Member Protection

Netball WA adopts the Netball Australia Member Protection Policy. Netball WA recommends that Associations and Clubs familiarise themselves with this policy, as this will greatly assist in the area of Member Protection.
The MPP covers specific things such as discrimination, victimisation, child protection, and taking images of children.
Netball WA and all of its affiliated members are bound by this policy.

The Netball Australia National Codes of Behaviour outlines the expected behaviour of all its members, including a general code of behaviour as well as specific codes of behaviour for particular roles, such as coaches and spectators.
Clubs and Associations should have their own codes of behaviour in place, but this document applies when others do not.
Any breach of the National Codes of Behaviour is to be dealt with by policies that are at the level at which the breach occurred.

The Netball Australia Junior Netball Policy is designed to assist clubs in running safe, fair, and inclusive netball competitions.

Netball WA is committed to educating our Clubs and Associations to ensure they have the knowledge and tools necessary to appropriately screen their members and ensure they get the right people for their organisation.

Following guidelines, such as Netball WA's Member Screening Guidelines, to screen volunteers is vital to ensure your organisation is taking appropriate steps to keep children and members safe. An important part of this process is to frequently state your organisation’s commitment to member protection and child safeguarding. 
While Netball WA recommends the following document as a guideline for best practice screening of all volunteers, please note that Western Australian legislation requires anyone involved in paid or unpaid ‘child-related’ work to obtain a Working with Children (WWC) Check. WWC legislation is explained in further detail under Criminal Record Checks on pages 5 & 6 of Netball WA’s Member Screening Guidelines.

Netball is currently updating these guidelines, which will be made available here when appropriate.

Reference Check Form
Performance Appraisal Form
Induction Checklist
Interview Template
Performance Appraisal Form
Criminal Record Checks Flowchart
Working with Children Record Keeping Example Spreadsheet
Reporting Guidelines
Member Protection Declaration

Netball WA Weather Policy
Netball WA Photography and Videography Policy

For a more extensive list of Netball WA's policies, please visit the Policies and Procedures page.

MPIOs are people trained to be the first point of contact within your Association/Club for any persons considering making a complaint or claim under the Member Protection Policy or to help with guidance on how to access resolutions through policies and procedures. MPIOs provide confidential, impartial and timely support and information. They also provide information about the local complaint resolution options available to address the individual's concerns. Netball WA recommends that each Association have a qualified MPIO.

An MPIO does not need to be connected to a netball club to be able to give advice. However, having an MPIO at your association or club means they will know exactly what rules each organisation has in place should someone want to lodge a complaint.

Play by the Rules has a free online course that is the first step to becoming a certified MPIO. You can access this online course here.

Netball WA has its own MPIOs that you can contact if you want any information on complaint procedures.
Click the link below to get in touch with an MPIO at Netball WA.

For a simple look at the process for making a complaint, please consult the following flow chart.

Step 1: Is the dispute competition related?
Associations will generally have rules that govern on court incidents. This may be in the form of a Protests procedure, and will generally sit in an Association's Competitions Handbook/Manual, or it may be covered in the Association's by-laws. Check your Association's rules to see if they have such a procedure in place, and if so, if it is relevant to the matter.
Step 2: Is the dispute/grievance member protection related?
Matters that include discrimination, victimisation, or child safety, amongst others, will generally be handled by the Netball Australia Member Protection Policy. This policy has a particular management process, which you can read about here. Most matters will go through Club and Association policies rather than the Member Protection Policy.
Step 3: Is the dispute not related to member protection or competitions?
If the matter cannot be handled by the competition handbook/rules, or should not be handled by the Member Protection Policy, the matter should begin at the level where the incident occurred. For example, if two members of a Club have a grievance, that matter should begin with the Club's Grievance or Dispute policy. If there is a grievance between a member of an Association and that Association, it may be appropriate to go straight through to the Association's Grievance or Dispute policy. If your Club does not have any grievance or dispute resolution policies, it may be appropriate to go straight to your Association.
Step 4: Do I wish to escalate my complaint?
If you lodged a complaint with a Club or Association and for whatever reason you feel as though the matter wasn't resolved properly, or you are unsatisfied with the result, you may be able to escalate your complaint to the next organisational level. If you made a complaint through a Club policy, your next step may be to lodge a complaint with the Association to which your Club is affiliated. If you lodged a complaint with your Association, then your next step may be to lodge a complaint with Netball WA. Netball WA reserves the right to reject a complaint where that matter can be dealt with through Club or Association policies, and the complainant has not yet exhausted those options.

Clubs and Associations that have websites generally have their constitution and policies available there. If they don't, and you are a member of a particular Club or Association, you can request a copy of any of their policies, procedures, by-laws, or their constitution.

If you have any questions about complaint procedures, or believe your next step is to lodge a complaint with Netball WA, you can contact the Governance and Compliance Coordinator at the link below.

If you would like to lodge a complaint or grievance with Netball WA, please follow the link below.

Netball WA Grievance Policy
Netball WA Disciplinary Policy

Play by the Rules is an online resource to assist Associations and Clubs with any issues they may face. It provides guidelines to assist in planning for Administrators, Coaches, Officials and Parents. The website also includes components covering Managing Risks, Complaints and Protection Laws, in addition to online training.
Play by the Rules provides a number of resources and templates that Clubs and Association can use to enhance their existing policies and procedures.

Sport Australia is an arm of the Australian Sports Commission. It has a number of resources to help sporting organisations develop, implement, and maintain robust systems of governance.
One of these resources is the Sport Governance Principles, which seek to support those who govern sport to perform at a high standard as we look to modernise and continually embed good governance in sport in Australia.
The principles outline steps your organisation can take to improve its governance in both theory and in practice.
They are aimed at a fairly high level of organisation, but the principles apply at any size of sporting club.
For more information, please follow the link below.