilities onto clubs. Only 12 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that their club has been asked to do the things that should be the responsibility of state government (which is markedly less than the 22 per cent of respondents that thought local government had shifted responsibilities onto their club). Almost 50 per cent of respondents disagreed (strongly or otherwise) with the statement.



Chapter 6

Outlook for clubs in Western Australia

6.1 Future development plans

The majority of clubs (72 per cent) reported that they have plans to develop or expand club buildings and facilities over the next three years and in total, it is estimated that clubs will spend over $266 million on future development over this period. Average per club expenditure over the three year period is expected to be slightly above $600,000 per club. Golf and other sport clubs are expected to spend the most both in aggregate and on a per club basis (Table 6.1).

Table 6.1 CLUB FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Club type Per cent of clubs with future

development plans (%)

Total expenditure over the next three years

($ ‘000)

Average per club expenditure over

the next three years ($ ‘000)

Bowling 62 28,364 430

Golf 88 70,613 905

Other sport 91 77,127 1,102

Community, Ethnic and RSL 45 26,544 336

Multi-Activity 79 63,212 514

Other 38 546 24

Total 72 266,406 607

6.2 Opportunities and concerns

Survey participants were asked to consider a range of factors and identify them as either opportunities or concerns for their club. Over 50 per cent of respondents indicated that ‘changing local population size’ presented an opportunity for their club. An ageing population was considered as an opportunity by about 25 per cent of respondents. And both ‘access to finance’ and ‘commercial and sporting alternatives’ were identified as opportunities by about 20 per cent of respondents (Figure 6.1).

But most respondents considered the factors listed in the survey as concerns as opposed to opportunities. About 87 per cent of respondents regarded ‘labour costs and staff availability’ as a concern for their club. Respondents from regional clubs were more concerned about labour costs and staff availability than respondents from metropolitan clubs. Similarly, clubs in New South Wales have reported difficulties in attracting and retaining staff, particularly in regional areas.14

14

See IPART (2008), Review of the Registered Clubs Industry in NSW, Final Report, June, p. 49

Clubs estimate that they will spend over $266 million on new buildings and facilities development over the next three years.



Figure 6.1 OPPORTUNITIES FOR CLUBS

Figure 6.2 CONCERNS FOR CLUBS



Other commonly identified concerns included ‘availability of volunteers’ (85 per cent of respondents); ‘ageing club facilities’ (74 per cent of respondents); and ‘current liquor regulations’ (72 per cent of respondents) (Figure 6.2).

Many clubs regarded one or more factors to be ‘not applicable’ to their club (Figure 6.3). These factors included ‘club amalgamations’ (49 per cent of respondents); ‘land rates’ (36 per cent of respondents); ‘current smoking regulations’ (35 per cent of respondents) and ‘commercial and sporting alternatives’ (31 per cent of respondents).

Figure 6.3 FACTORS NOT APPLICABLE FOR CLUBS

Source: Allen Consulting Group 2009, Survey of Licensed Clubs in Western Australia.

Financial outlook

The survey of licensed clubs was not designed to collect detailed and rigorous data on the financial viability of clubs in Western Australia. However, a simple analysis of the data collected on club debt, assets and profits enables some high-level observations to be drawn on this matter. The data presented in the section below indicates that most of the clubs that responded to the survey are in a relatively sound financial position that should see them well placed to continue to operate into the future.

The ratio of club debt to club assets, for all clubs, is estimated at 18.4 per cent (Table 6.2). This indicates that the majority of clubs assets are financed through means other than debt and that existing levels debt should be serviceable by most clubs.

The profitability of clubs provides an indication of the ability of clubs to cover their expenses and make surpluses to invest in facilities and services for the benefits of members and the wider community. About 83 per cent of clubs earned a profit in 2007-08 (Table 6.2).

The ratio of club debt to club assets, averaged across all clubs, is estimated at 18.4 per cent and about 83 per cent of clubs earned a profit in 2007-08.



The financial indictors for Western Australian clubs are very similar to those for New South Wales clubs. In 2007, the Allen Consulting Group reported that the debt to assets ratio for clubs in New South Wales was 18.6 per cent and that the proportion of profitable clubs was 81.8 per cent.15

The information in Table 6.2 provides an indication of the ways in which different types of clubs are managed. Clubs such as golf and other sport clubs appear to be run as entities with a relatively strong commercial focus. These clubs tend to take on a relatively high level of debt and profitability indicators are high. Community, ethnic, RSL and other clubs take on a much lower level of debt and tend not to be as profitable.

