DownloadPerformance review
Output 1.2 Education, communication and advocacy services – Advocacy
Provision of support and advice to Government
ASDA and ASADA provided significant briefing to the Minister for the Arts and Sport on legislative and other issues connected with the establishment of ASADA. This advice was provided both directly to the Minister and through the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
Following a major stakeholder forum in July 2005, ASDA provided detailed advice to the Minister on the proposed 2006 WADA Prohibited List of Substances and Methods.
In June 2006 ASADA facilitated a major stakeholder forum on the World Anti-Doping Code. This forum included representatives from NSOs (including the Australian Football League, the National Rugby League, Cricket Australia, the Australian Rugby Union, Swimming Australia, Athletics Australia and the Australian Baseball Federation); Players ‘and athletes’ Associations; the Australian and New Zealand Sports Lawyers Association; the Australian Sports Commissioin and National Measurement Institute. The outcomes from the forum were utilised to inform the Australian Government’s response to WADA’s call for stakeholder comments on the Code.
The Authority supported Government by providing accurate and timely information in the form of Ministerial Briefings and Authority initiated Minutes on a range of issues. In 2005–06 seven Minutes and one Brief were provided to the Government.
The Authority responded to five Ministerial requests for information and provided four Question Time Briefings over the reporting period.
Research
The Centre for Behavioural Studies at Curtin University, in collaboration with ASDA, clarified the outcomes of its study of athlete attitudes and behaviour towards doping in sport. The study’s initial findings, in particular, on the proportion of athletes who may be contemplating doping, have informed the development of the ASADA Strategic Plan and business model.
Australian Anti-Doping Research Panel (ADRP)
In 2005–06 ASADA continued to be a member of the ADRP, together with representatives from the ASC, DCITA and independent experts. The ADRP was established in 2001 to oversee the distribution of anti-doping research funding from the ‘Governments Backing Australia’s Sporting Ability’ strategy.
Full details regarding the ADRP are online at www.dcita.gov.au/sport.
AIS Ethics Committee
ASADA fulfilled its role as an anti-doping consultant with the AIS Ethics Committee. The Authority provided technical advice on a range of anti-doping matters and assisted in ensuring AIS research projects were compliant with anti-doping requirements.
Supplements Information Scheme
In 2003 the issue of supplement use in sport was under scrutiny due to a number athletes claiming their adverse analytical findings were due to inadvertent consumption of prohibited substances allegedly through supplement products. At the time there was little information available to athletes regarding supplements and their possible effect on testing positive to prohibited substances.
In view of this, ASDA, NMI and the AIS established the Supplements Information Scheme. The Scheme was designed to provide practical information to athletes regarding the doping safety of supplement products. This involved independent testing of products by NMI for prohibited substances, after which the manufacturer could decide to offer a legally binding guarantee of the products’ safety directly to athletes. The products participating would be listed on the ASDA website.
At the time, Australia was one of the few countries that had taken any steps towards providing information to athletes. Since 2003 more interest has been shown in this issue by the wider international sporting community. This culminated in a meeting hosted by WADA and the International Olympic Committee in Leipzig, Germany in September 2005 at which participants agreed to take an international approach to the provision of information on supplements to athletes. ASADA believes that this approach will be able to meet the needs of athletes for comprehensive information about supplements.
In late 2005 ASADA undertook a review of the Supplements Information Scheme. The review has now been completed. Its key finding was that the Scheme, as it is currently structured, does not meet the outcomes that were anticipated at the time of its establishment. ASADA has therefore discontinued the Scheme in favour of using its resources to assist with the international focus on the issue.
The Supplements Information Scheme was discontinued from March 2006 and the website listing of supplements that have undergone testing have been removed. Manufacturers are still encouraged to provide a written guarantee to athletes as to the purity of their supplement products.
ASADA thanks the AIS and NMI as well as manufacturers and athletes for their participation in the Scheme. We look forward to the ongoing development of a solution to this issue at the international level.
Anti-doping assessment process
With the establishment of ASADA and the ASADA legislation, a review of the anti-doping assessment process for NSOs was commenced. One immediate outcome of the review was the development of a model anti-doping policy template for NSOs. This template is expected to be issued early in 2006-07. The anti-doping assessment review is ongoing and will be finalised in 2006–07.
International Obligations
ASADA is committed to strengthening the global effort against doping so that Australian athletes are able to participate in fair competition internationally. ASADA continues to uphold this philosophy.
During 2005–06 ASADA:
- Hosted a workshop in July 2005 on the draft 2006 World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited List. The workshop brought together key stakeholders from the Oceania region to help inform the Australian Government’s feedback to WADA on the draft List.
- Hosted the Australian Stakeholder Forum workshop in June 2006 on the WADA Code Review as part of the WADA Code consultation process.
- Presented at the Portugal International Symposium with the ACS on Australia’s Strategy against Trafficking in Sport in July 2005.
- Attended the ANADO Athlete Whereabouts workshop in Barbados in November 2005.
- Attended the ANADO workshop in Lausanne in March 2006.
- Acted as an Independent Observer at the Turin 2006 Winter Paralympic Games.
- Participated in the WADA Outreach program at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
ASADA’s responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping Code
ASADA continued to provide significant input to the ongoing development of the World Anti-Doping Program (WADP) by WADA. The WADP consists of three levels:
Level 1: The World Anti-Doping Code (the Code)
Level 2: International Standards
Level 3: Guidelines and Models of Best Practice.
During 2005–06, the Code and the four International Standards continued to be implemented and referred to by International Anti-Doping Organisations in the initiation and resolution of anti-doping matters. ASADA continued to be committed to the implementation of the WADP.
