Kaye Scott v Boxing Australia

The Applicant appealed her not-selection by Boxing Australia (BA) to be a member of the Australian Squad for the 2023 Pacific Games. The application was lodged with the NST on 18 August 2023 and a virtual hearing was held on the morning of 26 August 2023. The parties were notified of the outcome in the afternoon of 26 August 2023, and written reasons were given on 28 August 2023.

Selection for the Pacific Games is undertaken by a Team Selection Panel (TSP) of BA in accordance with the BA ‘Criteria for the Nomination & Selection to the 2023 Australian Pacific Games Team’. The Applicant contended that the Criteria was not properly applied by the TSP and that there was no material on which BA’s decision could be reasonably based. The Tribunal found that the Applicant had not established one or more of these grounds of appeal, and accordingly, the appeal was dismissed and the decision not to select the Applicant for the Australian Squad in the Pacific Games was confirmed.

In making this decision the Tribunal considered the Applicant’s submissions that the TSP failed to properly consider her skill and performance at the entirety of the Selection Event, failed to properly consider her potential to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and failed to consider whether Extenuating Circumstances applied. The Tribunal was satisfied that the TSP knew and understood the Criteria and followed a structured process in making its selection decision, that there was no evidence or information available to the TSP to enable them to be satisfied of the Applicant’s potential to qualify for the relevant weight division for Paris, and that the TSP were reasonable in not exercising their discretion to consider a change in weight division an Extenuating Circumstance. The Tribunal was also satisfied that there was sufficient material on which the TSP decision could be reasonably based.