Table 6.2 FINANCIAL INDICATORS

Club type Debt to assets ratio (%)

Proportion of clubs that earned a profit*

(%)

Bowling 17.6 82.4

Golf 23.2 86.7

Other sport 34.1 90.0

Community, Ethnic and RSL 2.3 75.0

Multi-activity 11.5 84.2

Other 3.6 71.4

Total 18.4 83.2

* In this instance, profit is defined as total gross operating income minus total gross operating expenditure. Any non-negative value has been counted as a profit.

15

Allen Consulting Group 2008, Socio-Economic Impact Study of Clubs in NSW (2007), Report to Clubs NSW, February, pp. 22-27.



Chapter 7

Conclusions

A number of important conclusions can be drawn from this study.

Licensed clubs in Western Australia make a significant economic contribution to the state.

• Clubs are estimated to provide employment to nearly 6000 people, with 1745 of these jobs in rural and regional areas. Clubs paid $133 million in wages and salaries in 2007-08.

• Training was provided to over 2700 people and clubs spent almost $1 million on formal training.

• Clubs currently provide on-the-job training to 212 trainees and apprentices.

• Clubs injected $360 million into the economy by way of operating expenditures, $78.4 million of which was spent in rural and regional areas.

• An additional $110 million was spent on capital expenditure in 2007-08.

• A further $266 million worth of development projects are planned over the next three years.

• Clubs contributed $42 million to $63 million in taxes to federal, state and local government.

• The value of assets held by clubs was reported to be in the order of $860 million.

Social contributions are varied and many.

• Clubs offer a wide range of activities and services to their members, which number about 310,000 people.

• Regional and rural areas are particularly well serviced, as these areas account for approximately 59 per cent of the State’s total club members, yet only 27 per cent of the State’s population resides in rural and regional areas.

• On a per capita basis, regional areas are better serviced by clubs than the metropolitan area. This is based on the finding that 55 per cent of the State’s clubs are located in regional areas, while most of the State’s population (approximately 70 per cent) resides in Perth.

• Over 2700 individual sporting facilities are provided by clubs and approximately 2,300 non-sporting facilities.

• The volunteering ethos is strong in clubs, with approximately 24,500 volunteers contributing their time to ‘in-club’ activities. This represents an average of 56 volunteers per club, or four volunteers for every one employee.



The social benefits are not limited to club members, but extend to the wider community.

• Clubs contributed $5.4 million in cash grants to charities and community groups in 2007-08.

• A further $0.5 million of ‘in-kind’ contributions were made, consisting of the donation of goods.

• Club facilities and services are also enjoyed by non-members. It is estimated that in 2007-08, clubs attracted 1.9 million visits by guests.

• Most clubs make their facilities available to community groups. In 2007-08, over 20,000 bookings of club facilities were made by community groups for a nominal fee or no charge.

Club volunteers also provide their time to out-of-club activities.

• 6132 volunteers from various clubs throughout the state provided their time to community services in 2007-08. Total reported hours amounted to about 108,000 hours and mostly involved sport and recreation as opposed to services to the disadvantaged and elderly.

• Based on the average weekly wage, this volunteer time is valued at $3.4 million per annum.

The future outlook for clubs appears to be overall positive, although some concerns have been flagged.

• Most clubs responding to this survey appear to be in a sound financial position. The ratio of club debt to club assets, averaged across all clubs, is estimated at 18.4 per cent, which indicates that debt levels should be easily serviceable by most clubs.

• Furthermore, 83 per cent of responding clubs earned a profit in 2007-08.

• About 87 per cent of respondents regarded ‘labour costs and staff availability’ as a concern for their club. Other commonly identified concerns included ‘availability of volunteers’ (85 per cent of respondents); ‘ageing club facilities’ (74 per cent of respondents); and ‘current liquor regulations’ (72 per cent of respondents).

• Interestingly, club amalgamations were not an issue of concern for most clubs. Less than 10 per cent of clubs viewed amalgamation as a definite concern. To the contrary, about 15 per cent viewed pending amalgamation with other clubs as a definite opportunity.

Most clubs report that they have a good relationship with local government.

• Two thirds of clubs indicated that they have clear and effective communication with local government and almost 50 per cent reported that they work closely with local government on day-to-day matters. Only 22 per cent said they had been asked to do things that should be the responsibility of local government.



There may be room for improvement in the relationship between clubs and the State Government.

