Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian teams that participate at the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics.
APC played a major role in Australia's successful bid to host the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. Since the 1996 Summer Paralympics, Australia has finished in the top five nations on the medal tally. It is also a successful nation at the Winter Paralympics.
Membership
PA is a company limited by guarantee and its shareholders are national sports federations and national sporting organisations for the disabled. These organisations are: Athletics Australia, Australian Shooting International Limited, AUSRAPID, Basketball Australia, Blind Sports Australia, Boccia Australia, Cerebral Palsy – Australian Sport and Recreation Federation, Cycling Australia, Disabled Winter Sport Australia, Equestrian Australia, Football Federation Australia, Rowing Australia, Swimming Australia, Table Tennis Australia, Tennis Australia, Wheelchair Sports Australia, and Yachting Australia.
Administration
Paralympics Australia was established in 1990 as the Australian Paralympic Federation. It is governed by a board of directors which may include elected and appointed members.
Presidents
Marcus Einfeld 1990–1992
Sally Anne Atkinson 1992
Ron Finneran 1993
Bob McCullough 1994–1996
Marie Little 1996–1997
Greg Hartung 1997–2013
Glenn Tasker 2013–2018
Jock O'Callaghan 2018–2023
Alison Creagh 2023-
Secretary /chief executive officers
Adrienne Smith 1990–1993
Frank Martin 1994–1997
Scott Derwin 1997–1999
Brendan Flynn 1999–2003
Darren Peters 2003–2009
Miles Murphy 2009
Jason Hellwig 2010–2015
Lynne Anderson 2015–2021
Catherine Clark 2022-
Activities
The Paralympics Australia undertakes a number of activities to assist Paralympic athletes. These include: Team preparation – preparation of Australian teams for Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics Sports programs – APC manages five sports programs (boccia, goalball, powerlifting, wheelchair rugby and winter sports). Classification – APC provides Australian athletes with a disability with access to classification by a trained classifier at all levels of their development. Paralympic Talent Search – identification of people with a disability who may have the ability to participate at the Paralympic Games. Paralympic Education Program – a national program to educate Australian school children on Paralympic athletes and sport. Paralympic Speakers Program – Paralympians visit businesses, schools and other workplaces to demonstrate the importance of workplace safety.