Australia took a giant step towards securing hosting duties for the 2027 Rugby World Cup after the federal government announced it would financially support delivery of the tournament – and a women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029 as well.

Rugby Australia’s World Cup bid team had secured preferred bidder status with World Rugby last November but fears emerged last month the bid could fall over at the final hurdle, with news the bid team had yet to secure a federal government commitment, worth about AU$120 million (NZ$129 million)

The governing body has locked in a similar amount in state government funding, but there was concern without federal support, England could swoop when the 2027 Rugby World Cup host is announced on May 12. Bid chief Phil Kearns warned Australia was “no lay down misère to get the World Cup”.

But in a major relief for the RA bid team, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s budget included a pledge to provide funding over eights years, from 2022-23, to “support Rugby Australia to deliver the Rugby World Cup 2027 (men’s), the Rugby World Cup 2029 (women’s) and Rugby World Cup legacy programmes in Australia and the Pacific region.”

There were no figures provided about the size of the funding pledge, given the bid process is ongoing, but RA bid sources said the government’s commitment will give confidence to all parties about Australia’s credibility as host.

The prospect of Australia staging the women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029 has been floating behind the scenes but would appear to a lot further down the line than expected, and after missing out to New Zealand for the 2021 World Cup, Rugby Australia are sure to launch a bid given the financial backing of the government.

Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan welcomed the support of the Australian government on both World Cups.

“The Australian Government’s support is a huge boost for our bid as we continue to work with World Rugby on developing the tournament model for Rugby World Cup 2027 and contemplate the potential opportunity to bid for Rugby World Cup 2029,” McLennan said in a statement.

“Throughout this process, dating back to early 2019, the Australian Government has been in our corner, showing an enthusiastic level of support which has allowed us to demonstrate to our colleagues at World Rugby that Australia is a safe pair of hands with a rolled-gold record of hosting major international events.

“The breadth of the support outlined in the budget today, from investment into tournament delivery, operational support and, crucially, legacy programmes for Australia and the Pacific region, now enables us to illustrate to the World Rugby Council we are ready to bring the tournament back down under.”

Rugby World Cup 2027 bid advisory board chairman Sir Rod Eddington said in a statement: “Bringing the world’s third-largest sporting event back to our shores would provide a huge boost to the Australian economy after what has been an incredibly difficult few years for everyone.

“RWC 2027 in Australia would welcome two million attendees, including 200,000 international visitors, delivering $2.5 billion in direct and indirect expenditure for the economy and creating 13,300 equivalent FTE jobs. It would also attract 30,000 new participants to the game. This is an unrivalled opportunity to support the Australia economy and grow the game of Rugby in Australia and the Pacific.“

Kearns would not be drawn last month on the exact numbers required from government to help Australia secure the event, but it is understood to be close to $300m in total.

The hosts of next year’s World Cup, France, for example, offered a £150m ($275m) guarantee to secure the event. But unlike France, which paid World Rugby a fee to host the tournament, the Australian government has committed to funding operational and delivery costs in a new joint venture model with World Rugby.

“The Government is committed to supporting the delivery of the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029, which Australia is bidding to host,” Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said in a statement.

“If successful, this will add rugby alongside top flight road cycling, basketball, soccer, cricket and netball events among many others that Australia will host in the next 10 years.”

Australia last hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2003.