• The results suggest that clubs perceive their relationship with state government as being more distant than that with local government. Only 23 per cent of clubs agreed with the statement that their club has clear and effective communication with state government agencies.

• 40 per cent of clubs reported a desire for greater interaction with the State Government and approximately 50 per cent of clubs indicated they wanted greater recognition from the State Government.



References

Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Labour Force Projections, 1999 to 2016, cat. no. 6260.0.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Census Data, available at http://www.abs.gov.au.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2008, cat. no. 3101.0.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Average Weekly Earnings, February 2009, cat. no. 6302.0.

Allen Consulting Group 2008, Socio-Economic Impact Study of Clubs in NSW (2007), Report to Clubs NSW, February.

Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) 2008, Review of the Registered Clubs Industry in NSW, Final Report, June.



Appendix A

Technical survey methodology

A.1 Survey design

The survey used in this project was broadly modelled on the survey used for the previous Allen Consulting Group study on the socio-economic impact of clubs in New South Wales. However, substantial changes to the New South Wales survey were required to accommodate differences between the club industry in New South Wales and Western Australia. For example, questions on gaming machine revenues and expenses were not included in this Western Australian survey while they formed a prominent part of the New South Wales survey.

Early drafting of the survey booklet was facilitated by two reference group meetings. The reference group consisted of representatives from six Western Australian clubs and associations16, the project manager from Edith Cowan University and staff from ClubsWA. Staff from the Western Australian departments of Premier and Cabinet, Sport and Recreation and Communities were also kept briefed on iterations of the draft survey booklet and had input into its final design.

A draft version of the survey booklet was pilot tested. The survey booklet was sent to six clubs (as selected by ClubsWA), of which five responded. Representatives from the responding clubs were interviewed and their feedback was incorporated into a final survey booklet. The pilot test was useful in identifying questions that were too complex. These questions were either re-drafted or removed altogether from the survey.

A.2 Survey delivery

The Allen Consulting Group subcontracted the survey administration task to I-view. I-view undertook tasks such as pre-survey contact of clubs, survey booklet mail-out, returns tracking, follow-up calls, data entry and data file creation.

ClubsWA provided a survey sample frame of 439 licensed parent clubs within Western Australia. I-view undertook initial screening of the sample frame by attempting to make telephone contact with each of these clubs prior to the survey being sent. The purpose of the initial screen was to confirm club contact details and secure agreement to participate in the survey. I-view’s screening established the following.

• 294 clubs were contacted and agreed to participate in the survey.

• 19 clubs were contacted and elected not to participate in the survey.

• 126 clubs could not be contacted but these clubs were sent a survey regardless.

16

These were the Western Australian Football Commission, the Western Australian Sports Federation, the East Fremantle Football Club, the Marmion Angling Club, the Willetton Sport Club, the Maylands Bowling and Recreation Club.



In total, 420 survey booklets were sent out to clubs. All survey booklets were sent via mail with a covering letter outlining the nature and objectives of the survey. Completed surveys were returned to I-view via a reply paid envelope that was included in the survey package sent to clubs.

Online delivery of the survey was ruled out because of the older age constituency of the sample (corresponding to a higher level of computer illiteracy relative to the general population) and the nature of the questions being asked. The survey questions on club finances required respondents to access financial statements and annual reports, and it was thought that this may be more difficult in an online environment.

Respondents were advised to contact the Allen Consulting Group via telephone if they had any questions or comments on the survey. Five respondents contacted the Allen Consulting Group with questions on the survey and each question was resolved with minimal difficulty.

A.3 Survey response

The survey booklets were sent to clubs on 17 April 2009 and an initial due date of 18 May 2009 was established. The survey due date was extended to 1 June 2009 to give clubs more time to complete the survey. In total, the survey was in the field for six weeks. During this time, clubs received up to three survey reminder calls from I-view. Reminder calls and emails were also made by ClubsWA.

Three cash prizes of $150 were on offer to clubs that had returned the completed survey by the final survey due date of 1 June 2009. Prize winners were selected at random by I-view and cheques have been sent to the three winning clubs.

A total of 116 completed surveys were returned by the final due date, representing a response rate of about 28 per cent.17

Survey data was collected and coded by I-view and returned to the Allen Consulting Group for analysis.

The response rates to the individual questions within the survey were generally high. The majority of questions (or groups of similar or related questions) had response rates above 90 per cent. Questions that tended to have lower rates of response were those on club finances (questions 35 to 42) and also question 27 on the value of goods donated. Table A.1 contains details of the response rate for each question (or groups of similar or related questions). Question numbers listed in the table can be cross referenced with the copy of the survey booklet that is contained in Appendix B.

