Netball Victoria and a community league are at loggerheads over the decision to ban two transgender players from a local women’s netball competition this week.
The saga has drawn the ire of peak LGBTQ+ and human rights groups, who say the mishandling has exposed the players to a torrent of abuse and harassment.
Transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey says local leagues do not receive the proper support to handle such complex issues. Credit: Gallo Images/Netball World Cup 2023
The Riddell District Football Netball League banned the two Melton Central players from competing in the 2025 season of a women’s competition following complaints made by opposing clubs about the players’ strength and stamina.
The Australian Human Rights Commission and Australian Sports Commission developed a national framework in 2019 that set the standard for how sports organisations should approach transgender and gender diverse inclusion at the grassroots level.
It outlines a process organisations should follow when considering bans, including consultation with relevant groups and assessing evidence in line with legal human rights obligations.
A Riddell league spokesperson said the decision was made with legal advice and factored in prior cases when making the decision.
Australian Institute of Sport transgender and gender diverse guidelines
If a sporting organisation seeks to specifically exclude an individual from a “competitive sporting activity” by relying on the exemption, then it is advisable for it to consider:
• Consulting with the relevant national or state sporting organisation
• Consulting with the relevant player association
• Ensuring that it has an established, clear, written and publicly available policy (prior to seeking to rely on the exemption) which states: how it will assess the application of the exemption; who will make the assessment; what evidence will be used for this assessment, as well as the other factors on which the assessment will be based
• Ensuring that any assessment is undertaken in a timely manner so that the individual is not unnecessarily disadvantaged
• Providing the individual with an opportunity to respond to any proposal to exclude them based on the exemption
• Providing the individual with written reasons for any decision to exclude them
• Providing the individual with an opportunity to seek a review of a decision to exclude them.
“We consulted all clubs and acted on multiple complaints from multiple clubs,” they said, placing blame for the controversy on the state netball body for failing to respond to their concerns.
“We first raised the issue with Netball Victoria on April 9th. We then met with NV on April 15th, posed further questions to NV on April 17th. The latest development from NV was correspondence on May 8th that they were assigning an ‘external investigator’ to assist with our concerns.
“That external investigator to our knowledge has still yet to be appointed or make contact with us. The issues that we raised on April 9th are yet to be addressed.”
Christine Granger, chief executive of LGBTQ+ organisation Proud2Play, said it appeared the league had failed to follow guidelines developed by the Australian Institute of Sport.
Proud2Play has a long-standing partnership with Netball Victoria and helped the state netball body develop its transgender inclusion policy.
“The decision by the RDFNL to exclude two trans athletes from the 2025 netball season based on perceived differences in physique and stamina sets a deeply concerning precedent. [The guidelines] clearly outline that exclusions must be based on transparent, evidence-based processes — not assumptions,” Granger said.
“These guidelines call on sporting organisations to prioritise inclusion and participation, especially in community settings, and only consider exemptions in very specific and justified circumstances. The decision to rely on Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act appears to lack the rigour and transparency recommended in these national standards.”
Netball Victoria refused to respond to detailed questions about the league’s handling of the cases but, through a spokesperson, said it had held discussions with the league over several weeks “aimed at finding a solution in the interests of the welfare of all participants”.
“This is a complex issue, which is why Netball Victoria announced that it would undertake a comprehensive review to speak to all parties and consider the concerns that had been raised,” they said.
Two sources aware of the ongoing investigation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the league had enforced the ban on the players before the Netball Victoria-appointed investigator had completed their review.
Trans Justice Project director Jackie Turner said the ban should be investigated.
“Netball Victoria can’t allow their members and players to be subject to these kinds of bullying tactics,” she said.
Transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey said local leagues could be ill-equipped at dealing with such complex matters without support.
“When competitions are dealing with [these sorts of issues]for the first time, they often mishandle it,” Mouncey said. “But by not following the proper processes, it gives people [whose aim is to inflict harm on transgender people] the opportunity to abuse the system.”
Other LGTBQ+ and human rights groups voiced concern on Friday for the safety of the two players, one of whom was the subject of prominent media coverage.
Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown expressed concern that one of the players had been publicly identified.
“Such publicity can lead to doxxing, threats and intimidation, which takes an incredible emotional toll and has previously forced other trans players to take protective legal action,” she said.
With Michael Gleeson
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