Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026

Mr NEUMANN (Blair) (13:20): At the outset, I want to say I support the Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026. The Albanese Labor government is committed to upholding the rule of law, and that is critical in all our cultural institutions, including sport, which is woven into the fabric of Australia's life. It builds teamwork and community, teaches resilience and unites Australians across every form of divide.

And it promotes healthy and active lifestyles. Over 14 million Australians participate in sports related activity annually, and it helps to generate approximately three per cent of our national GDP. Sport in Australia provides $83 billion in combined economic, health and educational benefits each day, and it's deeply embedded in our community.

It's part of our national psyche, and it's important in our local communities. In my home city of Ipswich, we are absolutely sports mad, and it's been a famous nursery for brilliant athletes over the years, from Alfie Langer, the Walters family and Sam Walker, in rugby league, to Craig McDermott and Shane Watson in cricket, to teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout in more recent times.

I might add, the Ipswich Jets team will be perfect for the NRL 20th franchise in 2029, as part of the game's expansion plans. It's been fantastic to see the Sydney Roosters chairman and Ipswich boy, Nick Politis, as well as super coach Wayne Bennett backing Ipswich's bid in recent weeks. The whole Western corridor, from Logan through Ipswich to Toowoomba, has been a rugby league heartland for decades for schools and local clubs, and it's a feat in the NRL.

And that's why the fanatical fanbase would easily absorb another NRL team in South-East Queensland. It's those fans that sustain our grassroots community sports. They're critical, whether it's Redbank Plains Bears Rugby League Club in Ipswich or, in the Somerset region, the Brisbane Valley Soccer Club's Eagles.

I was pleased to announce today to both their officials that they're getting volunteer grants. I am delighted to support local sport. Those local supporters in my community love their sport, and they want it based on merit, effort and fairness.

Sadly, the growing threat of match fixing exposes athletes to coercion and exploitation and threatens the integrity of Australian sport and sport globally. It undermines the credibility of sporting competitions and defrauds the public. Match fixing has provided a foothold for transnational crime syndicates to launder money, manipulate outcomes and target vulnerable participants in domestic sporting codes and internationally.

Who can ever forget when, in 1919, gamblers bribed some members of the famous Chicago White Sox baseball club to throw even the World Series, or when, in 2000, the South African captain, Hansie Cronje, and several teammates engaged in match fixing in the One Day International. That's even penetrated the NRL in Australia, the NBA in America and, of course, Champions League matches and Europa League matches in Europe, where hundreds of players and officials have been prosecuted, suspended and banned for match fixing.

A fair, safe and strong sporting sector is absolutely vital for the safety and credibility of our sport and for Australians who play sport, along with our credibility as a participant in international sporting arenas, particularly in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Breaches of sports integrity also pose a potential risk to participation rates, where people feel it's just not fair and question why they should participate, and a reduction in Australia's investment in sport.

We're introducing this legislation to criminalise match fixing and strengthen integrity in sport. The new offences under the Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026 will target a range of competition, manipulation and betting related corruption. It provides a comprehensive suite of reforms that protect Australia's sport, including seven new offences providing a graduated hierarchy of culpability, each of which has an identifiable Australian antecedent.

First, the bill prohibits engaging in conduct that would or would be likely to affect the outcome of sporting contests with the intention of obtaining a benefit or avoiding or causing detriment that would not otherwise be due because of participation in a sporting event. Secondly, the bill prohibits providing a benefit to another person that would tend to influence them in engaging in conduct that corrupts a sporting event.

These are the two most serious offences, corrupting a sporting event and inducing or soliciting that corruption, and they carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and five years respectively. It captured circumstances in Australia where a tennis player intentionally lost a set to obtain payments from a third party and where an organised crime member provided a payment to an athlete to ensure that the athlete's team lost their next match.