17

The response rate has been calculated on the basis of the 420 surveys that were sent to clubs.



Table A.1 PER CENT OF RESPONSES RECEIVED BY SURVEY QUESTION

Question Description of question Per cent of responses received

Question 1 Year of club formation 94.8

Question 2 Club type 100.0

Question 3 Number of members 97.4

Questions 4-5 Membership types and age profile of members 98.3

Question 6 Proportion of active members 100.0

Question 7 Visits by guests & temporary members 100.0

Questions 8-9 Sporting & recreation facilities and use by non-club members 100.0

Questions 10-11 Non-sporting facilities and use by non-club members 98.3

Question 12 Services to members and non-members 100.0

Question 13 Volunteers for ‘in-club’ activities, types of volunteer services provided 100.0

Question 14 Number of volunteers for ‘in-club’ activities 100.0

Question 15 Number of volunteer hours for in-club activities 100.0

Question 16 Degree of confidence in answers to questions 14 & 15 100.0

Questions 17-18 Volunteer services to the community and type of services 100.0

Question 19 Number of volunteers for services to the community 90.9

Question 20 Number of volunteer hours for services to the community 88.6

Question 21 Degree of confidence in answers to questions 19 & 20 100.0

Question 22 Out of pocket expenses 100.0

Questions 23-24 Cash grants & donations to charities & community causes 100.0

Question 25 In-kind contributions to the community 99.1

Question 26 Community use of club facilities at no charge or nominal fee 83.6

Question 27 Value of donations of goods to the community 55.5*

Question 28 Employees at club 95.7

Question 29 Age profile of employees 90.5

Question 30 Gender of employees 100.0

Questions 31-32 Training of employees and expenditure on training 84.5

Questions 33-34 Receipt of training subsidy from government and value of subsidy 99.1

Question 35 Gross operating income, expenditure and profit/loss 83.6

Question 36 Breakdown of gross operating income 81.9

Question 37 Breakdown of gross operating expenditure 81.9

Question 38 Capital expenditure 58.6

Question 39 Club assets 80.2

Question 40 Club debt 86.2

Question 41-42 Tax & tax exemptions 76.7

Questions 43-47 Relationship with local government 98.3

Questions 48-51 Representation to local government by ClubsWA 100.0

Questions 52-55 Relationship with state government 99.1

Questions 56-58 Representation to state government by ClubsWA 100.0

Questions 59-60 Future development plans 93.1

Questions 61-73 Opportunities and concerns 98.3

* Represents the proportion of respondents that indicated that their club provided donations of goods to community groups (27 clubs) and also provided an answer to the question on the value of those goods (15 of the 27 clubs).



Appendix B

Survey booklet

What’s this survey about?ClubsWA is undertaking this survey in partnership with the State Government to develop a better understanding of the licensed clubs movement in Western Australia. The questionnaire is being sent to all 450 parent clubs in the state.

The focus of the questionnaire is on the facilities and services clubs provide to their members and the wider community. It is known that clubs make an important economic and social contribution to the state, but currently there is no measure of the size of this contribution. This survey will put some numbers around the contributions made by clubs. Similar studies have been undertaken in the eastern states.

The survey also contains some questions about the nature of your club’s relationship with local and state government, and your perceptions of future opportunities and concerns for your club. The information from these questions will help ClubsWA and the State Government to understand the issues faced by licensed clubs in Western Australia.

Your responses to this survey will be kept strictly confidential and all results will be published in aggregate form. ClubsWA will not be able to link individual clubs to survey responses.

InstructionsPlease answer all sections of the survey and print clearly in the spaces provided where written responses are required. Please do not attach supplementary documents, such as financial statements, as we can only process those answers that are written in the questionnaire booklet.

Where dollar amounts or other values are requested, approximations are acceptable. The majority of questions refer to activities undertaken by your club in the 2007–08 financial year. Therefore, it will be helpful for you to have a copy of your club’s most recent annual accounts on hand when completing the survey.

Please return your completed questionnaire booklet by 18 May 2009 using the reply paid envelope in your survey pack. Completed returns received by the closing date will be eligible for one of three $150 cash prizes.

If you have any questions relating to the survey, please contact Bill Scanlan at the Allen Consulting Group on 08 6211 0908.

