Sunshine Coast Council rolls out free senior fitness programs across the region

Sunshine Coast Council has expanded its suite of free fitness programs for seniors, with weekly group exercise sessions now running at more than a dozen venues across the region as of July 2026. The program, delivered under the state-backed Active and Healthy initiative, costs participants nothing, no membership, no casual fee, no registration charge.

The timing is deliberate. Household budgets are under sustained pressure, with property costs and general cost-of-living squeezing discretionary spending for retirees on fixed incomes. Gym memberships, which can run to $60 or $80 a month at commercial operators along the Mooloolaba Esplanade strip, are often the first thing cut. Council's decision to absorb that cost removes one of the most cited barriers to older Australians exercising regularly.

Where the sessions are running

The Mooloolaba Foreshore parklands host two sessions per week: a low-impact aerobics class on Tuesday mornings at 8 a.m. and a balance and strength circuit on Thursdays at the same time, both within walking distance of the Esplanade cafes near Parkyn Parade. Up the coast, the Noosa Heads Community Centre on Hilton Terrace runs a chair-based yoga and stretching class every Wednesday, drawing participants from Noosaville and Tewantin. In the hinterland, the Eumundi Community Hall, just around the corner from the famous Eumundi Markets, hosts a gentle movement and flexibility session each Friday morning, targeting residents in the 65-and-over bracket who have limited transport options into the coastal strip.

The Maroochy Bushland Botanic Garden at Tanawha is also on the schedule, offering a guided walk component combined with a brief resistance-band session. Council rangers assist with track access on the 52-hectare site, which gives the program an outdoor dimension that distinguishes it from a typical gym floor workout.

The University of the Sunshine Coast's health research programs have provided part of the evidence base for the council's approach. USC exercise science researchers published findings in early 2025 showing that adults aged 65 and over who participated in structured group exercise at least twice a week reported a 34 per cent reduction in self-reported falls risk over a 12-month period. That figure has been cited in council briefing documents when justifying the program's ongoing funding.

What the research says, and what it means locally

Falls are not an abstract policy concern on the Sunshine Coast. The region has one of the highest proportions of residents aged 65 and over in Queensland, roughly 22 per cent of the local population according to the 2021 Census, a figure that has continued to climb. Hospitalisation costs from fall-related injuries in the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service area run into the tens of millions of dollars annually. Preventive programs that reduce that burden have a straightforward economic logic, even before their social value is counted.

Group exercise also addresses isolation. Participants at the Mooloolaba sessions have consistently reported to council that the social dimension, turning up, knowing the instructor, recognising faces, matters as much as the physical workout. That pattern mirrors national data from Exercise and Sports Science Australia, which found in its 2024 member survey that older adults in community group programs are 40 per cent more likely to maintain a 12-week exercise habit than those exercising alone.

Signing up is straightforward. The Active and Healthy program website lists all Sunshine Coast sessions with venue maps, and council's customer service line, 07 5475 7272, can match residents to the nearest available class. No GP referral is required to join, though council program officers recommend anyone managing a chronic condition speak with their local doctor or an accredited exercise physiologist before starting. Several Sunshine Coast Medicare-rebatable exercise physiology clinics, including practices at Maroochydore and Kawana Waters, offer bulk-billed initial consultations for eligible seniors. Spots in the more popular coastal sessions are limited, and council's leisure services team advises registering before the end of July to secure a place in the August timetable.