09/09/2026
For many small charities, receiving a grant should be a moment of celebration.
Instead, it can become another barrier.
We spend countless hours applying for funding, only to discover that we can't use the venues that have welcomed our community for years, or that funding won't cover the staff needed to actually deliver the program.
At Different Journeys, we've spent the last 10 years building trusted relationships with venues that understand our community. Their staff willingly undertake autism training, accommodate sensory needs, and go above and beyond to make our families feel safe and included.
Many of these venues happen to have gaming facilities.
In a decade of running events, we have never seen our participants attend the gaming areas. In many of the spaces we use, you wouldn't even know gaming facilities existed because our events are held in completely separate areas.
The reality is that these venues are often the only places that can provide affordable rooms, accessibility, parking, flexible catering, private function spaces and staff who genuinely understand our community.
When funding rules don't consider these realities, charities are left with impossible choices:
return funding we desperately need.
reduce services because staffing isn't funded.
cancel events altogether.
The people who miss out aren't organisations.
They're unpaid carers desperate for connection.
They're Autistic young people looking for belonging.
They're families who finally found a place where they feel accepted.
We all want to reduce gambling harm. But blanket policies that don't consider community need can unintentionally harm the very people grants are intended to support.
It's time to have a conversation about creating funding guidelines that are evidence-based, practical and centred on community outcomes—not one-size-fits-all rules.
Because when small charities can't deliver, it's our communities who pay the price
