Good Governance for Community Sports

As well as standard policies including finance, privacy and compliance, here is a curated selection of policies from the Institute of Community Directors Australia’s Policy Bank which support good governance for community sports boards to ensure everyone remains safe.

1. Child safety policy
2. Bullying Policy
3. Complaints Handling policy
4. Conflict of interest policy
5. Health and Safety Policy
6. Extreme weather policy

Having the right policies in place will provide a best practice ethical governance framework for a community sports board. However, the most important way to make these policies work for your organisation is to write clear procedures and processes that everyone understands and can follow. Keep your policies and procedures simple and practical.

A policy is a guiding principle that sets the direction for an organisation's actions, defining what is to be done. A procedure or process is a detailed, step-by-step guide that explains how to implement a policy, outlining specific actions to be taken, to achieve the policy's objectives.

Each policy and procedure should be adapted to your unique community sports setting with the following considerations:

When drafting complaints or grievance policies, community sports boards should consider writing processes/procedures for managing aggression from parents and carers, emphasising respect and positive support. It is essential to provide education and training on appropriate behaviours and conflict resolution strategies. An escalation procedure should be in place to address and manage incidents promptly and effectively, ensuring a safe environment for all players, volunteers, parents/carers and staff.

The player selection process should be transparent and based on clear criteria to prevent bias, or perceived bias, in team allocation. Criteria might include age, merit or social networks. Clear criteria will mean that teams are allocated in a similar way each season. All players and parents/carers must be informed about the selection criteria, and decisions should be documented and communicated clearly. Reviews of the process should be conducted to ensure fairness and inclusivity, providing equal opportunities for all players.

Every sport has a different sporting code and associations, and identifying the relevant rules of the sport code and relevant association is critical. Community sports boards must adhere to gender equity principles by following the relevant sporting codes and association rules and this may impact on board policies and procedures. Training programs should be conducted to foster an inclusive and respectful environment, encouraging participation from all genders.

The values of the organisation as well as community expectation should be considered when ensuring the sport club respects cultural inclusivity. The organisation must define its core values and ensure these reflect community sentiment and play a leadership role in the community. Policies should reflect the values of the organisation, for example navigating where the sports club strikes a balance between winning and enjoyment and considering cultural sensitivities in uniforms and practices. Community engagement and feedback should be sought to ensure these values align with the expectations and needs of the community.

A complaints policy which is suitable for a sports club should include provisions for involving an independent party to ensure impartiality, especially when conflicts of interest may arise, for example, if complaints arise between players, players and coaches, and involving parents or carers. The policy must outline the process for lodging complaints, the role of the independent party, and the steps for resolution. Due to the community and family nature of sports clubs, transparency and confidentiality are sometimes challenging to maintain but are critically important to build trust and accountability.

Transparency is crucial in community sports governance, with players, parents/carers, volunteers and staff requiring access to all rules, codes of conduct, and by-laws. These documents should be readily available including online access and they should be written in a concise and clear way so everybody can understand them.

Community sports boards must have a comprehensive policy addressing all forms of bullying, including player-to-player, coach-to-player, and parent-to-coach bullying. The policy should outline preventive measures, reporting mechanisms, and disciplinary actions for bullying behaviours. Due to both the common occurrence and complexity of conflicts of interest in community sports clubs, bullying complaints can be complicated, requiring other policies to inform steps that are taken, including the conflict-of-interest policy.

A thorough health and safety policy for a community sports club should cover both physical and mental health aspects. The policy should outline the need for adequate first aid resources to be available during training and competitions. Guidelines should be in place for responding to injuries and emergencies, as well as for promoting psychological wellbeing of players, volunteers and staff. .

Ethics in community sport involves building and maintaining a culture of integrity and accountability that is trusted by members, players, volunteers, coachers, parents/carers and staff. Knowing that the age range of members and the diversity of roles involved in community sport, board members must prioritise transparency in decision-making, ensuring fairness in the allocation of resources and opportunities. Establishing and enforcing a code of conduct that emphasises respect and inclusivity can be a useful tool to guide behaviour both on and off the field. Perceived fairness and trust from the community towards the board and the leadership is pivotal for a healthy and thriving community club. Boards must be proactive in addressing ethical dilemmas including conflicts of interest and perceived favouritism, by implementing clear, unbiased policies.