Over the past two years, Table Tennis Australia (TTA) has been working closely with State and Territory Associations to modernise our membership model. The aim has been to better support current members, attract new ones, and ensure we have the financial stability to keep delivering high-quality services across the table tennis community. 

With member growth at just 1.56% over the past decade and a 30% churn rate, it’s time for a fresh, more inclusive approach to how we structure membership. 

One important thing to note: there is no change to how membership fees are calculated. Fees will still consist of three components: 

TTA has now set its national fees, along with majority of the other states and territories. 

The remaining States across Australia will confirm their fees by the end of this year, with all new fees coming into effect from 1st January 2026. 

Why this matters: 

More than 75% of TTA roles are currently funded by short-term government grants. This is not sustainable long-term. By growing our membership revenue, we can fund critical roles directly through the business, giving us the stability to take a customer-first approach. This means: 

This project has been a true team effort, and we’re excited to share the outcomes. A big thank you to all the State and Territory representatives who contributed, and to the TTA Board for their guidance throughout this process. 

The main changes include: 

National Categories

We’re introducing consistent membership categories across Australia; same names and benefits for each member category no matter where you live. 

This national approach allows us to deliver better services, run stronger and present a clearer picture of our community to government and commercial partners.

It also helps us tell more meaningful stories that deepen connections between people and the sport, celebrating the shared experiences that make table tennis special. 

New Membership Categories

The new categories are designed to offer a clear pathway for everyone, starting with a low-cost entry point and the flexibility to move up as members become more involved in the sport. 

Fun and Fan is a free category for anyone enjoying table tennis casually — whether it’s at a backyard BBQ or during a lunch break. Using tech like QR codes and small incentives, we’ll easily collect contact info and start engaging with these fans. It’s a big opportunity to connect with more women and girls, universities, and culturally diverse communities, especially our Chinese and Indian diaspora. 

Club Play and Club Comp are tailored for those regularly playing in clubs, including all members of the Veterans community. With a customer-first focus, we’re aiming to better support this group and improve retention.

Comp Plus is for players competing at a national level (excluding veterans) in any TTA run national event, including but not limited to National Championships and TTA Tours. 

New pricing

The new pricing structure reflects the value and services offered in each category, starting with free for Fun and Fans, no increases in pricing for Club Play (social) and Club Play (competition) to encourage participation and higher fees for Comp Plus members who access more competition-level support. 

We’ve benchmarked our prices against other national sports and we’re confident that TTA’s social membership fees are equal to or lower than many other sports, while competition membership fees are now more aligned with the mid-range of what members of other sports are paying. 

Membership revenue helps fund TTA’s core operations, improve systems andreinvest in programs, services and pathways. While this new model boosts value for members, it also ensures we have the resources to fully deliver on those benefits. 

In 2026, TTA will also contribute significant funding from our reserves to support the transition, because growing our sport and ensuring its long-term sustainability is our absolute top priority.

Importantly, while TTA sets the national portion of the fee State and Territory member associations and Affiliated Clubs retain full control over their fees within each category, allowing for flexibility to meet local needs and market conditions.

What will this deliver? 

Your membership fees are reinvested back into the sport to deliver real value across the table tennis community. Here's how: 

In 2026, TTA will roll out a Customer Focused model aimed at better servicing members and Member Associations.We’ll use data to reduce churn, attract new members, and communicate more effectively through improved systems and automated tools. Plus, we’ll enhance how we support athletes and coaches across the country — no matter where they’re based. 

Bottom line?

These changes will boost value, improve the member experience, and help secure the sport’s long-term future. 

When will the changes start? 

TTA has set its fees for 2026, and State and Member Associations and Affiliated Clubs will finalise theirs by the end of the year.

The new membership categories and pricing will take effect from 1st January, 2026. 

Need More Info? 

You’ll find everything you need right here; membership categories, pricing, and FAQs. Not sure which membership is right for you? Email us at admin@tabletennis.org.au and we’ll get back to you within 3 business days. 

