You register your child to a club, not to Basketball Victoria directly. It happens on PlayHQ, the platform every Victorian association now uses. In one checkout you pay the club or association season fee, the Basketball Victoria participant licence and the Basketball Australia levy. The licence covers 365 days, so you only pay it once a year even across two seasons.
Written by Cameron James, founder and head coach at Liddicoat Basketball. Over a decade coaching junior basketball in Melbourne, including at Big V level, and rep teams from Under 12s through to Under 18s.
Last updated August 2026.
It looks like one transaction and it is really three. Your child joins a club. The club belongs to an association. The association is affiliated to Basketball Victoria, which sits under Basketball Australia.
So when you pay, part of the money is the club's season fee, part is a statewide participant licence that goes to Basketball Victoria, and a small part is a national game development levy that goes to Basketball Australia. Different bodies, one card payment.
Basketball Victoria's terms of participation describe the participant's side of it in order: set up a profile on the relevant platform, complete the online registration form, and pay the relevant annual licence fee through the online payment gateway during registration to the affiliated club or association.
Knowing that shape is useful, because when something goes wrong you need to know who to ask. Team placement, training times and season fees are club questions. Fixtures, grading and by laws are association questions. The licence, insurance and clearances are Basketball Victoria questions.
PlayHQ is the registration and competition management platform Basketball Victoria uses. Aside from Big V and NBL1, Basketball Victoria states that all registrations are made in PlayHQ, and that its own fees are built into the club and association registration forms you fill in there.
In practice that means one account for the household and a separate profile for each child. You add your child as a dependent, choose the club and the season, complete the form, and pay. The club's registration link is what routes you into the right competition.
It is also where the rest of the season lives. Fixtures, results, ladders and the courtside scoring at the venue all run through the same system, which is why the association tells you your child is not registered if their name is not in the PlayHQ scoring app.
One trap worth naming. Dandenong's by laws state that adding a player through the courtside PlayHQ scoring system does not constitute proper registration. A coach typing your child's name in at the scorebench on week one is not the same as registering them, and the association treats an unregistered player as ineligible.
Every registered player holds a Basketball Victoria participant licence. Its main function is insurance. Basketball Victoria's terms state that a valid licence is required to make a sports injury insurance claim, and that no refund is given where a member has made one.
The timing rule is the useful bit. Basketball Victoria describes the licence as running per 365 days, and says it is charged only where a player does not already hold a licence covering the entirety of the season they are registering to. So a child who plays winter and then summer is not charged for it twice.
Basketball Victoria publishes the amount as $34 for a junior aged 17 and under and $48 from 18, inclusive of GST and transaction fees. A handful of clubs quote something slightly different, which we cover on the costs page. The version that counts is whatever appears in your own PlayHQ checkout.
Referees and scorers hold a separate licence again. Basketball Victoria's technical official licence for 2026 is published at $17 from 1 January 2026, and it runs to 31 December. If your teenager is thinking about picking up refereeing shifts, that is the fee to expect and it is not the same thing as the player licence.
Paying is not the same as being in a team. Clubs form teams after registrations close, and how they do it varies.
Balwyn Blazers publish their process, and it is representative of a well run domestic club. They form teams around how many players are in the age group, each child's experience and stage of development, which coaches are available, and keeping the sides balanced. Friend requests get considered but are not promised, and both families have to make the request on their registration form. Once teams are confirmed you receive your child's team, the coach's contact details, and the training day, time and location.
They also state that team selection decisions are final once teams are confirmed, and that late registrations may go on a waiting list if teams are already full. That is the practical argument for registering early rather than in the last week.
Uniforms are usually a separate purchase and usually organised after teams are confirmed. Balwyn note uniforms are not included in the registration fee and that a child who already owns one from a previous season does not need to buy again.
If your child is named on a current Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and on a valid Medicare card, the Victorian Government's Get Active Kids Voucher Program can take up to $200 off.
Basketball Victoria is a registered provider for the program and publishes its provider code as 2951096, and states the voucher can be applied across all levels. For clubs taking payment through PlayHQ, Basketball Victoria reviews vouchers fortnightly and pays clubs and associations accordingly, so there is nothing for the club to process at the counter.
One caution on dates. Basketball Victoria's own voucher resource page still refers to an earlier round from 2023, so do not use it to work out when applications open. Use the Victorian Government's own program page, and see our vouchers page for who qualifies.
Apply when a round opens rather than waiting to see whether your child makes a rep team. The voucher goes towards membership and registration fees, so it is useful either way.
Duplicate profiles. If a child has been registered before by another parent or under a different email address, you can end up creating a second profile and paying for a second licence. Basketball Victoria's registration guidance points families to PlayHQ's process for merging duplicates and claiming an existing profile, and tells you to contact support if you cannot complete it yourself.
Registering to the wrong season. Clubs commonly have winter and summer registrations open at once. Check the season name on the form, not just the club name.
Playing before registration is complete. Associations treat this seriously. Dandenong's by laws provide that a player who takes the court without proper registration renders the team liable to a forfeit, and games played that way do not count toward finals eligibility.
And leaving it late. If you are new to a club, register before the closing date and tell the registrar your child is new so they can place them sensibly. Registrars will help. They just cannot help in week three.
With a club. The Basketball Victoria participant licence is collected inside the same PlayHQ checkout as the club's season fee, so you handle both at once without dealing with Basketball Victoria directly.
It is the registration and competition management platform Basketball Victoria uses. Aside from Big V and NBL1, all registrations are made in PlayHQ. You create one account, add each child as a profile, and register them to a club and season through it.
No. Basketball Victoria describes the licence as running per 365 days and charges it only where a player does not already hold one covering the entirety of the season they are registering to. Club season fees are separate and are charged per season.
Yes, if your child is eligible. Basketball Victoria is a registered provider with code 2951096 and states the voucher can be applied across all levels, with vouchers reconciled fortnightly and paid back to the club or association.
It usually means the registration is not complete. Dandenong's by laws state that if a player's name is not shown in the PlayHQ scoring system, the player is not properly registered, and that adding them at courtside does not count as registration.
Next questions parents ask
Every competition in this guide
Facts on this page were compiled from the official sources below and written up in our own words. Dates, fees and venues change every season, so confirm anything you are relying on with the association directly.
This page was last updated August 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
One training a week does not build a player. I build a plan around your child and check in every week to make sure it happens.