General questions about your clubImportant note: If your club has a number of affiliates, please answer this survey as a representative of all clubs in your amalgamated club group.

1 In what year was your club formed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 Please use the categories below to indicate your club type .If your club or its affiliates fits into more than one category, please tick multiple boxes.

Bowling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Community/Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Cricket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Ethnic/Religious . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Golf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Returned Services League (RSL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Soccer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sporting/Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Surf Lifesaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Tennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Boating (including sail and power boats) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Aquatic/Angling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Other (please specify)

3 How many members does your club have, including full paying members and reduced fee and honorary members? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 Approximately what percentage of your members belong to each of the following membership categories? Percentages should sum to 100%. Answers to the nearest 10% are acceptable.

Member type Percentage of members

Full paying members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %

Reduced fee and honorary members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %

Total 100%

5 Please use the categories below to indicate the approximate age profile of your members . Percentages should sum to 100%. Answers to the nearest 10% are acceptable.

Age group Percentage of members

Less than 18 years (junior) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %

19 to 65 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %

Over 65 years (senior) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %

Total 100%

6 Approximately what percentage of your club’s full paying members are active members (that is, use the club’s services and facilities on a regular basis and/or contribute time to club activities)? . . . . . . . .

%

7 In the last financial year, approximately how many visits by guests and temporary members were made to your club premises? Example: if one guest visited your club five times during the year then this would count as five visits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

SPorTIng And recreATIon fAcIlITIeS

8 Please indicate the number of sporting and recreation facilities that are operated by your club .(e.g. 2 bowling greens, 1 gym, 1 sporting field, 3 tennis courts, etc).

Type of Sporting/recreation facility number

Bowling Greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sporting Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Golf Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Swimming Pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennis Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Squash Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Billiard Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Carpet Bowls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boat/Ski Facilities (including boat sheds, pens etc) . . . .

other (please specify)

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

9 does your club allow non-club members to use its sporting and recreation facilities? Please indicate your response by ticking the relevant box below.

Yes, non-club members are able to access all of our club’s sporting and recreation facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

No, non-club members are not able to access all of our club’s sporting and recreation facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

Non-club members are only able to access some of our club’s sporting and recreation facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

oTHer TyPeS of cluB fAcIlITIeS

10 Please indicate the number of non-sporting facilities operated by your club .(e.g. 4 meeting rooms, 5 bars, 2 bistros, etc).

Type of facility number

Meeting rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Playgrounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bistro/restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Indoor entertainment venue/hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accommodation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Library/collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Outdoor entertainment areas and barbeques . . . . . . . . . .

other (please specify)

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

11 does your club allow non-club members to use its non-sporting facilities? Please indicate your response by ticking the relevant box below

Yes, non-club members are able to access all of our club’s non-sporting facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

No, non-club members are not able to access all of our club’s non-sporting facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

Non-club members are able to only access some of our club’s non-sporting facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Club services and contributions

cluB ServIceS To MeMBerS

12 Please use the tick boxes below to indicate the services that your club provides to its members and, where applicable, to accompanied guests and temporary members .

Type of serviceProvides to

club members

Provides to club guests

and temporary members

Bar, restaurant and meals 1

1

Competitive and social sport 2

2

Coaching and tuition (e.g. golf clinic) 3

3

Live entertainment 4

4

Elderly care (e.g. meals on wheels) 5

5

Child care 6

6

Counselling 7

7

Physiotherapy, massage, wellness 8

8

Environment and conservation 9

9

Safety and emergency services 10

10

Disability care 11

11

Youth camps and activities 12

12

Student exchange or scholarship programs 13

13

Other 14

14

volunTeerS for ‘In-cluB’ AcTIvITIeS

13 In the last financial year, which of the following ‘in-club’ activities did volunteers contribute their time to? Please tick the relevant box or boxes below.

Activity

Club administration and management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Club operations (e.g. bartending) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Sporting and coaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Club catering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Club promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Club busy bees and asset maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Club-related meetings and follow up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

14 Please provide your best estimate of the total number of volunteers that contributed their time to club activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15 Please provide your best estimate of the total number of volunteer hours that were contributed to club activities . Please include travel time to and from club activities where applicable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16 How confident are you that your estimates of volunteer contributions are accurate? Please tick the relevant box below.

Very confident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Moderately confident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

volunTeerS for ServIceS To THe wIder coMMunITy

17 In the last financial year, did your club commit volunteers to provide services to the wider community?

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

If you answered ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ to Question 17, please skip to Question 22.

