AUSTRALIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sven Burchartz and Jessica Bell, Kalus Kenny Intelex
Concussion in Sport: AFL Concussion in sport is no new concept. How - ever, the attention on the impact of concussion continues to increase in relation to the rate of occurrences of sport-related concussion. The causal link between multiple and repeated head injuries over a period of time leading to long- term health issues and a brain disorder called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be fully confirmed in an autopsy after death, has been widely commented on. In the last year we have seen a number of addi - tional cases brought against the AFL and some teams as a result of players suffering the long- term effects of concussions sustained while playing the sport. In 2023, a class action was launched against the AFL for the impact of con - cussion sustained by players. More recently, a former West Coast player, Brad Sheppard, issued legal action against the AFL, the team and two former club doctors for medical negli - gence (the “Defendants” ) after he was forced to retire at the age of 30 due to ongoing concussion symptoms. Sheppard suffered two major knocks to the head in 2021. After hitting his head against that of another player early in 2021, Sheppard’s return match resulted in a second hit to the head, leav - ing him unable to continue playing the sport. Sheppard is now claiming “damages, interest and costs arising from personal injuries suffered by the plaintiff during his employment… from 25 November 2009 onwards” . The court documents go on to say that the incidents, “injuries, loss and damage resulted from the negligence and/ or breach of contract and/or breach of statutory duty of the Defendants” . While the outcome of Sheppard’s case remains to be determined, it is highly unlikely to be the
the most part, Olympic and Paralympic athletes are not paid and only receive money if they win a medal, have personal sponsorships, receive government grants or receive money through fundraising. In 2024, the topic of Olympic athlete compen - sation returned, again highlighting the global disparity between Olympic athletes and the compensation they receive. Each country has a different rewards structure for athletes who compete. For example, in Australia, the Aus - tralian Olympic Committee (AOC) offers “medal incentive funding” programme, which provides medalists with financial rewards of AUD20,000 for gold, AUD15,000 for silver and AUD10,000 for bronze. However, every country is different. In contrast, a gold medal athlete in Singapore will be rewarded with over AUD1 million for their efforts, although it is heavily taxed and medalists are expected to donate a portion of their win - nings back to their sport. Notably, perhaps one of the biggest develop - ments in Australia sport is that 2024 was the first year that Australian Paralympian medalists received equal medal incentive payments. This comes on the back of the Australian government allocating significant funding in the 2024-25 Budget, providing an additional AUD54.9 million for Paralympic sport – the biggest investment into paralympic sport made by the Australian government to date. The investment into para-sport by the Australian government illustrates a significant shift in the recognition of para-athletes, aligning with Aus - tralia’s High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy, which is designed to focus on optimising out - comes and sustainable success for both sum - mer and winter Olympic and Paralympic and also Commonwealth Games sports.
30
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook