Mona Vale Raiders Rugby League Club has backed a push to repurpose surplus school demountables as community sporting facilities, as the club seeks better amenities for its growing female playing group.
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The club has more than 200 women and girls playing across 14 teams, according to club president Hamish McLean. Mr McLean said the growth in female participation had not been matched by safe and adequate changerooms, with players currently having to change in their cars.
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby has also highlighted the facilities issue affecting the Mona Vale club. Ms Scruby has said the Raiders do not have a clubhouse and has called for greater investment in grassroots sporting infrastructure as participation in community sport continues to grow.
The local concerns have become part of a broader proposal involving hundreds of school demountables that are no longer required at their existing sites. Wakehurst independent MP Michael Regan is working with Education School Infrastructure on a proposal to make more than 600 redundant school demountables available for potential community use. The suggested uses include changerooms, toilets, storage, meeting rooms and canteens.
Mr Regan has proposed transporting suitable demountables to local sportsgrounds and refurbishing them for community use. He has also suggested councils could purchase the buildings, with TAFE students and tradespeople potentially involved in refurbishment work.
A Local Push For Better Sporting Facilities
The proposal comes as NSW schools continue replacing temporary classrooms with permanent facilities. NSW Education has confirmed it is reviewing its stock of demountables and whether surplus buildings could be offered to community groups, while also retaining a reserve to meet future capital works and emergency needs.
More than 650 temporary demountable classrooms have been removed from NSW school sites since 2023, according to NSW Education. The figure includes removals associated with school upgrades across the state, while the supplied campaign material says close to 20 demountables have been removed from Narrabeen North Public School and Narrabeen Sports High School.
NSW Education’s current policy states that when a demountable building becomes surplus to a school’s entitlement and permanent facilities can accommodate local enrolments, the building must be released back to the department for reallocation. The department’s policy also outlines processes for retaining demountables when they are needed for educational purposes.
The demountable proposal sits alongside a separate call for a dedicated grassroots sports facilities fund. Ms Scruby and six other independent MPs have called for at least $60 million a year, with grants proposed for upgrading older sporting facilities and prioritising female changerooms.
Ms Scruby also raised concerns about the lack of a clubhouse at Mona Vale Raiders and the need for proper female change facilities as participation in traditionally male-dominated sports grows.
The Raiders’ support gives the statewide proposal a direct connection to a local club. The club’s growing female playing group has highlighted the need for facilities that can adequately accommodate participants.
The 600-plus demountables have not been formally allocated to sporting clubs or sportsgrounds under the proposal. NSW Education is reviewing potential opportunities for surplus buildings while maintaining demountables needed for future school requirements and emergencies.
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The proposal comes as Mona Vale Raiders continues to seek suitable facilities for its growing female playing group. Whether surplus school buildings can ultimately be reused by sporting clubs will depend on the assessment and approval of individual buildings and the arrangements put forward by the relevant organisations.
Published 3-October-2026
