Senate
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment (Sport Integrity Australia) Bill 2019
Addendum to Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Minister for Youth and Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck)This addendum responds to concerns raised by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills in Scrutiny Digest No. 8, dated 13 November 2019 and in Scrutiny Digest No. 10, dated 5 December 2019.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
SCHEDULE 1 - MAIN AMENDMENTS
Item 53: After subsection 78(1)
1) After the end of the first sentence - add the following text:
This is intended to promote the frank and open provision of advice by the Advisory Council to the Sport Integrity Australia Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
While the Advisory Council will not be permitted to provide advice relating to a particular individual or to a particular investigation, inevitably, advice provided by the Advisory Council is likely to mention individuals or refer to incidents involving individuals who are capable of being identified. This will include, for example, individuals who may be, or have been, the subject of an investigation of threats to sports integrity.
In the event the Advisory Council's advice becomes publicly known, there is a risk a person mentioned in the advice might institute civil proceedings, for example for defamation, against one or more members of the Advisory Council. This is likely to inhibit the frank and open provision of advice by the Advisory Council to the CEO and, in turn, deprive Sport Integrity Australia of the benefit of the advice and experience of the Advisory Council members. Where Advisory Council members have been exercising their functions in good faith, they should not be exposed to proceedings aimed at frustrating their work and the work of Sport Integrity Australia more generally.