18 If yes to Question 17, which of the following services were provided by volunteers to the wider community? Please tick the relevant box or boxes below.

Activity Provided by volunteers

Elderly care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Education and training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Environment and conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Safety and emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Disability care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Charity work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Sport and recreation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Youth camps and activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Maintenance of public buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

19 If yes to Question 17, please provide your best estimate of the total number of volunteers that contributed their time to community services . . . . . . . . . .

20 If yes to Question 17, please provide your best estimate of the total number of volunteer hours that were contributed to community services . Please include travel time to and from activities where applicable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21 How confident are you that your estimates of volunteer contributions to the community are accurate? Please tick the relevant box below.

Very confident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Moderately confident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

‘ouT of PockeT’ exPenSeS Incurred By volunTeerS

‘Out of pocket’ expenses are those expenses that are incurred by volunteers in the course of providing voluntary services on behalf of a club. Examples of ‘out of pocket’ expenses may include travel, telephone and computing costs.

22 does your club have a policy of reimbursing its volunteers for some or all ‘out of pocket’ expenses?

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

cASH grAnTS And donATIonS

23 In the last financial year, did your club provide cash grants and donations to charities and community causes?

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

24 If yes to above, please indicate the approximate value of cash grants and donations contributed by your club to charities and community causes .

Type of community Support cash grants and donations

Elderly care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $

Education and training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Environment and conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Safety and emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Disability care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Sport and recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Youth camps and activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Maintenance of public buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

In-kInd conTrIBuTIonS To THe coMMunITy

25 In the last financial year, did your club make any in-kind contributions to community groups or charities (other than volunteer time)? Please indicate your response by ticking the relevant box or boxes below.

Yes, our club allowed community groups to use club facilities at no charge or for a nominal fee (for example, meeting rooms, tennis courts, pool, gym or other sporting facilities). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

Yes, our club made donations of goods to community groups or charities (for example, food, drinks, T-shirts, and sporting equipment). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

No, our club did not provide any in-kind contributions to community groups or charities in the last financial year. . . . . . . . . . .

3

26 If your club allowed community groups to use club facilities at no charge or at a nominal fee, please indicate the approximate number of bookings made during the last financial year .

facility provided Approximate number of bookings

Meeting room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hall or indoor entertainment area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accommodation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Squash courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bowling greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Swimming pool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Golf course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennis courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gymnasium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other (please specify) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27 If your club made donations of goods to community groups or charities, please indicate the approximate value of the goods donated .

Less than $1,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

$1,000 to $5,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

$5,001 to $10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Over $10,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

eMPloyMenT And vocATIonAl TrAInIng

28 How many salaried employees does your club have on its books, excluding sub-contractors?

Type number of employees

Full-time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part-time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Casual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Trainee (engaged under traineeship) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Apprentice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29 Please indicate the number of employees in each age group .

Age group number of employees

16 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45 to 65 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Over 65 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

* This should equal the Total Number of Employees in Question 28.

30 number of employees by gender

Males . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Females . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31 In the last financial year, how many employees and volunteers received formal training (not including apprentices and trainees)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32 In the last financial year, how much did your club spend on formal training provided to employees and volunteers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

33 did your club receive a training subsidy from the government?

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

34 If yes to above, please indicate the value of the training subsidy that your club received from government in 2007–08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Club FinancesThe purpose of this section is to obtain a measure of the turnover and economic activity generated by your club. Information about the payments your club makes on various cost items will be analysed to estimate the economic contributions made by clubs in Western Australia. All financial information you provide will be kept in strict confidence and will not be used for any other purpose.

35 Please provide your club’s total gross operating income, total gross operating expenditure and after-tax profit/loss for the financial year 2007–08 .

Gross operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Gross operating expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

After-tax profit/loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

groSS oPerATIng IncoMe

36 Please use the categories below to provide a breakdown of gross operating income .

gross operating income

Restaurant, bar and food sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Fundraising and raffles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Membership fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Facilities and venue rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Ancillary business activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

All other operating income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Total operating income (as reported in Question 35) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

groSS oPerATIng exPendITureS

37 Please use the categories below to provide a breakdown of gross operating expenditure .

gross operating expenditure

Wages and salaries including superannuation . . . . . . . . .$

Restaurant, bar and food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Administrative and other overheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Sport and recreation (e.g. uniforms, equipment and facilities maintenance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Ancillary business activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

