Sport and active recreation

Member Protection Policy

All sports clubs, regional sporting associations and Peak Sporting Bodies (PSBs) have a responsibility to make sure that their sport is safe, fair and inclusive for everyone involved. They also have legal obligations to prevent and address discrimination, harassment, abuse and other harmful behaviours.

For club committees, a current Member Protection Policy (MPP) is an effective risk management tool that protects against the loss and harm of participants and members. To develop your member protection policy, check with your governing national or state body first. Most sports in Australia have a MPP, as well as child protection policies and codes of conduct, that affiliated clubs and members are bound by.

Once developed, there are several ways you can make members aware and bring your MPP to life:

• ensure committee members and volunteers commit wholeheartedly to it
• make it a part of inductions, meetings and training
• promote the policy and the detail within (eg, codes of conduct) regularly to members, via your newsletters, website and other communication
• make it widely available.

If your sport doesn’t have a policy, you can download a Play by the Rules MPP template.

Member Protection Information Officers (MPIOs)

Appointing a MPIO can help your organisation deal with complaints in an appropriate and consistent manner. A MPIO listens to complaints and provides information about the person’s rights, responsibilities and options.

MPIOs don’t investigate complaints and it’s a good idea to choose someone who is approachable, accessible and can maintain confidentiality. It is best practice to display the MPIO’s name and contact details on the sporting club, regional sporting association or PSB’s website, so they can be contacted easily and confidentially.

Play by the Rules offers a training course for MPIOs in the following:

• the MPIO role
• complaint resolution procedures
• member protection and the law
• child protection
• harassment and discrimination and
• ethical and practical considerations.

Child safe environments

It is everybody’s responsibility to implement and maintain child safe environments. We all have a role to play in keeping children safe and promoting well being.

It is good practice to put strategies in place to prevent offenders from gaining access to your organisation and reducing opportunities for abuse. Child safe environment strategies are put in place to prevent and minimise opportunities for child abuse within your organisation, including preventing offenders from gaining access to children.

An important strategy in developing child safe environments is staff development:

• ensuring that all personnel (both paid and volunteers) understand their mandatory and/or ethical reporting obligations for suspected child abuse and/or neglect
• ensuring all personnel have a clear understanding of what is acceptable/unacceptable behaviour and know who to contact about concerns they may have
• organisations working to create child safe environments and strengthen their environment are committed to and understand the importance of children’s safety.

NAPCAN (National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect)

Children thrive in communities that are friendly, supportive and connected - and sporting and recreation clubs play a crucial role in building community and creating positive experiences for children.

NAPCAN is a national organisation dedicated to the safety and wellbeing of Australia's children and young people. NAPCAN advocates for child safe policies, research and strategies and provides a range of resources, workshops and training to support the safety and wellbeing of children and young people - within families, sporting clubs and communities.

For more information about NAPCAN activities, programs and resources, and to register for a workshop, please visit the NAPCAN website or contact nt@napcan.org.au.

Further information

• Child safety courses
• Working with Children Clearances
• National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
• Poster - National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

Inclusive sport

All people should be able to participate in sport, physical activity and active recreation in a welcoming and inclusive way - regardless of ability, gender, sexual orientation, culture, language, religion, ethnicity, location or life stage.

Inclusion is proactive behaviours, options and actions to make people from all backgrounds, ages and abilities feel welcome, respected and that they belong at your club or activity. Being inclusive is about following best practice for what sport should be so that everyone can get the most out of it.

Having an inclusive sport framework in place sends an overt message that the sport will not tolerate discrimination, barriers or disadvantage. It shows that everyone is included, everyone is treated equal and everyone will be made to feel part of the organisation.

It also helps attract new members, sponsors and other community organisations with similar values, who want to align with your brand and activities.