In 2005–06 ASADA provided a contribution to the development of the following WADA initiatives:
- Therapeutic Use Exemption guidelines
- Breath alcohol testing guidelines
- Data protection and privacy guidelines
- Prohibited List
- Compliance and monitoring guidelines
- International supplements information framework
- Oceania Regional Anti-Doping Organisation
- Athlete whereabouts policies and procedures
International Anti-Doping Arrangement (IADA)
The Australian Government is a signatory to IADA together with the governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and South Africa.
IADA was formed in 1992 to pursue international harmonisation through the development and implementation of best practice national anti-doping programs. Membership consists of Government and NADO representatives from each signatory.
International agreements
The IADA multi-lateral government agreement provides for reciprocal testing arrangements between signatories. Additionally, the Authority supported and maintained a number of international bilateral agreements with various international bodies during 2005-06.
These agreements provide ASADA with additional opportunities to test foreign athletes in Australia and to have Australian athletes tested overseas.
A full list of international agreements is at Appendix E.
Association of National Anti-Doping Organisations (ANADO)
ANADO is a member-based organisation that was established in 2002 to improve the capacity of National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADO’s) and their staff through regular communication, problem identification and resolution, exchanges of information and enhanced professional development opportunities in the field of anti-doping in sport.
ASADA has played an instrumental leadership role in ANADO, through representation on the Executive Committee and significant roles at the Barbados workshop in November 2005 and the Lausanne workshop in March 2006.
ANADO provides a forum to raise, discuss and determine solutions for strategic and technical issues specific to NADOs such as ASADA.
The membership of ANADO comprises 46 Members and seven Observers, representing all five Olympic Regions.
ANADO-Anti-Doping Services
Former Anti-Doping International was incorporated into ANADO on 1 January 2005, and is now referred to as ANADOs Anti-Doping Services (ADS).
The mission of ANADO-ADS is to build a global response to doping in sport by:
- increasing worldwide capacity for high quality activities
- facilitating harmonisation through Code implementation
- maximising sport’s investment in its future.
ASADA continued to be committed to the principles of ANADO-ADS throughout 2005–06.
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Convention Against Doping in Sport
The UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sport is the first truly global anti-doping convention and is the means by which Governments commit to the principles of the Code. ASDA and ASADA provided advice and input to inform the Australian Government’s position on the Convention.
The Convention was tabled in Federal Parliament on 9 November 2005. Following a public hearing into the Convention by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, the Executive Council approved Australia’s accession to the Convention. On 17 January 2006 the UNESCO Director-General accepted Australia’s instrument of accession.
As at 22 June 2006, 13 countries had formally ratified/acceded to the Convention – Sweden, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, Monaco, Iceland, the Cook Islands, Nigeria, Latvia, Nauru and the United Kingdom.
The Convention will come into force on the first day of the month one month after 30 countries have ratified it.
Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention
The Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention (COEADC) came into effect in 1989 and the Australian Government was the first non-European signatory to it.
The COEADC seeks to reduce and, eventually, eliminate doping in sport at all levels by establishing binding rules to harmonise anti-doping regulations. Prior to the establishment of the UNESCO Convention it was the only international treaty or convention which specifically addressed doping in sport.
The COEADC, which is overseen by a Monitoring Group, includes measures to:
- restrict trafficking in doping substances
- increase drug testing and improve doping control procedures
- support education and information programs
- ensure that penalties imposed on offenders are effective.
In November 2005, Australia completed a five year commitment to the Council of Europe to design and manage a database for the collection of statistics and information from the 44 member states. The database aims to ensure compliance by member states with the terms of the convention.
Regional leadership in Oceania
The Oceania Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) began as a pilot project in October 2004 and was the first RADO to be established as part of WADA’s Anti-Doping Development Program. Since the beginning of 2005, RADO’s have been established throughout the world.
The first formal meeting of the Oceania RADO Board, hosted by the Oceania National Olympic Committee at their headquarters in Suva Fiji, was held in June 2006. The meeting was jointly opened by David Howman, CEO of WADA and Dr Robin Mitchell, Secretary General of the Oceania National Olympic Committees and Chairperson of the Oceania RADO Board.
ASADA is an inaugural Board Member of the RADO together with representatives of the Governments and National Olympic Committees of New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
The Authority attended an earlier meeting of the RADO in November 2005 in New Zealand. The meetings in New Zealand and Fiji focussed on establishing the terms of reference, membership, charter and setting the strategic direction of the Organisation.
Regional leadership in Asia
ASADA conducted Regional Doping Control training for the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee.
In 2009, Chinese Taipei will be hosting two major sporting events, the International World Games and the Taipei Deaflympics.
ASADA provided training for Doping Control Officials on:
- WADA Code and its requirements
- WADA International Standard for Testing
- WADA Guideline for Out-of-Competition Testing
- WADA Guideline for Urine Sample Collection
- WADA Guideline for Sample Collection Personnel: Recruitment, Training, Accreditation and Reaccreditation.
ASADA assisted the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee in the development of a Field Services Manual.
2006 Prohibited List Workshop
In July 2005, ASDA hosted a workshop to discuss the WADA draft 2006 Prohibited List. The workshop brought together anti-doping experts from within Australia and the Oceania region. Attendees included representatives from the Australian Olympic Committee, Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Institute of Sport, the National Measurement Institute, the Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee and the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts.
Speakers at the workshop provided presentations on their area of expertise relating to the draft 2006 Prohibited List. Discussion followed each topic to further explore the implications of including various substances on the List.
Valuable inputs were made during the discussion and several key recommendations were developed. A report on the workshop was provided to the Minister for the Arts and Sport to support the preparation of an Australian Government response to WADA on the 2006 Draft Prohibited List.