All other operating expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Total operating expenditure (as reported in Question 35) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

cAPITAl exPendITure

38 Please provide an approximate breakdown of capital expenditure . for capital items that involve payments spread over multiple years, please indicate the amount paid in the last financial year, not the full purchase price .

capital expenditure

Sporting and recreation facilities

Sports fields/grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Sporting infrastructure (e.g. grandstands, stadiums, change rooms) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

Equipment items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

other facilities

Club buildings and extensions to existing buildings . . . .$

Refurbishment of club buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Replacement of motor vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Ancillary facilities (e.g. aged care, children) . . . . . . . . . . .$

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

cluB ASSeTS

39 Please report the value of your total building, equipment, and investment assets as at the end of the last financial year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

cluB deBT

40 what was your club’s total debt as at the end of the last financial year (includes current and non‑current liabilities*)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

* Current liabilities are liabilities that must be paid within the next 12 months.

Non‑current liabilities are liabilities that are not required to be paid within the

next 12 months.

TAxATIon

41 Please indicate the amount of taxes paid during the last financial year for each of the following categories .

category Tax paid

Goods and Services Tax (GST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Council Rates and Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Payroll Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

PAYE Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

Fringe Benefits Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

42 Is your club’s income tax exempt because it is a sporting club where the dominant activity is the encouragement or promotion of sport?

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Relationship with Government

your cluB’S relATIonSHIP wITH locAl governMenT

The purpose of this set of questions is to obtain your views on the nature of your club’s relationship with local government.

Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the statements below by circling the number in the relevant column, or ticking the don’t know box.

Strongly disagree disagree

neither agree nor disagree Agree

Strongly agree

don’t know

43 Our club works closely with local government on day-to-day matters

1 2 3 4 5 9

44 Our club has clear and effective two-way communication with local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

45 Our club seeks greater interaction with local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

46 Our club seeks greater recognition from local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

47 Our club has been asked to do things that should be the responsibility of local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

rePreSenTATIon To locAl governMenT By clubswA

ClubsWA is the peak council for licensed clubs in Western Australia. The purpose of the following set of questions is to obtain your views on the role of ClubsWA in representing your club to local government.




Strongly agree

don’t know

48 ClubsWA should represent our club to local government on day-to-day matters

1 2 3 4 5 9

49 ClubsWA should promote clear and effective communication between our club and local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

50 ClubsWA should promote greater interaction between our club and local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

51 ClubsWA should represent our club in seeking greater recognition from local government

1 2 3 4 5 9

your cluB’S relATIonSHIP wITH STATe governMenT

The purpose of the following questions is to obtain your views on the nature of your club’s relationship with state government.




Strongly agree

don’t know

52 Our club has clear and effective two-way communication with state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

53 Our club seeks greater interaction with state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

54 Our club seeks greater recognition from state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

55 Our club has been asked to do things that should be the responsibility of state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

rePreSenTATIon To STATe governMenT By clubswA

ClubsWA is the peak council for licensed clubs in Western Australia. The purpose of these questions is to obtain your views on the role of ClubsWA in representing your club to state government.




Strongly agree

don’t know

56 ClubsWA should promote clear and effective communication between our club and state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

57 ClubsWA should promote greater interaction between our club and state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

58 ClubsWA should represent our club in seeking greater recognition from state government

1 2 3 4 5 9

The Future

fuTure develoPMenT PlAnS

59 does your club have plans for the development or expansion of club facilities over the next three years? (Note: Development or expansion includes construction of new facilities and

upgrading or refurbishment of existing facilities).

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

60 If yes to above, please indicate the approximate budgeted cost of club facilities that are expected to be developed or expanded over the next three years .

Estimated budgeted cost of club facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . .$

oPPorTunITIeS And concernS

The purpose of this part of the survey is to obtain information on the opportunities and concerns that are relevant to your club.

Please indicate the degree to which you view the factors listed in the table below as opportunities or concerns for your club by circling the number in the relevant column.

definite concern

Possible concern

not applicable to our club

Possible opportunity

definite opportunity

don’t know

61 Ageing population

1 2 3 4 5 9

62 Changing population size in our area

1 2 3 4 5 9

definite concern

Possible concern

not applicable to our club

Possible opportunity

definite opportunity

don’t know

63 Current liquor regulations

1 2 3 4 5 9

64 Current smoking regulations

1 2 3 4 5 9

65 Access to finance 1 2 3 4 5 9

66 Land rates 1 2 3 4 5 9

67 Regulatory reporting requirements

1 2 3 4 5 9

68 Ageing club facilities

1 2 3 4 5 9

69 Local government policies

1 2 3 4 5 9

70 Club amalgamations

1 2 3 4 5 9

71 Labour costs and staff availability

1 2 3 4 5 9

72 Availability of volunteers

1 2 3 4 5 9

73 Commercial entertainment and sporting alternatives

1 2 3 4 5 9

end of Survey

Please return your completed questionnaire booklet using the enclosed reply-paid envelope.