The benefits of inclusion

Positioning your organisation as a champion of inclusion will:

• enhance your brand and reputation
• ensure consistency in ‘walking the talk’ to meet your strategic objectives
• allow you to meet sport regulatory obligations
• increase governance and risk management and decrease potential legal risks
• increase membership
• increase pathway and participation opportunities
• increase sponsorship opportunities
• increase public support and volunteer base
• ensure greater publicity and positive public image
• provide a better connected and diverse sports community
• break down barriers and promote social inclusion.

For more information on inclusive sport, visit the Australian Sports Commission website.

The seven pillars of inclusion

The seven pillars of inclusion is a broad framework to give sports clubs and associations a starting point to address inclusion and diversity. The 7 pillars model is about giving you a ‘helicopter’ view of inclusion which looks at the common elements that contribute to creating inclusive environments.

The seven pillars are:

• access
• attitude
• choice
• partnerships
• communication
• policy
• opportunities.

For more information on the seven pillars of inclusion visit the Play By The Rules website: Inclusion and diversity what can you do - Play by the Rules - Making Sport inclusive, safe and fair.

Doping refers to the use of prohibited drugs/methods by an athlete to improve sporting performance. Athletes need to be aware, at all times that they cannot just take any drug or medication, or even use certain methods of substance administration to enhance their performance in sport.

The detection of a forbidden substance or method constitutes a direct violation of the doping rules, and the attempt to take, the possession of, and the circulation of doping substances are all regarded as offences.

Sports participants (including athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, clubs, regional sporting associations, sport science and medical practitioners and NT Peak Sporting Bodies (PSBs) engaging in organised sport in Australia are required to comply with anti-doping codes, policies and practices as a condition of their involvement.

Check your substances

GlobalDRO is a mobile-friendly online tool which allows athletes to check their substances against the WADA Prohibited List.

Illicit drugs

The Illicit Drugs in Sport (IDIS) Online Education Program is an Australian government initiative to assist sporting organisations to educate their members of the harms associated with illicit drugs and to combat illicit drug use in all parts of the community. The IDIS program seeks to provide practical tools and strategies to assist athletes, coaches and sports administrators to make appropriate choices when faced with illicit drug issues in their sport.

Take the Illicit Drugs in Sport Online Education Program.

Good Sports Tackling Illegal Drugs program

Funded by the Australian and Northern Territory governments and coordinated by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, the Good Sports Tackling Illegal Drugs program aims to help Australian sports clubs become better prepared to address drug-related issues.
Sporting clubs are a snapshot of the larger community. No matter what age, or sport, chances are, somebody at your club has been touched by the issue.

What is it

Good Sports will work with your club to develop and implement an illegal drugs policy.

The policy is more than just a piece of paper; it is a chance to educate your members and talk about how your club will deal with any future issues. A policy will set clear standards and help clubs react appropriately in case of an incident. By setting measures in place now, you can help prevent drug-related issues and reduce harm in your club.

For further information please visit the Good Sports website.

Supplements

Supplements are one of the leading causes of failed anti-doping tests in Australia.

Sport Integrity Australia’s (SIA) long standing advice is that no supplement is safe to use and athletes should not risk their careers by taking a supplement. This is because many supplements are contaminated with substances prohibited in sport, which may not be listed on ingredient labels. However, SIA recognises that there may be circumstances where medical professionals and sports dieticians recommend supplements, or where athletes use supplements regardless of the risk.

In these circumstances, SIA’s advice is that athletes should only use supplements which have been screened for prohibited substances by an independent company, such as HASTA or Informed Sport. Supplements screened by these companies cannot offer a 100% guarantee that an athlete will not test positive, but they are significantly less risky than other supplements.

For more information, download the SIA Clean Sport mobile app, which lists all supplements sold on Australian shelves which have been screened by HASTA or Informed Sport, and provides a risk analysis for other supplements athletes may be considering.

