Equity

First Nations peoples are generally under-represented in leadership, coaching, officiating, and governance positions at the professional or high-performance levels. 1, 2, 3
While various reasons are suggested for why, it seems a series of social, cultural, and sometimes procedural barriers remain. 4, 5, 6, 7
Current State - 2024
An estimated 9% (94,000) of First Nations individuals aged 18+ participated as sport and recreation administrators or committee members at least once.9
Approximately 9% (95,000) First Nations individuals aged 18+ participated as team managers or coordinators at least once.10
An estimated 10% (104,000) of First Nations individuals aged 18+ were sport and recreation coaches, instructors, trainers, or teachers, at least once.11
Approximately 9% (92,000) of First Nations individuals aged 18+ were officials at least once. 12
First Nations men are more likely participate in non-playing roles (45%) than First Nations women (27%), and to volunteer in non-playing roles (40% of First Nations men compared to 24% of women).13, 14
66 Olympic and 16 Paralympic First Nations athletes have represented Australia at the Olympic and Paralympic Games since the 1960’s.15, 16
Factors that Impact
Closing the GapThe National Agreement on Closing the Gap aims to enable First Nations people and governments to work together to overcome inequality and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.
Coaching and officiatingFor many First Nations individuals the desire to be a role model for their community is a key motivator for the decision to become, and remain, a coach.
Athlete pathwaysFirst Nations athletes have a higher than population average representation in certain sports, but in others their representation is below the population average.
REFERENCES'Creating a pathway': Indigenous coach breaking new ground in VFLW, opens in a new tab, Brendan Rhodes, AFL.com.au, (10 February 2022).
The numbers highlighting Indigenous players' immense impact on Australian rules football, opens in a new tab, Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson, ABC News, (20 August 2020).
Wests Tigers assistant Ronnie Griffiths, the NRL’s only Aboriginal coach, opens in a new tab, Nick Walshaw, The Advertiser, (18 June 2021).
Black Diamonds Report, opens in a new tab, Glass Jar, (April 2022).
Do Better - Independent review into Collingwood Football Club’s responses to Incidents of Racism and Cultural Safety in the Workplace, opens in a new tab, UTS for Collingwood Football Club, (2021).
Racial Equality Review of Basketball Australia, opens in a new tab Australian Human Rights Commission , (2021).
Racial stereotypes stymie Aboriginal leadership in sport, research finds, opens in a new tab, University of NSW, (28 September 2016).
AusPlay Data Portal: Non-playing roles, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 11 August 2025)
Indigenous Australian Olympians, opens in a new tab, Australian Olympic Committee, (accessed 11 August 2025).
Indigenous Australian Paralympians, opens in a new tab, Wikipedia, (accessed 2 May 2025).
WPA Social Impact Framework: Inclusion, Diversity & Equity, opens in a new tab, Water Polo Australia, (April 2023).
National Agreement on Closing the Gap, opens in a new tab, an Agreement between the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations, and all Australian Governments, (current version July 2020).
Closing the Gap targets and outcomes, opens in a new tab, Closing the Gap, (accessed 11 August 2025).
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage 2020, opens in a new tab, Commonwealth of Australia, (3 December 2020).
Closing the Gap Prime Minister’s Report 2018, opens in a new tab, Commonwealth of Australia, (2018). Other annual Closing the Gap reports are available from the Closing the Gap website, opens in a new tab.
Why are so few professional sport coaches from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?, opens in a new tab Andrew Bennie, Demelza Marlin, Nicholas Apoifis, The Conversation, (13 June 2016).
Indigenous role models make a world of difference, opens in a new tab, Andrew Ramsay, Cricket Australia News, (25 December 2015).
Here’s to coaches, unsung heroes and role models for social change, opens in a new tab, Andrew Bennie, Nicholas Apoifis, The Conversation, (22 August 2016).
The “ripple effect”: Health and community perceptions of the Indigenous Marathon Program on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, Australia, opens in a new tab, Rona Macniven, Suzanne Plater, Karla Canuto, et al., Health Promotion Journal of Australia, Volume 29(3), pp.304-313, (2018).
Study reveals severe lack of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches, opens in a new tab, Western Sydney University, (19 May 2016).
Sistas’ and Aunties: sport, physical activity, and Indigenous Australian women, opens in a new tab. Stronach, Megan, Maxwell, Hazel, Taylor, Tracy, Annals of Leisure Research, Volume 19(1), pp.7-26, (2016).
Cultural connections and cultural ceilings: exploring the experiences of Aboriginal Australian sport coaches, opens in a new tab, Andrew Bennie, Nicholas Apoifis, Demelza Marlin, et al., Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, Volume 11(3), pp.299-315, (2017).
How rugby league can open the door for the next generation of Indigenous NRL stars and coaches, opens in a new tab, Nick Campton, ABC Sport, (9 February 2023).
The numbers highlighting Indigenous players' immense impact on Australian rules football, opens in a new tab, Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson, ABC News, (20 August 2020).
'Race', Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching, opens in a new tab, Steven Bradbury, Jim Lusted, Jacco van Sterkenburg (eds.), Routledge, (2020).
Why the NRLW is a pathway for Indigenous coaches, Brad Walter, opens in a new tab, NRL.com, (11 February 2022).