There was an antecedent in the Victorian Premier League where there was a provision for the imported players, under a fictitious sponsorship arrangement, instructed to lose and concede. More than $2 million in winnings were traced, and the Australian organiser was imprisoned and subsequently deported, and several players received lifetime bans from FIFA. This remains one of the most significant match-fixing prosecutions in Australian sport and proceeded under state law.

Thirdly, the bill provides that it prohibits asking for or receiving or obtaining or agreeing to receive or obtain a benefit that would tend to influence a person engaging in conduct that corrupts a sporting event. Fourthly, it prohibits altering, destroying or concealing information about the corruption of a sporting event where doing so would facilitate, conceal or disguise the obtaining of a benefit.

Fifthly, the bill also provides for the prohibition of the improper use or communication of information about conduct that corrupts a sporting event. Sixthly, the bill prohibits the possession of information about conduct that corrupts a sporting event where that possession is for the purpose of improperly using or communicating that information. Finally, it prohibits the improper use or communication of inside information.

You can see that it's a very comprehensive code that's been put in place. It's very, very important. It also captures the circumstances where a player tells friends they will plan in attack rather than defence in an upcoming match or where friends use information, for example, on the pitch or information on who would be the first scorer or who would be first out to play the game, or whether there'd be a leg bye, in these circumstances.

There's a whole range of different sports where that inside information could be available. Players in the past have used it and said, 'Look, it's not really important; it's the kind of information that might be available.' But it's not. It just gives an opportunity to organised crime syndicates to be involved in this process.

Often, they know what they're doing. It's not just players. It's coaches, managers, trainers and those involved in the governance of sport.

The legislation complements the government's landmark gambling reforms that were recently passed. Indeed, when the Prime Minister announced the initial package of gambling reforms in April this year, he unveiled a range of national sport integrity offences to complement these measures aimed at reducing harm from gambling and gambling advertising and reducing the influence of gambling on sport.

Our message is crystal clear: if you undermine the integrity of sport through corruption and manipulation, you'll face the full force of the law. As a number of speakers have said, in 2017, it was the former government, in recognition of the threats to the integrity of the sporting sector, which commissioned the Hon. James Wood AO, QC to conduct a review into Australia's sports integrity and arrangements.

That found the threat of organised criminal infiltration in sport to be real and growing. In 2019, the government agreed to the recommendation that the government establish a series of national match-fixing offences which continue to encourage consistency in terms of relevant criminal provisions introduced by state and territory governments. This particular legislation is crucial.

The Wood review also recommended that Australia become party to the Macolin convention, which provides support for a global response to international sports integrity matters. Recently, in March this year, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommended the Australian government ratify the Macolin convention. We're the first non-European country to sign this international treaty, which is aimed at preventing, detecting and sanctioning national and transnational match fixing of international and national sporting competitions.

The United Kingdom, France and Kenya have all introduced similar legislation, so we're amongst good company in world's best practice. Match fixing is not a matter of cheating. It's deliberate corruption.

It's criminal activity. It can't be swept under the carpet. It threatens fairness and safety and our reputation as a country.

We've engaged with a number of sporting agencies and key stakeholders in this area, including Sport Integrity Australia, the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and the Australian Federal Police. A whole range of other bodies have been consulted in relation to this information, including sports controlling bodies such as the NRL, AFL, Cricket Australia, Football Australia, Tennis Australia and Basketball Australia.

They have all been consulted in relation to this. An advisory group was supportive of the establishment of the offences and strengthening our response. They expressed support for a nationally consistent and harmonised approach.

I note that some of the sporting bodies commented that the offences were not limited to betting outcomes. However, broad offences are required to ensure compliance with the convention. I think we're privileged in Australia with our sporting legends.

I think we're privileged with the community sport we see across the electorates of our country. A fair, safe and strong sporting sector free from corruption is absolutely vital to our economy and to our community. It provides safety and credibility in sport and to the participants and Australia's participation in the international sporting arena.

I support the legislation and commend it to the House. Sitting suspended from 13:30 to 16:00