Netball Australia (NA) and the sport’s elite players are expecting to announce within days a new pay deal that would end months of negotiations, following a positive weekend of discussions.
The agreement – which has largely been negotiated – is set to increase pay for players and provide a revenue share component that incentivises athletes to market themselves to potential sponsors.
On Monday, lawyers representing the parties were exchanging documents setting out the terms of the arrangement which covers Super Netball players and runs until 2026.
NA and the Australian Netball Players’ Association (ANPA) declined to comment until the process is complete, however the breakthrough follows months of negotiations which culminated in a dramatic stand-off last week after both parties went public.
ANPA president and Melbourne Vixens president Jo Weston was brought to tears in a press conference on Thursday after describing the toll the dispute had taken on players.
The netballers received support from some of Australia’s most prominent athletes including the Matildas, who went on strike in 2015 as they chased better pay and conditions.
The netballers’ push for a share of sponsorship revenue above what NA forecasts is a major component to the deal, as is retaining control for athletes over use of their image.
There is set to be a rise of close to 11% on spending on Super Netball rosters over the three-year deal. The minimum wage for individual players will increase by 10% in 2024, taking it to $44,000. There will be subsequent rises of 3% in 2025 and in 2026.
Unlike in other sports, netballers are paid each week over a full year, not just during the season. During traditional working hours, the players have hours blocked out so they can continue work and studying while playing at the top level. Those protections remain in place under the new agreement.
The deal also includes backpay from 1 October, when contracts expired under the previous agreement and players were left without pay.
ANPA is also be expected to undergo governance reform.
The anticipated announcement this week will allow the contracting period for next season’s Super Netball competition – which is likely to start in April – to commence.
Last week, in the middle of the dispute, the federal government pulled almost $18m in funding previously earmarked for the sport after it deemed NA’s submission and business case was not “sufficiently robust”.
NA is allowed to re-pitch for the funds, but now faces competition from other sports under a competitive process.
Former Diamond Liz Ellis said there needed to be accountability for losing the funding.
“I‘m really concerned that that money has gone missing, and I really would like to know what sort of questions are being asked of the leadership of the sport as to how that happened, why that happened and what they’re going to do about,” Ellis said on radio station RN.
On Friday, chief executive Kelly Ryan confirmed NA would lodge another submission to government.
NA has been transparent about its financial challenges, and reported $4.2m of debt in June.
