Last updated 30 April 2026

Integrity in sport can encompass a wide range of issues. To respond to this, Sport Integrity Australia creates a comprehensive and integrated approach, most notably seen in the National Integrity Framework. Signatories to the framework include the vast majority of national sporting federations, which means that affiliated clubs or district bodies ought to be aware of its requirements.

The framework encompasses five integrity-related policies that signatories must adopt:

• Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy
• Competition Manipulation and Sports Wagering Policy
• Member Protection Policy
• Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine Policy
• Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy.

These policies represent best practice for sporting organisations to follow. Some of these integrity issues will be expanded on below.

Protecting children from abuse in sport

It is a sad reality that some children are abused, both physically and emotionally, while participating in sporting activities. A common form of abuse occurs when sporting organisations, officials or parents place undue pressure on children to perform. The result is that children can suffer psychologically, emotionally, perform below their normal standard at school and in sport, and generally resist participation in activities they formerly enjoyed. From a criminal law perspective, physical and sexual abuse are offences.

As mentioned above, Sport Integrity Australia has policy responsibility for safeguarding children in sport. They provide access to guidelines and resources to assist clubs in creating child-safe sporting environments, and templates for recording incidents of potential abuse. Other useful resources can be found on the Australian Sports Commission website including their Clearinghouse for Sport site.

There are also criminal history screening requirements in place for people who work with children, commonly referred to as a ‘Blue Card’(see Working with Children Check Act 2000 (Qld) (WWCC Act) and the Blue Card Services website for further explanation). Volunteers, trainee students, paid employees and people operating a business who work with children in sport may need a Blue Card or exemption card (see sch 1 s 11 of the WWCC Act for the category of regulated employment involving sport, active recreation, gyms and play facilities).

An organisation must link any Blue Card holders (or applicants) to their organisation before the person starts working/volunteering. Penalties for non-compliance apply. Persons under 18 years of age do not need a blue card (unless they are a trainee student providing services as part of their studies). A volunteer parent generally does not need a Blue Card if they are providing services to children who include their child unless that parent has been previously disqualified, or the services require close personal contact with children or overnight supervision, (e.g. a representative sporting team trip; see Blue Card Services website or s 156 of the WWCC Act).

Organisations falling within the Blue Card system are required to implement a ‘child and youth risk management strategy’. This requires an organisation to include in their strategy eight minimum requirements:

  • a statement of commitment to maintaining the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
  • a code of conduct outlining the organisation’s values and setting out clear expectations of stakeholders
  • policies for recruiting, selecting, training and managing employees and volunteers
  • procedures for handling disclosures and suspicions of harm to ensure a rapid response to a disclosure, allegation or suspicion of harm
  • a plan for managing breaches, which must include a statement about the consequences for stakeholders who fail to follow procedures
  • policies and procedures for screening and keeping track of all blue card or exemption holders
  • a risk management plan for high-risk activities and special events
  • strategies for communication and support.

There are online resources and toolkits to assist in drafting your risk management strategy, as well as many other aspects of compliance with the Blue Card system. It is highly recommended that all junior clubs and organisations consult these resources.

Finally, regardless of Blue Cards, it should be noted that it is an offence for any adult not to report to police the sexual offending against a child by another adult (s 229BC Criminal Code). A child is someone aged under 16, or 18 if they have a mental impairment. The obligation arises once an adult gains information which makes them believe, or they ought to believe,) on reasonable grounds that the child has been a victim of a sexual offence (even if the abuse itself happened prior to this law taking effect).