The Applicant is a participant of the Respondent, a coach and an official in the Respondent's sport (the Coach). The Respondent is a National Sporting Organisation (NSO). The dispute was referred to the National Sports Tribunal (NST) on 8 August 2023 by the NSO under its Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy (CDDP).
On 31 July 2023, the Respondent, via Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), received complaints alleging that the Coach had breached its Child Safeguarding Policy (Policy) and Code of Conduct. The NSO notified the Coach of the complaints and imposed Provisional Action in the form of a temporary suspension of their membership prohibiting them from acting as a committee member or President of a club or acting as a coach or sport official in any capacity, whilst SIA assessed the complaints.
The Coach sought to have the Provisional Action reviewed by the NST's General Division for arbitration on an expedited basis to determine whether the Provisional Action imposed by the Respondent was disproportionate, in existing circumstances.
The Coach submitted reasons as to why the imposed sanctions were disproportionate in circumstances where it would unfairly prevent them from being able to participate in the sport in their capacity as a coach and official. In response, the NSO submitted broad reasoning as to the risk of harm to the Club and its members and the severity of the allegations.
The NST Member, after reviewing the submissions, found that matters should have been given reasonable and proper consideration by the Respondent, which seemingly was not the case. The Provisional Action's impact on the Coach and athletes would be significant. The NST Member deemed the action disproportionate and decided on alternative measures in the form of supervision for the Coach when working with athletes under the age of 18.
Therefore, the Provisional Action imposed on the Coach by the Respondent was set aside.