The Whitehorse Pioneers Football Club - The Racial and Religious Tolerance Policy.
Section 1 Commitment
1.1 The Whitehorse Pioneers Football Club is committed to an environment which promotes racial and
religious tolerance by prohibiting certain conduct and providing a means of redress for victims of
racial and religious vilification and/or racial discrimination.
1.2 The Club is bound by the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic), the Racial Discrimination
Act 1975 (Cth), and the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) (the legislation). This Policy is
consistent with the legislation and the Australian Football League's Rule 30 and the Victorian
Football League's Rule 7.3. This Policy is not in substitution of the legislation.
1.3 The Club will ensure that this Policy is communicated to spectators and participants of the Club. It
will also ensure that participants of the Club receive anti-racial and religious vilification and racial
discrimination training on an annual basis.
1.4 Nothing in this Policy prevents a person lodging a complaint in relation to racial and religious
vilification and/or racial discrimination under the legislation.
Section 3 Prohibited Conduct
3.1 Racial and Religious Vilification
No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the League in the course of carrying
out his/her duties or functions as or incidental to being a participant in the League shall engage in
conduct that offends, humiliates, intimidates, contempts, ridicules, incites, (consider adding a
comment specifying what needs to be incited?) threatens, disparages, vilifies or insults another
person on the basis of that person's race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.
3.2 Serious Racial and Religious Vilification
No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the Club in the course of carrying out
his/her duties of functions as or incidental to being a participant in the Club shall intentionally
engage in conduct that he/she knows is likely to incite hatred against another person, or threaten
physical harm or incite hatred in others to cause physical harm to a person or to a person's property
because of that person's race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.
3.3 Racial and Religious Discrimination
No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the Club in the course of carrying out
his/her duties or functions as or incidental to being a participant in the Club shall engage in
conduct that discriminates, directly or indirectly against another person on the basis of that
person's race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.
3.4 Victimisation
3.4.1 No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the Club in the course of
carrying out his/her duties or functions as or incidental to being a participant in the Club
shall victimise another person.
3.4.2 A person will victimise another person (the victim) if:
(a) the person subjects or threatens to subject the victim to any detriment because the victim
(or a person associated with the victim) intends to or has lodged a complaint in
contravention of this Policy; or
(b) the person assists, requests, induces, encourages or authorises another person to subject
the victim to any detriment because the victim (or a person associated with the victim)
intends to or has lodged a complaint in contravention of this Policy.
Section 4 Authorised Persons
4.1 The Club will appoint a Complaints Officer (the Club’s Complaints Officer) to ensure that any
breach of this Policy is responded to in an equitable and prompt manner.
4.2 The President of the Club (the President) is the senior decision-maker in the Club's Complaints
Process. Therefore, should the President be absent for a significant period, he/she must nominate a
person to act on his/her behalf should the process need to be enacted.
Section 5 Confidentiality and Records
5.1 Confidentiality must be maintained throughout the complaints process. All parties to a complaint, the
President (or Delegate), the Club’s Complaints Officer, any witnesses and the Conciliator must all
agree, in writing, to the maintenance of confidentiality. No person involved in the complaints
process shall publicly comment on any aspect of the complaints process without the prior written
agreement of all parties.
5.2 The Club shall ensure that any documents relating to a complaint shall remain confidential and be
retained for 7 years from the date that the complaint is made.
Section 6 Inter club Breach of the Policy
In the event that it is alleged that a spectator or participant from another Club has contravened this Policy:
6.1 an Umpire, spectator or participant of the Club may by 5.00pm on the first working day following
the day on which the contravention is alleged to have occurred, lodge a complaint in writing with
the Complaint’s Officer of the Club;
6.2 the Complaint's Officer of the Club where the complaint was made shall, by 5.00pm on the next
working day following the day that the complaint was lodged with the Club, lodge the complaint
with the League's Complaints Officer;
6.3 the Club's Complaints Officer will take no further action once the complaint has been lodged with
the League unless otherwise instructed by the League's Complaints Officer.
Section 7 Intra Club Breach of the Policy
In the event that it is alleged that a participant of the Club has contravened this Policy an Umpire, spectator
or participant may, by 5.00pm on the first working day following the day on which the contravention is
alleged to have occurred, lodge a complaint in writing with the Club’s Complaints Officer.
Section 8 Management of Intra Club Complaints
The Club's Complaints Officer shall:
8.1 make every effort to ensure that:
8.1.1 confidentiality is maintained at all times during the complaints process and that the
outcome of the complaints process remains confidential;
8.1.2 any breach of confidentiality is referred to the Eastern Football League’s Tribunal
no later than 5pm on the next working day following the day that the breach was
discovered;
8.2 inform the person alleged to have contravened the Policy (the respondent) of the complaint and
provide the respondent with an opportunity to respond to it;
8.3 inform only the President of the Club or Nominee, that a Complaint has been received by the
Complaints Officer;
8.4 obtain written statements from any witnesses identified by both parties to the complaint;
8.5 where available, obtain any other evidence;
8.6 arrange for the complaint to be conciliated, by an independent conciliator agreed upon by both
parties;
8.7 take all steps necessary for the complaint to be conciliated within 5 working days
from the day on which the incident is alleged to have occurred;
8.8 refer the complaint to the League's Tribunal:
8.8.1 when the complainant informs the Complaints Officer that the matter has not been
resolved through conciliation. The Complaints Officer will if requested by the
complainant, take all steps necessary for the complaint to be referred to League's Tribunal
within 5 working days from when the conciliation failed;
8.8.2 directly when a respondent has previously taken part in conciliation as a respondent of a
complaint;
8.8.3 when both the Club's Complaints Officer and President have determined that the
complaint was lacking in substance and was made vexatiously;
8.8.4 when both the Club's Complaints Officer and President determine that under sections 24
or 25 of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic) the complaint could be
considered as "serious", he/she will take all steps necessary for the complaint to be
referred to the League's Tribunal within 5 working days from the day on which the
incident is alleged to have occurred;
8.9 ensure that any time limit referred to in this Policy may be extended by the Club if in the opinion
of the President of the Club it is just and equitable to do so;
8.10 ensure that where a matter is resolved by conciliation the only public statement that shall be made
shall be agreed to by both parties to the complaint and the Club's President and that the terms of
any settlement are finalised to the satisfaction of the complainant and respondent and signed by the
parties and the conciliator.
Section 9 Club's Liability
The Club may be vicariously liable for conduct engaged in by a participant which if found to have
contravened this Policy, if the Club is unable to establish that it took reasonable precautions to prevent the
participant from engaging in that conduct.
Section 10 Monitoring and Review of the Policy
The Policy will be monitored on an ongoing basis by the Club's Committee.
Section 11 Policy Commencement
This Policy was passed by Club's Committee on 22 May 2012 and will take effect immediately.
http://www.aflvic.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/Documents/AFLV_Web_2010/3._Getting_Involved/Community/Regulations_and_Policies/Club_Sample_-Racial_and_Religious_Tolerence_Policy.pdf
Last Modified on 23/05/2012 11:46