Sport Legislation Amendment (World Anti-Doping Code Implementation) Bill 2026
Ms KARA COOK (Bonner) (18:24): In my electorate of Bonner, sport is such a huge part of the social fabric of our community. Every weekend, across the electorate, thousands of families, players, coaches and volunteers come together through grassroots sport. From the Wynnum Manly Seagulls to the Mt Gravatt Vultures, our community has a proud and diverse sporting culture.
We have sailing on Moreton Bay, swimming at Chandler, netball, tennis, hockey, cricket, cycling, gymnastics and countless other sports being played by people of all ages and all abilities together. These clubs are so much more than places just to compete. They are where children build confidence, where friendships are formed, where volunteers dedicate countless hours and where Australians learn the importance of teamwork, discipline and respect.
As a mum with kids involved in indoor soccer as well as netball and swimming, I know firsthand how much these experiences matter. I know sometimes for parents there are early mornings, weekend competitions and training. We see extraordinary commitment from parents and carers after school, before school and, of course, on weekends.
These are also the people who are keeping our local clubs running through countless hours of volunteering and coaching. I also know how much children learn from being part of a team, but perhaps one of the most important lessons they learn is that everyone deserves a fair go, that the rules matter and that success should come from hard work, talent and determination, not from someone gaining an unfair advantage.
Those principles are just as important on a suburban sporting field in Bonner as they are on the world's biggest stage. With the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games now just six years away, that connection between grassroots sport and international sporting excellence has never felt closer to home. For some of the young athletes currently training in our local clubs, the journey that begins on a sporting field in Bonner may one day lead to representing Australia at the Olympics or Paralympics.
When that moment comes, they deserve to know that their hard work, sacrifices and achievements will be protected, that the competition will be fair, that the rules will be applied equally and that the systems governing their sports are independent, transparent and accountable. That is exactly what the Sport Legislation Amendment (World Anti-Doping Code Implementation) Bill 2026 is all about—protecting the integrity of Australian sport, strengthening the rights of athletes and ensuring that Australia continues to meet the highest international anti-doping standards.
Australia has a proud history of leadership when it comes to clean, fair and safe sport. In fact, our commitment to tackling doping began long before the international frameworks recognised today were established. In 1990, Australia established the Australian Sports Drug Agency to combat and control the use of prohibited substances in Australian sport.
We became a signatory to the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport in 2005, and Australia has maintained compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code since it commenced in 2004. Today, Australia continues to contribute directly to international anti-doping governance, including through representation on the World Anti-Doping Agency Executive Committee.
Nationally, Sport Integrity Australia delivers a comprehensive anti-doping program, and its work extends well beyond drug testing. It includes education, prevention, intelligence gathering, investigations and the management of potential anti-doping rule violations. Protecting the integrity of sport requires more than identifying wrongdoing after it occurs.
It requires a system that actively prevents misconduct, supports athletes to understand their obligations and ensures that, when breaches do occur, they are dealt with fairly and consistently. We know from international experience just how damaging doping can be. Investigations into Russian sport exposed systemic doping practices, the manipulation of samples and interference with anti-doping practices.
These were not simply isolated incidents involving individual athletes. They demonstrated how organised misconduct can undermine entire sporting systems and erode public confidence in international competition. Similarly, the investigation known as Operación Puerto exposed sophisticated doping networks involving medical and support personnel operating across sporting disciplines and national borders.
These examples remind us that doping is not always an individual issue. It can involve complex networks, institutional failures and deliberate attempts to undermine fair competition. When that happens, the greatest victims are often the athletes who have done everything right.
Imagine training for years to represent your country and then imagine discovering that you missed out on a final medal or a place on the podium because someone else cheated. That is an injustice that cannot always be repaired. A medal might be reassigned years later, but the moment is gone.
That is why strong antidoping laws are not just about catching those who break the rules; they're also about protecting those who follow them. The World Anti-Doping Code provides a globally harmonised framework, ensuring athletes and sporting organisations are subject to consistent antidoping principles wherever they compete. We cannot have one set of standards applying in Australia and an entirely different standard applying when athletes compete overseas.
As sport evolves, the rules must evolve with it. Doping methods change, technology and detection capabilities advance, medical practices develop, and our understanding of athletes' rights, privacy and procedural fairness continues to improve. Following an extensive two-year international consultation process, a revised World Anti-Doping Code was approved in December 2025.
The revised code will commence on 1 January 2027. Australia participated throughout that review process and consulted with domestic stakeholders, including athletes, national sporting organisations, disability sporting organisations, medical experts and antidoping authorities. The revised code strengthens the independence of antidoping organisations, improves athletes' appeal rights and introduces more appropriate protections around the public discourse of antidoping violations.