What are the risks

The supplement industry is poorly regulated, so the ingredient list doesn't always match the product contents. It is not uncommon for banned substances to be added deliberately during the manufacturing process, or added accidentally through contamination. It is for these reasons SIA is unable to guarantee whether a specific supplement, or batch of a supplement, is safe to use.

Consequences of substance abuse by athletes

Products containing a prohibited substance can result in bans of up to four years for athletes. The presence of a prohibited substance in a supplement may result in an anti-doping rule violation, whether its use was intentional or unintentional. Under the World Anti-Doping Code’s strict liability principle, athletes are ultimately responsible for any substance found in their body, regardless of how it got there.

That means, even if the prohibited substance is not listed on the label of a supplement, if you consume it, you are still responsible. In addition to facing a possible ban from sport, there are some supplements on the market that contain prohibited stimulants which can pose serious health risks for athletes.

Sport Integrity Australia Clean Sport app

ASADA Clean Sport is a mobile app which lists every batch-tested supplement sold on Australian shelves, and gives athletes a way to assess the risk of other products. It is available on Apple and Android phones and tablets.

• iTunes App store
• Google Play Store

Position Statement - Concussion

Sport, Recreation and Strategic Infrastructure (SRSI) recognises that the occurrence of concussion in sport and active recreation can place the immediate and long-term health of participants at risk.

What is Concussion

Concussion refers to a disturbance in brain function caused by a direct or indirect force to the head, face or neck.

• The effect of a concussion injury varies from person to person, and injury to injury.
  With all incidents of concussion the immediate and ongoing management and rehabilitation is paramount.
• Sports concussion is more common in children compared to any other age group.
  This is due to the significant physical, physiological differences and stages of development.
• Children may take longer to recover from concussion compared with adults.
• In considering the best practice management of concussion in sport and active recreation, the critical element remains the welfare of the participant, both in the short and long term.

Treatment

SRSI supports Sports Medicine Australia to raise awareness and understanding of concussion and support the delivery of best practice management of concussion injuries, through all levels of sport and active recreation in the Northern Territory.

In accordance with Sports Medicine Australia’s recommendations are the following:

• Any participant with suspected concussion must be withdrawn from the activity.
• The concussion recognition tool CRT6 is recommended to be used by non-medically trained individuals for the identification and immediate management of suspected concussion. It is not designed to diagnose concussion.
• The diagnosis of concussion should be made by a medical practitioner.
  In diagnosing concussion, medical practitioners should conduct a clinical history and examination that includes a range of domains such as mechanism of injury, symptoms and signs, cognitive functioning and neurological assessment, including balance testing.
• The SCAT6 for Adults and SCAT6 for Children are the two internationally recommended concussion assessment and diagnosis tools and cover the above-mentioned domains. It should not be used in isolation, but as part of the overall clinical assessment. Computerised neurocognitive testing can be undertaken as part of the assessment, but again, it should not be used in isolation.
• Return to daily training and playing environments are subject to approval and advice from an independent medical practitioner.
• For further information go to Sports Medicine Australia website

Implementation

SRSI requires all applicable funded NT Peak Sporting Bodies (PSBs) to have a publicly visible Concussion in Sport policy, that addresses the following:

• Education of coaches, players, parents, teachers, trainers, administrators, officials and support personnel.
• Activity/game day removal, treatment, management, referral for qualified medical assessment and reporting.
• Rehabilitation inclusive of a medically approved return to activity protocol for training, play and game day environments.
• Information gathering protocols for previous concussions - Knowing about an athlete’s previous concussions can help to identify players who fit into a high-risk category.
  It also provides an opportunity to educate the athlete and/or their family about the significance of concussion injuries.

All other Northern Territory sport and active recreation organisations (including clubs and associations) are encouraged to enact concussion policies and protocols, consistent with their PSBs.