Closing date for return is 18 May 2009.

Completed questionnaires received on or before the closing date will be entered into a prize draw and be eligible to win one of three cash prizes to the value of $150 each.

Thank you for your time and cooperation .

reSPondenT conSenT forM

I have received a copy of an information letter explaining the purposes of the study and I have read and understood this letter. I have been given an opportunity to ask questions of the research team (the Allen Consulting Group) and any questions that I have asked have been answered to my satisfaction. I am aware that I have the opportunity to ask additional questions of the research team should I require.

I understand that my participation in this study involves only the completion of the questionnaire booklet that has been sent to me.

I understand that all information provided by me is strictly confidential. Any published material will not include the names of individual clubs or individual respondents or other identifying information. I understand that the identity of individual clubs or individual respondents cannot be disclosed without my consent.

I understand that the information provided by me will only be used for the purposes of this study and I understand how this information will be used.

I understand that my participation in this survey is entirely voluntary and that I can withdraw from the study at any time without explanation or penalty.

Participant signature

Participant name

Date



Appendix C

Additional data

The tables and charts below summarise the responses from the survey questions that were not presented in the main body of the report.

C.1 Year of club establishment

Respondents were asked the year that their club was established. About 28 per cent of clubs operating today were established in the period 1956 to 1970. Some clubs were established as early as 1865 (Figure C.1).

Figure C.1 YEAR OF CLUB ESTABLISHMENT




C.2 Membership type

About 67 per cent of the 310,000 club members in Western Australia are full-paying members and about 33 per cent are reduced fee or honorary members. Other sport clubs had the highest percentage of full-paying members while bowling clubs had the highest percentage of reduced fee or honorary members (Table C.1).

Table C.1 FULL PAYING MEMBERS AND REDUCED FEE AND HONORARY MEMBERS

Club type Total number of members

Per cent of members

that are full paying

members

Per cent of members that are reduced fee and

honorary members

Bowling 19,731 50.7 49.3

Golf 62,345 65.3 34.7

Other sport 103,543 74.1 25.9

Community, Ethnic and RSL 63,020 58.9 41.1

Multi-activity 50,996 74.5 25.5

Other 10,684 63.2 36.8

Total 310,319 67.4 32.6


C.3 Reimbursement of ‘out of pocket expenses’

In total, 61 per cent of clubs reimbursed volunteers for some or all of the ‘out of pocket’ expenses that were incurred by volunteers when providing volunteer services (Table C.2).

Table C.2 PAYMENT BY CLUBS OF OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES TO VOLUNTEERS

Club type Yes, club pays some or

all out of pocket

expenses (%)

No, club does not pay out of

pocket expenses (%)

Don’t know if club pays out

of pocket expenses (%)

Bowling 57.1 38.1 4.8

Golf 70.6 23.5 5.9

Other sport 63.6 36.4 0.0

Community, Ethnic and RSL 72.7 18.2 9.1

Multi-activity 50.0 43.8 6.3

Other 50.0 50.0 0.0

Total 61.0 33.9 5.1




C.4 Operating income

Western Australian clubs earn about 50 per cent of their income from bar and food sales. Other significant forms of income for Western Australian clubs are membership fees (22 per cent of total income) and facilities and venue rental (6 per cent of total income). In New South Wales, the main single source of income for clubs is from gaming machines (63 per cent), while bar and food sales are also significant at 24 per cent (Figure C.2).

Figure C.2 CLUBS OPERATING INCOME, WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND NEW SOUTH WALES


Source: Allen Consulting Group 2009, Survey of Licensed Clubs in Western Australia; and Allen Consulting Group 2008, Socio-Economic Impact Study of Clubs in NSW (2007), Report to Clubs NSW, February.



Appendix D

Map of ABS Statistical Divisions

D.1 Technical note

The regions referred to in this report correspond to the Statistical Division boundaries used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics – as shown below.

social and economic contributions of licensed clubs … · social and economic contributions of...

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