Applicant v Geelong & District Football Netball League and Netball Victoria (with Netball Australia)

The Applicant is a netball player and coach for a club affiliated with the Respondent, Geelong & District Football Netball League. The second Respondent is the state sporting organisation, Netball Victoria. The referring national sporting organisation is Netball Australia.

The application was validated on 29 August 2025.

The dispute is an appeal of sanctions imposed on the Applicant by the Respondent, following an investigation into an incident which the Respondent described as a "Cyber Safety Breach—Social Media Posting of Umpire Without Consent…".

A number of breaches by the Applicant of various policies were identified. As a result, the Respondent imposed several sanctions on the Applicant including:

1. a 6-week suspension from coaching and playing;
2. ineligibility for the Respondent's end of season league awards;
3. a provision relating to future offences by the Applicant; and
4. the obligation to write a letter of apology via the Respondent to a named umpire who was central to the above "Cyber Safety Breach".

The Applicant challenged the above along two inter-related grounds. The first ground was to the extent and gravity of procedural unfairness in the investigation process. The second ground was that the sanction imposed was disproportionate.

On 5 September 2025, the NST Member determined the dispute. Having considered the submissions of the parties and the relevant policies, the NST Member held that the application was partially upheld, with the sanction conditionally reduced.