AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sven Burchartz and Jessica Bell, Kalus Kenny Intelex
1. Athlete Conduct, Integrity and Enforcement 1.1 Anti-Doping Regimes Criminal Offences Relating to Doping in Australia Australia does not have any legislation that specifically criminalises doping in sport. Instead, the Australian Commonwealth and each of the states and territories have enacted legislation that criminalises certain con - duct constituting a violation of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (“WADA”) anti-doping rules, such as: • Australia’s Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 criminalises the trafficking of certain substances that also appear on the WADA’s list of substances and methods as being prohibited both in and out of competition, and in particular sports (World Anti- Doping Code Prohibited List); and • Australia’s Customs Act 1901 and Customs (Pro - hibited Imports) Regulations 1956 criminalise the importation of certain substances that also appear on the World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited List – this type of offence is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and/or up to 1,000 penalty units. Commonwealth and state and territory legislation in Australia also prohibits the use or administration of a substance on the World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited List without an appropriate medical or therapeutic jus - tification. Implementation of the World Anti-Doping Code in Australia Australia is a signatory to the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport and is there - fore required to implement an anti-doping scheme in accordance with the principles of the World Anti- Doping Code. Sport Integrity Australia implements the World Anti- Doping Code by way of a legislative framework com - prising the Sport Integrity Australia Act 2020 and the Sport Integrity Australia Regulations 2020 (in particu - lar, Schedule 2 – the National Anti-Doping Scheme). Sport Integrity Australia collaborates with WADA, international anti-doping organisations and other
stakeholders on an ongoing basis to ensure (by way of regular amendments) that Australia’s National Anti- Doping legislation remains consistent with the World Anti-Doping Code. Punishment for Doping Offences Sporting associations and leagues in Australia impose sanctions for doping offences under their own anti- doping policies, which align with the National Anti- Doping Scheme and the World Anti-Doping Code. Major bodies (including the AFL, NRL, Cricket Austral - ia, Motorsport Australia and Football Australia) have authority under these policies to impose suspensions, disqualifications and other disciplinary measures for anti-doping rule violations. Recent Case Example A recent case in Australian sport is that of two-time Grand Slam doubles tennis champion Max Purcell, who was provisionally suspended in December 2024 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (“ITIA”) for unknowingly receiving over 500 millilitres of IV vitamin infusions in late 2023 that exceeded allowable limits. The permitted limit of IV infusions of vitamins is 100 millilitres in a 12-hour timeframe, leading to Purcell’s conduct breaching Article 2.2 of the Tennis Anti-Dop - ing Programme. The suspension means that Purcell cannot play, coach or attend any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by members of the ITIA. Purcell also forfeited results and prize money earned from 16 December 2023 to 3 February 2024. Purcell’s suspension ends on 11 June 2026. 1.2 Misconduct and Match-Fixing Legislative Measures Match-fixing In 2011, the Australian Commonwealth, and State and Territory Governments agreed to a National Policy on Match-Fixing in Sport (the “National Policy”), in an effort to “pursue (...) a consistent approach to crimi - nal offences, including legislation by relevant juris - dictions, in relation to match-fixing that provides an effective deterrent and sufficient penalties to reflect the seriousness of offences, as provided for in Part 4.3 of the National Policy.” A number of Australia’s states and territories have since enacted legislative arrange -
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