 and Little Athletics Australia (LAA) have today announced a significant step for the sport with agreement-in-principle to unify athletics at a national level.){kind=link}
Melbourne, Australia; 17 December 2025 – Australian Athletics (AA) and Little Athletics Australia (LAA) have today announced a significant step for the sport with agreement-in-principle to unify athletics at a national level.
Following progress earlier this year to align the 2026 national championships in Brisbane, AA and LAA have continued working closely on building a stronger future for the sport to ensure growth, raise the sport’s profile, create new commercial and strategic opportunities, and provide the best possible opportunities for children to develop and thrive in athletics.
AA and LAA have now agreed on key terms to form a single national organisation that will operate under the name ‘Australian Athletics’. This body will remain as the recognised National Member Federation with World Athletics, World Para Athletics and the Australian Sports Commission. This agreement has been made with the support of AA and LAA State and Territory member Associations.
A central part of the agreement is the ongoing importance of the Little Athletics brand, programs, centres and clubs and the role they play in attracting young participants to the sport. This will also support clearer athletics pathways as children progress into more competitive and structured athletics and keep them within the sport’s ecosystem. Importantly, the work of the thousands of volunteers who power athletics each week at local centres and clubs will continue.
As the national governing body for the sport, Australian Athletics will provide strategic leadership and operational support to deliver Little Athletics. State Member Associations of Little Athletics will become members of Australian Athletics, and AA and LAA will integrate their operational structures.
Today’s announcement builds on the excellent progress by different member states over recent years which has created the momentum for national unification. Western Australia and the ACT have fully integrated the sport, Tasmania has moved to a joint operational model and Athletics NSW and Little Athletics NSW have created an innovative partnership offering streamlined membership options for registration and better access to events for athletes.
Jane Flemming OAM acknowledged the significance of this agreement as we look to and beyond the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics.
“Athletics is on the rise across high performance, but as importantly, in participation. Our sport has so much to offer and bringing it together nationally only strengthens the pathway as people move through different life stages. This is a long-held priority for the sport, and today’s announcement best places the sport to be successful long into the future.”
Sherrie Boulter, President of Little Athletics Australia noted:
“Little Athletics is so often the starting point for how people get involved in sport and athletics. We have a proud history of developing kids’ confidence and love of sport. Participation in Little Athletics nationally grew by 16% this season, and under unification this will continue and grow, but also ensure that our participants can move seamlessly through the sport.”
AA and LAA will now work through final details over the coming weeks with a shared ambition to finalise the structure and implementation plans to provide a further update by mid-February 2026.
Thanks to Australian Athletics