Your membership fees are reinvested directly into growing and improving table tennis across Australia – helping to build a stronger, safer, and more inclusive sport for everyone. Depending on your category of membership, funds support a wide range of programs and services at national, state, and local levels, including: 

Your membership is an investment in the future of table tennis – creating value not only for you, but for players, volunteers, clubs, and communities right across Australia. 

In the Federated model in which we operate, fees are set at three levels – National, State, Club.

Under this model, there tends be different fees for each of the States/Territories and Clubs. 

Each member’s overall payment is made up of a National, State/Territory and Club fee, with both the State and Club portions being entirely set and collected at local discretion. This guarantees that States can continue to fund their own governance, pathways, and development activities at levels appropriate to their circumstances.

The new model improves transparency, operational efficiency and support, and strategic leverage for States and Clubs, while preserving their autonomy and financial control. 

We've tried incremental improvements, but you can't solve systemic problems with minor adjustments. With only 4 business funded national staff members, 30% annual churn, and 1.56% growth, the current structure fundamentally cannot compete with sports investing properly in member services and growth. 

This isn't restructuring for change's sake – it's building the foundation needed to serve our community effectively. 

Direct online registration substantially increases data accuracy by eliminating double handling and reconciliation workloads that have persisted under legacy bulk or manual workflows.

With this approach, each State gains secure access to real-time member data for its entire region, allowing precise and timely reporting. This is critical not just for TTA’s partnership and advocacy at the national level, but also for States seeking grants, sponsorship, and other support – since many funding bodies and commercial partners now require data-verifiable metrics as a pre-condition for engagement. 

If technology is not your strong suit, please reach out to TTA directly membership@tabletennis.org.au to request support in transitioning from manual to digital registrations.

While legacy paper processes are being phased out, clubs will still have the ability to assist members who require support with online registration. The transition is carefully managed to ensure no club or State is left unsupported, and the focus remains on adopting efficient, clear, and user-friendly digital tools to ease day-to-day operations across all levels. 

That’s completely fine – the new model doesn’t dictate how clubs present or bundle costs to their members. If your membership fee is rolled into a season package, the only change is that your club will need to ensure the correct membership component is passed through to TTA & your State and/or Territory. This may affect the overall season fee charged by the club, but how you structure and communicate fees to members remains a local decision. 

From 1st January 2026, RevSport will also introduce a function allowing payments to clubs to be split with auto-debit options. Currently, this functionality will only apply to payments made directly to clubs (not to membership fees alone). However, clubs that bundle their membership and season fees together will be able to take advantage of the auto-debit feature, giving members greater flexibility in how they manage their payments. 

Insurance remains a core national function. All individually registered participants in recognized paid categories are insured for accidents during sanctioned activities.

Officials, coaches, and administrators retain Management Liability and Professional Indemnity protection.

The free Fun and Fan category is the only category which does not include insurance.

Access to state and national events is tied to membership type and compliance with relevant club, state, and national registration requirements, please refer to the membership model categories here. 

To be eligible for State teams you must be a Club Plus (Junior/Senior/Para) member or Club Comp (Veterans). 

To be eligible for national team selection you must be a Comp Plus member. 

To support clubs in effectively communicating and promoting the new membership model changes to clubs and members, TTA will provide comprehensive, tailored information packages that include: 

These tools are designed to equip States and Clubs with credible, transparent information and practical guidance, enabling them to build trust and understanding at the club level while minimizing confusion. 

There are no changes to privacy and data governance.

Our approach to data collection, storage, and access remains consistent with established national privacy laws and best practices. The change to the membership model does not alter how we collect or manage personal data; rather, it refines the structure of membership categories. States continue to access data related to their specific State within our federated framework, retaining access and managing their member information. 

The national system remains regularly audited to ensure robust protections against misuse or unintended disclosure of sensitive information. Communications to members are carefully targeted with respect for privacy preferences, including opt-out options and consent management built into our digital platforms. Overall, the governance and privacy safeguards you expect remain fully in place and unchanged by these membership adjustments. 

