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Clearinghouse for Sport
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Netball

A court sport where two teams compete against each other, scoring points by throwing a round ball through a hoop.

Netball, previously referred to as women’s basketball, was first introduced to Australia in 1897.

An interstate carnival in 1927 saw the creation of Australia’s first national body, the All Australia Women’s Basketball Association.1

Discover more about netball through the Clearinghouse evidence base:

Evolution:

  • All Australia Women’s Basketball Association [1927-1970s]
  • All Australia Netball Association [1970s-1993]
  • Netball Australia [1993-]

Participation

An estimated 466,000 Australians [aged 15+] participated in netball at least once in 2024. 2

An estimated 224,500 Australian children [aged 0-14] participated in netball at least once in 2024. 2

An estimated 400,500 Australian women [aged 15+] and an estimated 62,500 Australian men [aged 15+] participated in netball at least once in 2024. 2

Explore further participation statistics for netball through the AusPlay online portal., opens in a new tab

Governing body

Netball Australia, opens in a new tab is the organisation recognised by government at all levels as the National controlling body for the sport of netball in Australia.

As women’s basketball started to be referred to as netball, the national body renamed in the 1970s to the All Australia Netball Association before becoming Netball Australia in 1993.1  

REFERENCES
  1. The History of Netball Australia, opens in a new tab, Netball Australia, (accessed 13 January 2026)
  2. AusPlay Data Portal: Participation by activity, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 15 October 2025)

Documents

The Clearinghouse for Sport has sought permission from relevant organisations for the inclusion of their documents in this archive. Copyright ownership remains vested with the organisation and as such permission from the copyright owner should be sought if you wish to communicate, adapt or reproduce these documents.

Netball Australia Annual Reports 1999, 2002 not held.

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