Disability Sport Integrity Management

We take sport integrity seriously and have the following policies in place: 

• Member Protection Policy
• Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy
• Improper Use of Drugs & Medicines Policy
• Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling Policy
• Complaints, Disputes & Discipline Policy

Everyone from athletes, officials, parents, support personnel, administrators and supporters play a role in protecting the integrity of our sport. 

If you see something, say something!  

Australian Sporting Alliance for people with disabilities (ASAPD) has opted-in to the complaints handling process for integrity-related issues run by Sport Integrity Australia. 

Issues to report to Sport Integrity Australia 

Concerns or complaints about alleged breaches of our National Integrity Framework relating to Doping, Child Safeguarding, or Discrimination based on features including race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation or gender identity and religion can be reported directly to Sport Integrity Australia through the form available on the Sport Integrity Australia website.  

You can view a more detailed flowchart outlining how the complaints and reporting process works.  

If people just want to share their story about integrity issues they have experienced, they can call the Safe Sport hotline on 1800 161 361. This service allows for anonymous reporting and covers wider racial and cultural issues in sport for people who feel they have been discriminated against.  

Issues to report to your National Sporting Organisation for People with Disability (NSODs)

For all other integrity matters such as alleged breaches of our National Integrity Framework relating to Non-Discrimination Member Protection matters (i.e., bullying), Competition Manipulation & Sport Wagering matters

Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine matters, and non-National Integrity Framework matters such as Governance matters, Selection/eligibility disputes, Personal Grievances, Employment disputes etc please report directly to the specific NSOD Complaint Manager/Integrity Manager for your sport as listed below:

1. Blind Sports Australia – Garry West-Bail – admin@asapd.org
2. Deaf Sports Australia – Phil Harper – phil.harper@deafsports.org.au
3. Disability Sports Australia – Madeline Wood – madeline@sports.org.au
4. Disability Wintersports Australia – Tony Murray – tmurray@disabledwintersport.com.au
5. Riding for the Disabled Australia – Justin Dent – eo@rda.org.au
6. Special Olympics Australia – Deborah Begg – deborahb@specialolympics.com.au
7. Sport Inclusion Australia – Garry West- Bail – admin@asapd.org
8. Transplant Australia – Ian Atkin – ian.atkin@transplant.org.au

When it comes to sport integrity, it is critical that our athletes and support personnel are aware of their rights and responsibilities. There are a range of tools and resources available to help keep participants informed.  

Integrity eLearning  

Sport Integrity Australia eLearning offers several online courses relating to sport integrity, including doping, match-fixing, illicit drugs, and ethical decision-making courses. Specific anti-doping courses are also available for coaches, support persons, medical practitioners, and parents.  

Sport Integrity app   

The Sport Integrity app is a one-stop shop for all sport integrity needs, designed with athletes in mind.  

The app allows users to check whether their medications are banned in sport, find low-risk supplements to reduce their chance of testing positive, and check whether they need a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). The app also provides direction on how to raise concerns about things like doping, match-fixing, harassment or illicit drug use. It features further information on eLearning modules, whereabouts and testing information and gives users the opportunity to provide feedback to Sport Integrity Australia.   

The app is free and can be downloaded from the Apple and Android app stores.  

Prohibited List of substances and methods  

The Prohibited List outlines the substances and methods that are prohibited in sport. It is updated annually by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Remember that individual products or brands are not named on the Prohibited List. Athletes should check the status of all medications before they use them on Global DRO.  

Checking your substances  

Global DRO allows users to check whether the most commonly prescribed and over-the-counter medicines in Australia are permitted or prohibited in sport.  

If an athlete requires use of a prohibited substance to treat a medical condition, the athlete needs to be aware of the TUE requirements. For more information on a TUE visit the Sport Integrity Australia website.   

Play by the Rules  

Play by the Rules provides information, resources, tools and free online training to administrators, coaches, officials, players, parents and spectators to assist them in preventing and dealing with discrimination, harassment, child safety, inclusion and integrity issues in sport.  

Stay up to date on social media  

Keep up to date with all that is happening in sport integrity by following Sport Integrity Australia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or listen to On Side, the official podcast of Sport Integrity Australia. 

Anti-doping  

Anti-doping rules apply to all participants of our sport from elite to grassroots. All members must be aware of, and have a basic understanding of, their obligations regarding anti-doping. The Sport Integrity Australia website has a range of information and resources to assist, including:  

• information about supplements  
• applying for a Therapeutic Use Exemption  
• submitting Whereabouts information  
• information about athlete testing   

To report a breach of anti-doping rules, submit directly to Sport Integrity Australia via:  

• Sport Integrity Australia website   
• Phone: 1300 027 232   

Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine  

The improper use of drugs and medicine in sport, including the use of supplements and the provision by unqualified and unauthorised people are a risk to the health of athletes and the integrity of sport.  

