Tribunal changes for 2023

Following an update from AFL Victoria, the Ballarat Football Netball League Independent Tribunal has announced, and adopted new procedures for both reporting and assessing judicial incidents.

Competition Manager for the BFNL Matt Newton, said the new process will ensure the BFNL, and other competitions are consistent in how incidents are assessed.

“This should reduce the number of cases referred to the tribunal,” he said.

“Players with good records can also now receive a ‘discount’ for accepting an early guilty plea which was not available previously.”

Players who have been “reported” will now have their alleged incident classified that includes either base sanctions, tribunal referrals or deductions for early guilty pleas. The new processes will ensure greater consistency across competitions and has been implemented with the full support of the Ballarat FNL, Maryborough Castlemaine District FNL, BFUA and clubs.