01 May 2020
Sport Integrity Australia is a new entity commencing on 1 July 2020, bringing together ASADA, NISU and some integrity-related functions from Sport Australia. Once established, Sport Integrity Australia will streamline and bolster support available to NSOs, to manage and mitigate sport integrity issues.
Sport Integrity Australia will have diverse functions including anti-doping, investigations, intelligence, education, policy delivery and capacity building.
The Sports Integrity Taskforce within the Department of Health is driving this work, enabling existing sports’ integrity teams to ‘come together’. The teams involved include all of Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), opens in a new tab, the National Integrity Sports Unit (NISU), opens in a new tab within the Department of Health and the integrity programs of Sport Australia. This equates to around 115 office staff, plus 300 field staff.
Over the coming months, the Sports Integrity Taskforce will start to reach out to sports to talk about what Sport Integrity Australia means for them. Initial plans were to arrange State and Territory visits to discuss Sport Integrity Australia however, the response to COVID-19 has paused non-essential travel. In addition, many Australia sports are realising and delivering their own business continuity plans in response to COVID-19 and we appreciate the timing and prioritisation of these discussions will vary across sports.
If you would like to engage and discuss Sport Integrity Australia’s services, we extend the opportunity to talk with you over the phone or via video conference. To arrange a time, please email sportsintegritytaskforce@health.gov.au and the team will coordinate details.
Why is Sport Integrity Australia forming?
Establishment of Sport Integrity Australia follows the Review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements, opens in a new tab. The Review was a response to the growing global threat to the integrity of sport - recognising a fair, safe and strong sport sector free from corruption is inherently valuable to sports participants, sporting organisations and the 14 million Australians who participate in sport annually.
The Review supports the work of the Australian Government in safeguarding the integrity of sport – a strategic priority of the National Sport Plan - Sport 2030.
The Review was conducted by an independent, expert panel, opens in a new tab, led by the Hon. James Wood AO QC. The Review Panel undertook extensive stakeholder consultations, holding over 40 stakeholder meetings and reviewing over 30 written submissions. Submissions provided to the National Sport Plan portal which referenced sports integrity were also considered.
The Report of the Review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements (Wood Review), opens in a new tab was presented to the Australian Government in March 2018. It addresses key domestic and international threats to the integrity of sport and made 52 recommendations across five key themes: - A stronger national response to match fixing , opens in a new tab - Australian Sports Wagering Scheme , opens in a new tab - Enhancing Australia’s anti-doping capability , opens in a new tab - A National Sports Tribunal, opens in a new tab, which commenced on 19 March 2020, and - A National Sports Integrity Commission , opens in a new tabnow known as Sport Integrity Australia.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment (Sport Integrity Australia) Bill 2019 passed, opens in a new tab on 24 February 2020.