Coaching Unlimited: Connecting generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sporting leaders through sport coaching, opens in a new tab, (accessed 15 May 2023).
Reconciliation Action Plan 2018-2022, opens in a new tab [Elevate], Australian Rugby League Commission, (2018).
Noble athlete, savage coach: how racialised representations of Aboriginal athletes impede professional sport coaching opportunities for Aboriginal Australians, opens in a new tab, Nicholas Apoifis, Demelza Marlin, Andrew Bennie, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Volume 53(7), pp.854-868, (2017).
Recommendations for the development and transition of Indigenous athletes into high performance programs - 2011, Australian Sports Commission, (2011).
‘We were made to feel comfortable and … safe’: co-creating, delivering, and evaluating coach education and health promotion workshops with Aboriginal Australian peoples, opens in a new tab, Andrew Bennie, Demelza Marlin, Nick Apoifis, et al., Annals of Leisure Research, Volume 24(1), pp.168-188, (2021).
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Sports Coaching Forum, opens in a new tab, Western Sydney University, (10 May 2016).
Coaching Unlimited: Empowering generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, opens in a new tab, A research report commissioned by Netball Australia and Netball New South Wales, (2017).
The value and benefits of sport, Clearinghouse for Sport, (accessed 11 August 2025).
Factors influencing sport participation, Clearinghouse for Sport, (accessed 11 August 2025).
AusPlay Data Portal: Sport-related participation – frequency of participation, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 11 August 2025)
Physical activity across the life stages, opens in a new tab, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2018).
Long term trends in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth sport participation 2005–2019, opens in a new tab, Wilson, R., Evans, J., Macniven, R., Annals of Leisure Research, Volume 26(1), pp.89-99, (2023).
Footprints in Time: Physical Activity Levels and Sociodemographic and Movement-Related Associations Within the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, opens in a new tab, Rona Macniven, Rachel Wilson, Tim Olds, et.al., Journal of Physical Activity and Health, (10 February 2021).
Physical activity and sport participation characteristics of Indigenous children registered in the Active Kids voucher program in New South Wales, opens in a new tab, Rona Macniven, Bridget Foley, Katherine Owen, et al., Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Volume 23(12), pp.1178-1184, (2020).
Understanding physical activity patterns among rural Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal young people, opens in a new tab, Rona Macniven, Justin Richards, Nicole Turner, et.al., Rural and Remote Health, Volume 19(3), (2019).
Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, opens in a new tab, Australian Bureau of Statistics, (June 2021).
Indigenous map showcases NRL, NRLW players' heritage, opens in a new tab, NRL.com, (accessed 11 August 2025).
AFL Players Indigenous Map 2021, opens in a new tab, AFL Players Association, (June 2021).
Two years on from the Jemma Mi Mi incident, Super Netball is in a better place to celebrate First Nations Round, opens in a new tab, Brittany Carter, ABC, (25 May 2022).
Skilfulness on country: Informal games and sports exposure, opens in a new tab, John Robert Evans, Richard Light, Greg Downey, Chapter 6 in 'Perspectives on Game-Based Coaching', Shane Pill (ed.), Routledge, pp.57-66, (2020).
From freedom to oppression? A Freirean perspective on coaching and indigenous players’ journeys to the NRL and AFL, opens in a new tab, Richard Light, John Evans, Chapter 7 in 'Race', Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching, Steven Bradbury, Jim Lusted, Jacco van Sterkenburg (eds.), Routledge, (2020).
The long road from local communities to professional sport and the culture of the global sport industry for Indigenous Australians, opens in a new tab, Light R, Evans J, Lavallee D, Sport in Society, Volume 23(10), pp.760-772, (2021).
The cultural transition of Indigenous Australian athletes’ into professional sport, opens in a new tab, Richard Light, John Evans, David Lavallee, Sport, Education and Society, Volume 24(4), pp.415-426, (2019).
Many Stories, One Goal – Supporting Indigenous Footballers, opens in a new tab, AFL Players Association, (updated in 2016).
Reviewing the AFL’s Vilification Laws: Rule 35, Reconciliation and Racial Harmony in Australian Football, opens in a new tab, Sean Gorman, Dean Lusher, Keir Reeves, Routledge, (2018).
‘On Country’ football league an opportunity to bring communities together – but we need more government funding, opens in a new tab, Anna Dunn, Terence Abbott Tjapanangka, The Conversation, (5 April 2023).
Martu Youth Festival brings Indigenous sporting talent together from remote communities in WA, opens in a new tab, Samantha Goerling, ABC Pilbara, (16 July 2022).
To play Papunya: the problematic interface between a remote Aboriginal community and the organization of Australian Football in Central Australia, opens in a new tab, Barry Judd, Tim Butcher, Sport in Society, volume 18(5), pp. 543-551, (2015).
Stories of Indigenous Success in Australian Sport: Journeys to the AFL and NRL, opens in a new tab, Richard Light, John Robert Evans, Palgrave Macmillan, (2018).
Football's Indigenous Engagement: State of Play, opens in a new tab, Professional Footballers Australia on behalf of John Moriarty Football, (November 2018).
See more on this topic:Overview
Benefits of Sport
Factors influencing participation
Equity
Policies, programs, and supporting structures
Awards and recognition
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