Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026
Mr FARLEY (Farrer) (12:58): Australians expect sports to be decided on the field, not in a betting market, not through corruption and certainly not by organised crime. I support the Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026 because the integrity of Australian sport must be protected. Sport occupies a special place in this country.
Across regional Australia, including my electorate of Farrer, sporting clubs are much more than places where games are played. They are meeting places. They are where friendships are formed, where volunteers contribute thousands of hours and where young Australians learn discipline, teamwork, responsibility and respect.
On Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings across football grounds, netball courts, cricket pitches, tennis courts and racecourses, communities come together. And whether the contest takes place before 50 spectators at a country ground or 50,000 spectators in a major stadium, there is one fundamental expectation: the contest is genuine. That expectation is the foundation upon which sport rests.
When two teams walk onto a field, when horses enter the barrier and when athletes take their mark, Australians expect the result to be determined by ability, preparation, judgement and, of course, sometimes, luck. They do not expect the result to be determined beforehand by someone sitting behind a computer screen manipulating a betting market. That is why this legislation matters.
The bill establishes seven national sports integrity offences dealing with corrupting sporting events, inducing or soliciting corruption, concealing corrupt conduct information, using or communicating corrupt information, possessing that information with criminal intent and the improper use or communication of inside information. These are serious offences, because the conduct we are dealing with can be very serious.
For most of these offences, the legislation provides penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment. That sends the appropriate message. Corrupting Australian sport is not clever gambling; it's criminal conduct.
The transformation of sports betting markets means the risk confronting Australian sports has changed. Betting markets can operate nationally and internationally, money can move across borders almost instantaneously and betting is no longer confined to simply who wins or loses a match. Markets can potentially be created around individual events and occurrences inside sporting contests.
That creates opportunities for people who seek to manipulate competition for financial advantages, and whenever significant amounts of money can be made through corruption, organised crime and criminal interests will inevitably look upon those opportunities. That means we cannot expect individual sporting organisations, clubs or state jurisdictions to carry this responsibility alone.
A national problem requires a national response. The legislation also recognises that corruption does not necessarily begin with someone deliberately losing a match. It may begin with information—information about an injury, information about team selection or information about tactics or circumstances surrounding a competition.
There's nothing inherently wrong about sporting information, but when privileged information is deliberately exploited and communicated for an improper financial benefit, particularly in connection with betting, the integrity of the contest and the market surrounding it can be compromised. This bill appropriately targets that deliberate misuse. There is another important principle here.
The overwhelming majority of Australian athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers are honest people. We should never allow legislation addressing corruption to create an impression that corruption is widespread throughout Australian sports. It's not the ordinary player, coach, trainer, volunteer or club official this parliament is seeking to criminalise.
It is those who deliberately seek to corrupt them. Indeed, one of the reasons we need strong national laws is to protect the athletes themselves. A young athlete beginning a professional career should not have to confront approaches from gamblers, intermediary or criminal organisations without knowing that the full force of the Australian law stands behind him, her or them.
The message should be unmistakeable: if you attempt to buy an Australian athlete, manipulate an Australian competition or corrupt an Australian sporting result, you risk going to jail. There are also much broader issues at stake. Sport survives on trust.
Once supporters begin asking whether the result they have just watched was genuine, enormous damage has already been done. That damage does not stop with the professional competition. It damages sporting organisations, it damages legitimate betting markets, it damages sponsorships and it ultimately damages the public confidence in the sport itself.
We therefore need to protect that trust before it's lost. This legislation also advances reforms recommended by the 2018 Review of Australia's Sports Integrity Arrangements, the Wood review, which called for the Commonwealth criminal offences targeting match fixing and related sporting corruption. Eight years later, it is appropriate that Australia establishes a clear national framework.
I support strong criminal penalties, but legislation alone can never completely protect Australian sport. We also need education. Young athletes need to understand the risks associated with gambling, approaches from outsiders and the misuse of privileged information.
Sporting organisations need effective reporting mechanisms. Athletes and officials need confidence that, if they report a suspicious approach, it will be investigated and they will be supported. Government sporting bodies, law enforcement agencies and betting operators must continue sharing information when suspicious activities emerge.
Prevention must remain one of our first lines of defence. But, when prevention fails, the law must be strong enough to respond. When somebody fixes a sporting outcome, bribes a petition, conceals corrupt conduct or deliberately exploits information, they do more than manipulate the result.
They steal the contest from the athlete, they steal the contest from the supporter, and they steal the contest from the community. Australia should be able to take their children to a football match, watch a race or turn on a sporting contest and know that what they're seeing is genuine. That principle is worth defending.
From the smallest country sporting club to the largest stadiums in Australia, the standard should be exactly the same: play hard, play fair, and let the contest decide the winner. Sports must be won by ability, preparation and courage, and never corruption. For those reasons, I support the criminal code amendment bill 2026 and commend the bill to the house.