 Consider what retention looks like under the current model: 

The new model addresses the root causes of member loss rather than just maintaining low prices for a shrinking player base. 

Currently, TTA has only 4 full-time staff members, funded by the business, trying to serve the entire national table tennis community - that's one of the reasons why our growth is 1.56% versus 10-15% for thriving sports. The remainer of TTA staff are funded through grants which are generally 12 – 18 months in duration. Without ongoing dedicated staff for membership growth, marketing, and member support, we can't provide the consistent, professional service that attracts and retains members.

The additional funding will be allocated to move staff off grant funds to ensure roles are secure and staff can directly support the ecosystem through marketing and growth strategies – resources most clubs can't afford individually. Additionally, the funding will be used to support improved services and pathway development for competitors at State and National levels. TTA staff will work with clubs and associations to improve services to ensure the members receive the best possible experience.

Our current approach is already failing –1.56% growth and 30% churn means we're slowly shrinking relative to Australian population growth and other sports.

We've modelled multiple scenarios, and even conservative projections show improvement over our current trajectory. More importantly, continuing the current path guarantees continued decline relative to other sports. 

Other comparable sports charge significantly more - social memberships range from $81-125 and competitive memberships range from $212-$661. More critically, while table tennis has grown at only 1.56% annually, successful sports are achieving 10-15% growth rates. Our current model simply doesn't provide the resources needed to compete for participants in today's crowded sports landscape. 

Over the past few years TTA has charged an annual increase of CPI (approximately 3%), whilst the cost of key business expenses such as insurance, technology systems and delivering events has increased by over 30%. These changes are important to reset the fees in line with the costs of running the business to ensure that TTA can continue to deliver support to members and grow the sport. 

Pennant competition requires significant infrastructure: 

These systems cost the same whether you play once a month or every week. The pricing reflects the true cost of providing competitive infrastructure, not frequency of use.

Per-event pricing would actually cost members more: 

Annual membership provides continuous access and recognition while spreading costs efficiently across the year. 

The Club Comp membership provides access to competitive infrastructure whether you use it every season or not. Like gym memberships or streaming services, you're paying for access and eligibility, not per-use. The alternative - trying to register and pay each time you want to play - would create administrative burden and cost more overall. 

The numbers tell a different story: 

 This isn't profiteering - it's finally investing appropriately in competitive table tennis infrastructure for the longevity of the sport. 

Beyond the Fun and Fan category, all memberships incorporate insurance protection. Memberships categories have been designed to reflect engagement, and your membership fee grants you access to a wide range of benefits designed to support your participation, development, and enjoyment of table tennis. 

These benefits ensure that your membership supports a high-quality, inclusive, and connected table tennis community while continually improving your experience at every level. 

Comparable competitive memberships in similar sports cost $212-661, so we're at market rates.

More importantly, Comp Plus members get exclusive access to National Events, enhanced technologies, and premium support services that simply don't exist elsewhere.

The real question is: why have we been undervaluing our competitive pathways when other sports charge similar amounts and provide less? 

That’s perfectly fine. The membership model is designed to support everyone from casual players to competitive athletes. Even if you only come to your club occasionally for a social hit, your membership is valuable and important. 

One of the biggest things we, as table tennis players, can do is simply be part of the whole community. Every person who walks through the door of a club or picks up a bat at home counts. Importantly, we need to be able to count you in our numbers. Government funding – from local councils up to the federal government – relies heavily on participation numbers and statistics. 

For example, if a club has 20 regular members, local councils are unlikely to prioritise funding or support. But if that same club can show it had 200 members, including casual and school-based participants categorised as ‘Fun and Fan’ members, councils and sponsors will take much greater notice. This influx can mean more grants, sponsorships, and resources that benefit all players. 

So, even if you just turn up for your weekly hit, by being a member you’re helping your club grow and thrive. When this effect is multiplied by the 250+ clubs across Australia, it strengthens your state body and Table Tennis Australia alike. Larger membership numbers make it easier for us to seek sponsorships and government funding, which helps improve facilities, programs, and opportunities for everyone.