Further Information

SRSI also endorses the Australian Sports Commission’s “Concussion and Brain Health Position Statement” go to Concussion in Australian Sport webpage

Match fixing

Match-fixing is defined by Sport Integrity Australia as: ‘irregularly influencing the course or result of a sports event in order to obtain advantage for oneself or for others and to remove all or part of the uncertainty normally associated with sport’. It involves the manipulation of an outcome or contingency by athletes, teams, agents, support staff, referees and officials and venue staff.

It can include the deliberate fixing of the result of a contest, an occurrence or points spread within a contest, deliberate under-performance, withdrawal (also known as ‘tanking’ or ‘manipulation’ and ‘experimenting’), an officials deliberate misapplication of the rules of the contest, interference with the play or playing surface, or abuse of insider information to support a bet placed.

Courtsiding is the practice of transmitting information from sporting events for the purpose of gambling, or of placing bets directly from a sporting event. It arises as a result of the delay between live action and digital television broadcasts.

The issues are:

• persistent expansion of volume and availability of markets on Australian sports by offshore wagering providers
• increasing number of markets available on lower leagues/sub-elite sport
• grooming of athletes and exploitation of insider information
• athletes continue to engage in behaviours/associations that place them at risk of exploitation.

Tips for sporting organisations:

• establish rules, policies and sanctions
• designate a contact/information person
• be careful handling sensitive inside information
• undertake regular reviews on your integrity processes
• keep educating your members.

Tips for all sports people:

• never bet on your own sport
• keep educating yourself
• fixing any part of an event is illegal
• never put yourself in a position where you could be compromised
• report any irregular approaches
• make sure you know what the rules are on betting in your sport and Australia
• make sure your family and friends know the rules about betting restrictions in your sport.

Emergency

Please contact NT Police or dial 000 if there is an immediate threat to an individual’s safety.

Child safeguarding

If you are worried about neglect, abuse or harm to a child, but are not sure if it's something you should report, you should talk about your concerns with professional staff at the child protection reporting line on 1800 700 250. The reporting line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sport Integrity Australia: make an integrity compliant or report

Sport should be a safe and fair place for all participants. Sport Integrity Australia offers a safe place for people to raise concerns about inappropriate behaviour and prohibited conduct they have witnessed or experienced in sport.

For more information, go to the Australian Government’s Sport Integrity Australia website.

Safe Sport Hotline

The Safe Sport Hotline is an anonymous reporting capability for members of sport that covers wider racial and cultural issues for people who feel they have been discriminated against in their sport.

Call 1800 161 361 or view Safe Sport Hotline on the Sport Integrity Australia website.

Report doping

Sport Integrity Australia can receive information that relates to doping. This includes through the confidential reporting scheme, where you can submit information anonymously to Sport Integrity Australia. If you have any information about a doping activity, select ‘doping matter’ on make an integrity complaint or report on the Sport Integrity Australia website.

Report illicit drugs

You can call the Crime Stoppers hotline on 1800 333 000 or anonymously share a tip online and that information will be provided to NT Police on your behalf. Go to the Crime Stoppers NT website.

Report online harm - eSafety

The eSafety Commissioner is Australia’s independent regulator for online safety. eSafety helps Australians prevent and deal with harm caused by serious online abuse or illegal and restricted online content.

Report a complaint about cyberbullying, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse (sharing, or threatening to share, intimate images without the consent of the person shown) or illegal and restricted online content on the Australian Government's eSafety Commissioner website.

The National Sports Tribunal (NST) hears and resolves national-level sporting disputes in Australia. They offer a range of dispute resolution options - arbitration, mediation, conciliation and case appraisal - to help national level sporting bodies and their participants resolve disputes efficiently and affordably.

There are 3 divisions:

• Anti-Doping Division - deals with breaches of the anti-doping rules of a sport.
• General Division - deals with other disputes under the rules of a sport (including, for example, disputes that might arise under a sport's Member Protection Policy).
• Appeals Division - deals with appeals from the Anti-Doping or General Divisions, as well as appeals from decisions made by ‘in-house’ sport tribunals.

Please go to National Sports Tribunal website.