Making a splash on integrity – Swimming Australia’s innovative approach to safeguarding members
Managing the National Integrity Framework (NIF) across sports are hardworking and dedicated National Integrity Managers.
In this integrity blog, we tell the story of two dedicated integrity officers at Swimming Australia who are making a splash when it come to safeguarding their members, in particular, preparations for Swimming Australia’s inaugural National Integrity Month in November.
In March 2022, the Swimming Australia Board adopted the NIF which came into effect on 1 June 2022.
Under its constitution, all policies are binding on its member organisations, ensuring that the NIF applies throughout the swimming ecosystem.
Swimming Australia has worked closely with Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) to develop resources specific to swimming to assist its members (clubs, participants, coaches, volunteers and technical officials) to adhere to the rules set out in the NIF.
The organisation’s policy intent is clear. Swimming Australia has a zero-tolerance policy to harm, abuse and/or neglect of children and young people in any form.
Lydia Dowse and Scott Elliott are two dedicated Swimming Australia team members who look after integrity, complaints and compliance.
Lydia is Swimming Australia’s National Integrity Manager and Scott is the Complaints and Compliance Manager. The pair work to support 800 clubs who together have more than 80,000 members.
The remit of the pair’s work is large, covering all aspects of integrity: safeguarding, member protection, anti-doping, competition manipulation and sport gambling, and general code of conduct matters.
Ensuring they can reach everyone, from those at the grassroots from remote country clubs and larger metropolitan clubs to those within our high-performance space, is work they find both challenging and rewarding.
Lydia has been with Swimming Australia for seven years and is a former sports lawyer, while Scott is two years in and was formerly an intelligence analyst and investigator. Coming from diverse professional backgrounds gives them different perspectives which they see as an advantage when resolving problems and conflicts.
Lydia said her role has broadened a great deal since commencing, moving from safe sport to the full gamut of integrity. However, it’s a role she’s passionate about.
“It’s inspiring to be part of a 130-year success story in sport,” Lydia said.
“Swimming is such an iconic sport in Australia.
“If I reflect on the way that our successful Olympic and Paralympic athletes presented themselves to the media in Paris, they showed great sportsmanship and honoured the spirit of Olympism; those swimmers deserve to be supported by a broader team that is invested in and has their best interests at heart.”
Likewise, Scott said that coaches play an important role from community through to high performance.
“This role is an opportunity for me to be involved in positive reform,” Scott said.
“It’s about supporting and enabling club committees, coaches and key stakeholders to understand their role in making our sport safe. Our focus is on continual improvement in integrity and governance.”
Lydia and Scott regard good governance as the cornerstone of integrity and compliance.
Swimming Australia has both an Integrity and Ethics Committee on its Board, and a National Integrity Committee comprising Member Organisations.
“This provides a shared sense of purpose and direction to ensure that we are aligned on our strategic vision,” said Lydia.
As one of the larger National Sporting Organisations, Lydia and Scott’s work with state and territory swimming organisations is key in filtering information down to clubs across the country and their members.
Swimming Australia has recorded an increase in calls requesting help as clubs gain greater awareness of the NIF.
“We’re well aware that clubs are run by volunteers; the people who are the backbone of our sport,” Scott said.
“We do a lot of afterhours work including presentations to accommodate those volunteers who we know have day jobs as well.”
Swimming Australia National Integrity Month
An innovative new approach by Swimming Australia will see November named National Integrity Month for the Australian swimming community.
With the support of a Safeguarding in Sport Continuous Improvement Program grant from Sport Integrity Australia, the team at Swimming Australia will highlight the importance of safe sport throughout the month.
Sport should be a safe and fair place at all levels and Swimming Australia will leverage the acronym FISH to educate the wider swimming community the values of:
Fairness | Integrity | Safety | Happiness
Lydia said a culture of integrity and accountability improve effectiveness.
“It also generates a respectful, enjoyable and positive setting in which to participate at all levels of swimming.
“Good governance with good intentions is the hallmark of our department – and integrity is our core passion from grassroots to high performance.”
Lydia and Scott are also working on a ‘Safe Sport Registry’ which will allow swimming clubs across the country to receive safe sport endorsement from Swimming Australia.
Information will be provided to clubs about what good governance looks like along with good governance criteria. Those clubs who meet the criteria will receive endorsement.
The registry is a way of not only creating awareness about integrity but will also be an accountability tool.
“It will become a way for members to find out if their club meets the fundamentals of good governance, for example, if their coaches are officially accredited and have completed all the necessary working with children and young people checks,” Scott said.
"It’s another important step forward in Swimming Australia’s implementation of the NIF. It creates transparency and consistency that builds trust and confidence in our sport.
“We’re here to help. We want to work with our community.
“There’s only two of us, we need the support of our community to create positive change, and all play our role in protecting our participants and the sport.”
Top tips in implementing the NIF from Lydia and Scott
- Have connection with and accessibility to stakeholders.
- Be resolution-focussed but also understand that there’s more than one way to resolve an issue.
- Good governance is the pillar of a stable and successful sport.
- Know your sport and the biggest risks/threats to your sport.
For more information about National Integrity Month visit the Swimming Australia website.
Article first published as part of the feature ‘Dedicated to the integrity cause’ in Issue 18 of Sport Integrity Matters magazine.