Code of Conduct & Etiquette Policy

Swimming Australia National Integrity Framework

A very important initiative is the Club’s adoption of Swimming Australia’s National Integrity Framework. This applies to all Activities organised or authorised by Swimming Australia or a Member Organisation.

This Framework aims at increasing the awareness of athletes and parents as to behavioural standards which are expected from its members. These standards are aimed at making the sport of swimming a fun, enjoyable and safe place for all to participate in.

Our Club in adopting this Framework is committed to making our swim afternoon and other social events even more:-

safe and enjoyable for all
inclusive, and
a higher priority so as to ensure the safety and well being of its athletes and young children participating in these activities

Being a Club member automatically binds you to abide by the aims of this Framework. A copy of this Framework can be found on our Club website.

This Framework is designed to make the sport of swimming fun and more enjoyable for all to participate in, this also remains one of the primary objectives of our Club.

The Framework also provides for the confidential handling of any issues or concerns that members may experience in above areas. Mr David Goff or Mrs Deb Hogan are the Club’s Member Protection Officers and are equipped to assist members in this area.

Our Club:-

takes the safety and wellbeing of its members seriously, and
has a nil tolerance for any form of bullying, harassment or discrimination of its members by others while participating in Club activities

Parents are encouraged to discuss and explain this with their children.

During the season if any parent or athlete witnesses or is subject to any of the above unacceptable behaviour traits they are strongly encouraged to report their concerns.

These concerns again should be reported to either David or Deb. All reports will be treated with the utmost confidentiality

The following information / links / factsheets are taken from the Swimming Australia National Integrity Framework website – available here

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL INTEGRITY FRAMEWORK?

Integrity in sport means that athletes, supporters and fans can participate and celebrate sport, confident in the knowledge that they are part of a safe, ethical and inclusive environment.

Any threats to the integrity of sport (such as competition-manipulation, doping, and behaviours that impact people’s positive experience of sport, such as discrimination or abuse) are taken seriously by Swimming Australia.

Commitment statement

Swimming Australia and its Member Organisations remain fully committed to the protection of children, young people and all members in our sport and encourage swimming clubs throughout Australia to familiarise themselves with the policies and to raise the issue of child safety to everyone involved in their club.

We are committed to providing children and young people with positive and nurturing experiences and will strive to ensure that children and young people are protected from harm.

We aim to ensure that swimming is a safe, fair and inclusive environment for all participants.

Policies

The National Integrity Framework (NIF) is a set of rules that all members of our sport need to follow when it comes to their behaviour and conduct in swimming including obligations to report misconduct. Those rules are contained in the following policies (available below):

Safeguarding Children & Young People Policy
Member Protection Policy
Improper Use of Drugs and Medicine Policy
Competition Manipulation & Sports Gambling Policy
Complaints, Disputes & Discipline Policy (CDDP)
Code of Conduct

These policies will be in force from 1 January 2024.

The NIF allows complaints to be made either to Sport Integrity Australia (an independent government body) or to the Swimming Australia integrity team. The type of complaint will determine where the complaint should go.

Types of complaints and contacts	Types of complaints and contacts
SPORT INTEGRITY AUSTRALIA	SWIMMING AUSTRALIA
– Complaints about child abuse including sexual, psychological, physical, verbal abuse – Member protection where complaints are based on characteristics including race, disability, sex, religion or age.	– Misuse of drugs and medicines – Sports betting & race fixing – Breach of code of conduct eg responsible consumption of alcohol, use of social media, positive role model etc – Member protection where complaints are about bullying, harassment, intimidation