National Policies

Tennis Australia’s aspiration is that the whole sport of tennis in Australia, at all levels and at all environments, is recognised for a reputation of unwavering commitment to integrity.

Every aspect of tennis should be safe, welcoming and inclusive for all. Tennis should also achieve fair and honest sporting performances and outcomes so that the public has confidence in the results.

The National Policies listed below outline the rules and standards of behaviour expected of the tennis community to support this vision. The role of the Tennis Australia Integrity and Compliance Unit is to manage and administer the National Policies.

Tennis Australia takes a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse and any form of unlawful discrimination or harassment, including but not limited to homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ageism and ableism.

If you’re concerned, speak up.

We take all reports relating to our National Policies very seriously and encourage members of the tennis community to voice any genuine concerns about conduct that may have breached the National Policies. If you wish to make a report to the Tennis Australia Integrity and Compliance Unit (TAICU), you may contact us via:

• email at [email protected],
• our 24/7 Stopline number on 1800 11 SAFE (1800 117 233), or
• you can complete our online reporting form at TA (tennis.com.au).

Tennis Australia and TAICU are allies of all children and young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and members of the LGBTQI+ community.

If you have experienced historical abuse, we encourage you to contact us for a confidential discussion about options for managing your case. We understand that reflecting on your experiences may bring up difficult memories and emotions and that recalling what happened can be challenging. Support is available to you and we encourage you to speak to us to find out more.

This is our pinnacle policy designed to keep the sport safe and inclusive for all. It covers our most serious behavioural issues such as discrimination, abuse, harassment and racism and applies at all times when you are doing anything connected to tennis. This policy also covers our screening processes and complaint-handling process for alleged breaches of this and other Tennis Australia National Policies (i.e. Safeguarding Children Code of Conduct and Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine).

The Tennis Australia Safeguarding Children Code of Conduct has been developed specifically to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of all children participating in Australian tennis programs, activities, events or services, and to outline the clear behaviour standards required of personnel when dealing with children participating in Australian tennis.

This covers all things related to children within tennis along with reinforcing our commitment to child safety and all of the standards in our Member Protection Policy. It provides guidance around common interactions with children including transport and overnight stays.

This policy is designed to keep the competitive play environment (i.e. tournaments, competitions, leagues, etc.) safe and fair. It covers behaviours both on and off the court (i.e., ball abuse, spectator misconduct) and applies to all players, coaches, parents/guardians and spectators participating in or attending a tennis tournament or competition in Australia.

The Code of Behaviour: Child-friendly version is available in English, Arabic, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese.

The TACP is in place to maintain the integrity of tennis and protect against corruption and betting-related offences, including any efforts to impact improperly the results of any match. It is the responsibility of players, coaches, officials and all ‘covered persons’ to be aware of and comply with the TACP rules.

The Tennis Australia Anti-Doping Policy is the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy, effective from 1 January 2021, and found here on the Sport Integrity Australia website. All members, participants and non-participants (including players, coaches, support personnel and administrators) in the sport of tennis are bound by this policy.

Please be aware that the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy has been varied such that all references in the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy to the National Sports Tribunal (NST) are taken to be references to the NST or the Tennis Australia Tribunal.

This policy is designed to capture off-court conduct and behaviour that does not fall under any other tennis national policy.

Tennis Australia encourages the use of social media and recognises and appreciates the value of social media as a tool for the Australian tennis community to engage, communicate, learn, share and drive innovation. As social media is shared in the public realm, it is important that members of the tennis community conduct themselves appropriately while using social media and ensure that the public reputation of TA, Australian Tennis Organisations (ATOs) and other TA stakeholders is protected.

Tennis Australia is committed to the protection of your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles, set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

The Tennis Whistleblower Program has been developed to encourage disclosure of any wrongdoings by providing convenient and safe disclosure mechanisms and protection for people who do so. We are thankful for those in our community that speak up and report wrongdoings, as it allows us to better safeguard our tennis community.

This policy has been developed to protect athletes from harm caused by the improper use of medicines, supplements and illegal drugs. The policy provides a framework to address and deter the use and distribution of illegal drugs in sport, and to ensure that medications and injections are only given to athletes by qualified people and as part of appropriate medical treatment.

The policy is designed to protect competitive tennis players from injury and illness that may result by playing tennis in extreme weather conditions.

Tennis Australia provides a number of national online systems for the benefit of Australian tennis organisations and tennis players. These systems include, among others: My Tennis, Competition Planner, Tournament Planner and Active Network payment gateway, Bounce and other systems provided or organised by Tennis Australia. The conditions of use associated with these online systems is set out in the Online Systems – Conditions of Use.

The Third Party Code of Conduct describes the standards of conduct expected of parties that we engage with outside of Tennis Australia. It provides a clear framework of guiding principles to ensure that our external stakeholders are aware of the manner and spirit in which they are expected to behave and conduct themselves. It is fundamental to our culture and provides an important bridge between our values, our policies and our legal obligations.

This document is not a National Policy, rather best-practice guidelines, developed to assist the tennis community to implement safe practices when there is a need for children and young people to travel and/or stay overnight to participate in an event or activity, such as a tennis training camp, tournament, or competition. These guidelines set out the various considerations involved when children and young people travel or require overnight accommodation, including consent, supervision, screening, risk assessments and more.

If you have any issues, queries or concerns, or would like any further information in relation to the National Policies, please contact us on [email protected].