To counter these risks, we have put in place an Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine Policy which ensures:  

• medical practitioners working in our sport are accredited and qualified to fulfil   their duties.  
• medicines are used in appropriate ways.  
• safe use of supplements, which comply with the World Anti-Doping Code.  
• illegal drug use is prohibited in our sport.    

For more information, check out the Improper Use of Drugs and Medicines Fact Sheet 

To help 13 to 17-year-olds to understand the Improper Use of Drugs and Medicines Policy visit Protecting your sport from the Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine factsheet. 

Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling 

Manipulating sports competitions, commonly known as ‘match-fixing’ is when someone alters a sporting competition to remove the unpredictable nature of the competition to obtain an undue advantage, or benefit.   

People are motivated to manipulate competitions for a variety of reasons such as to get a better draw in a round-robin tournament (often referred to as tanking), or to avoid relegation to a lower competition. Another reason people manipulate competitions is to profit through betting markets by underperforming intentionally.   

In most Australian states and territories, the manipulation of sporting competitions can result in a criminal conviction and up to 10 years in jail. Participants of a sport involved in manipulating competitions will also likely face a long ban from sport. More information can be found on the Sport Integrity Australia website.   

For more information, check out the Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling Fact Sheet. 

To help 13 to 17-year-olds to understand Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling Policy visit the How we keep your competition fair and honest factsheet. 

Safeguarding  

Participation in sport should be safe for all. We are committed to ensuring that people in sport, including children, are treated with respect and dignity, and are protected from bullying, discrimination, harassment or abuse.  

The following policies highlight the important legal and governance responsibilities in relation to child safety and member protection.    

For more information on Safeguarding, check out the Safeguarding Children and Young People Fact Sheet. 

To help 7 to 12-year-olds to understand the Safeguarding of Children and Young People Policy visit the How your sport looks after kids factsheet. 

To help 13 to 17-year-olds to understand the Safeguarding of Children and Young People Policy visit How your sport looks after you factsheets. 

For more information on Member Protection, check out the Member Protection Fact Sheet. 

To help 7 to 12-year-olds to understand their rights in sport visit the Learn about your rights at sport factsheet. 

To help 13 to 17-year-olds to understand their rights in sport visit Your rights at sport factsheet. 

To help 13 to 17-year-olds understand the Member Protection Policy visit How your sport looks after all its participants factsheet. 

Breaches of Integrity Policies  

All alleged breaches in relation to our National Integrity Framework and associated integrity policies will be managed under the Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy.  

Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy  

Our Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy sets out the process for resolving complaints arising from a breach of an eligible policy.   

The organisation responsible for managing the Complaint will depend on the type of behaviour that has been alleged.  

Complaints in relation to breaches under the National Integrity Framework relating to Safeguarding Children and Young People, or Discrimination based on features including race, disability, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, will be managed by Sport Integrity Australia.  All other complaints (such as selection, bullying among adults, governance, social media behaviour) are managed by the specific NSOD for your sport.

For more information check out the Standards and Prohibited Conduct Fact Sheet. 

The Australian Sporting Alliance for People with a Disability (ASAPD) is committed to ensuring the fairest and safest environment’s for the participation of people with all abilities. The ASAPD has been working with Sport Integrity Australia and the nine National Sporting Organisations for People with a Disability (NSODs), to ensure their adoption of Sport Integrity Australia’s National Integrity Framework.

In adopting the Sport Integrity Australia National Integrity Framework, each NSOD has done so based on the need to ensure the following principles are followed by all who are a party to the Framework policies.

These principles are:

1. To ensure education programs are in place which enable the people that the NSOD represents to be aware of the policies.
2. To ensure communication tools are in place that will enhance the education of the people that the NSOD represents.
3. To acknowledge that the people that the NSOD represents who are covered by the policies are potentially more at risk* of being affected, abused, manipulated, or used.
4. To ensure all policies are written, presented and accessible in all forms in plain language and documents and programs are presented in a consistent and easily accessible format.
5. To ensure that the Improper use of Drugs and Medicine Policy is clearly explained to all parties to take into consideration the special needs (e.g. medication) of the people that the NSOD represents.

*The following is the definition of people at risk:

• Persons under the age of 18; or
• Persons aged 18 or over, but are unable to take care of themselves, or are unable to protect themselves against harm or exploitation, by reason of age, illness, trauma or disability, or any other reason.

For further information on the Sport Integrity Australia National Integrity Framework, you can visit Sport Interity Australia’s website here.

For further information on the National Sports Tribunal, you can visit their website here.