The bill before the House makes targeted amendments to the Sport Integrity Australia Act 2020 and the National Sports Tribunal Act 2019 to give effect to these important reforms, and I want to focus on four changes. First, we are strengthening athletes' rights. Under Australia's antidoping framework, there are circumstances where an athlete may have a legitimate medical need to use a substance or treatment that would otherwise be prohibited.
These circumstances are managed through what is known as therapeutic-use exemptions. Currently, an athlete whose application is refused may seek review through a panel within the Australian Sports Drugs Medical Advisory Committee's statutory structure. Under this legislation, eligible refusals will instead be reviewed by a national sports tribunal.
This is a really important change. It separates the original decision-maker from the body responsible for reviewing that decision. It gives athletes access to an independent specialist appeal pathway, and it strengthens confidence that decisions affecting their health and sporting careers will be made fairly.
Second, we are strengthening the independence of antidoping decisions. Currently, sporting organisations are responsible for imposing certain suspensions and consequences following antidoping processes. This legislation transfers responsibility for imposing relevant provisional suspensions and agreed consequences to Sport Integrity Australia.
Sporting organisations will remain responsible for implementing those decisions within their sport. That distinction matters because sporting organisations can face competing pressures. They want their athletes to succeed.
They want their teams to perform. They want their competitions to attract audiences, sponsors and support. But decisions about potential doping violations must be independent of those interests.
The integrity of the system cannot depend on whether an athlete is famous, whether a team is successful or whether a decision might be commercially inconvenient. The rules must apply equally, whether someone is a household name or an athlete competing internationally for the very first time. Third, we are strengthening privacy provisions.
Antidoping allegations can have serious consequences for a person's reputation, livelihood and of course their mental health. While transparency is essential, it must be balanced with appropriate safeguards. This bill introduces stronger protections around the publication of antidoping violations.
It requires particular consideration of the circumstances of minors, recreational athletes and people who may lack the capacity to understand the rules. It also strengthens protections where a person is found to have committed a violation with no fault or negligence. These safeguards matter because a fairer system must do more than identify wrongdoing; it must recognise individual circumstances, provide adequate avenues for review and avoid unnecessary harm.
Finally, we are modernising Australia's antidoping laws by updating our legislation to align with international definitions and technical standards. We are ensuring Australia remains consistent with the rules governing sport right around the world. These reforms are about something much bigger than compliance.
They're about ensuring every Australian athlete can compete with confidence, knowing the rules are fair, their rights are protected and their achievements are recognised. In Bonner we are incredibly proud of the sporting talent that has emerged from our community—athletes like swimmer Amelia Weber, steeplechaser Cara, Paralympian Hani Watson, and artistic gymnasts Georgia Godwin and James Hardy.
I do want to give a special shout-out to James. I've previously acknowledged in this place Amelia, Cara and Georgia. James is an artistic gymnast who competed in Glasgow recently, and he is from Burbank in my electorate of Bonner.
He is a proud Mansfield State High School graduate who came home with not one, not two, but three bronze medals—rings, floor and the team event. He also finished fifth on the vault. I want to say a big congratulations to James; we are so very proud of you.
Of course, we are proud of all of our remarkable athletes, whose achievements and determination are an inspiration to young people right across our electorates and right across our country. But, before an athlete stands on an Olympic or Paralympic podium, they must compete at a world championship, and, before they represent Australia, their journey begins at a local sporting club, and it begins with our volunteers, a supportive family and a community willing to invest in their potential.
That is why the values that we protect at the highest levels of international sport matter just as much as at a grassroots level. Fairness, integrity and respect should be fundamental to every sporting experience. When we strengthen the systems and processes that protect clean sport, we are also reinforcing those values for the next generation.
For Queenslanders, particularly those of us in South-East Queensland, the countdown to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is incredibly exciting. In just six years, Australia will again welcome the world's greatest athletes to compete on our shores, and Bonner won't just be watching the games; we're helping host them. The Albanese Labor government has committed approximately $3.4 billion towards games infrastructure, including upgrades to major sporting facilities in my electorate.
At the Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler, upgrades will improve accessibility and integration right across the precinct. The Brisbane Aquatic Centre will be refurbished ahead of hosting preliminary water polo matches. The Anna Meares Velodrome and the Chandler BMX track will receive upgrades for Olympic cycling events.
The Brisbane International Shooting Centre at Belmont will also be improved to host shooting events, with temporary seating planned for up to 2,000 spectators. Importantly, the planned Chandler para-sport facility will create more opportunities for people with disability to participate in sport, while supporting pathways for future Paralympians. These investments are not just about delivering a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games.
They are about leaving a lasting legacy for families, sporting clubs and athletes right across Bonner. For me, that is exactly what a successful Olympic legacy looks like, and I commend this legislation to the chamber.