Appellant v Basketball WA (with Basketball Australia)

The Appellant is a minor, who participates in basketball as a player and an official. The Respondent is Basketball WA. The referring National Sporting Organisation is Basketball Australia.

These proceedings follow an appeal of a decision made by a Hearings Tribunal convened by Basketball WA, who found that the Appellant had breached the Member Protection Policy.

On 27 February 2025, in accordance with the Basketball Australia Complaints Policy (Complaints Policy), the Appellant, via his Authorised Representative, appealed the decision to the National Sports Tribunal (NST) and the dispute was heard by a panel of three NST Members in the Appeals Division.

The appeal grounds were set out in the Complaints Policy.

The matter was expedited as the Appellant sought to participate in finals matches commencing on 18 March 2025. The parties filed written submissions in accordance with the procedural timetable and there was a Hearing on 14 March 2025.

The NST Members provided a Partial Determination on 17 March 2025.

The Partial Determination upheld the appeal and the appellant was able to participate in the finals matches. The NST Members also directed the parties to file further submissions in response to a question related to the interpretation of the Complaints Policy.

On 20 May 2025, the NST Members provided their Determination, setting out the reasons for upholding the appeal, including that the Hearings Tribunal had failed to abide by the procedure in the Complaints Policy and such failure resulted in the Appellant being denied natural justice. Additionally, a reasonable apprehension of bias arose from the private contact between members of the Hearings Tribunal and the Representative of the Respondent prior to the hearing. This was a failure contrary to the requirement of natural justice and procedural fairness.

The sanctions imposed on the Appellant were therefore removed.