Sport Integrity Australia has held its fourth annual law enforcement conference at the NSW Rugby League Centre of Excellence to address integrity threats facing sports.
The first conference under Sport Integrity Australia's recently launched Law Enforcement Partnership Program, the program expanded to bring together international and domestic experts to discuss, share, collaborate and engage on a range of sport integrity matters.
The Threats to Sport Integrity Law Enforcement Conference is an important annual commitment under Sport Integrity Australia's National Strategy for Information Sharing with Australian Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies.
Representatives from state and territory Police, Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, eSafety Commissioner, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, sporting organisations, industry partners and international partners came together and reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a coordinated and collaborative approach to combat criminality in sports.
Held over two days, the conference focussed on a range of areas threatening the integrity of sport including performance and image enhancing drugs, illicit drugs and online crime and corruption.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer Dr Sarah Benson said no single existing entity held all the intelligence, data, resources or capabilities to effectively address integrity threats by itself.
"Preserving the integrity of sport has become a growing concern for sports and law enforcement agencies here in Australia and internationally," Dr Benson said.
"Sport is global and like all crime types, the threats to sport do not stop at the border.
"We must continue to share information, intelligence and best practice, enabling us to protect sport and its participants both domestically and internationally.
Global experts including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) spoke to their ongoing partnership with Sport Integrity Australia and the importance of transnational relationships to safeguard and protect the integrity of sport from crime and corruption.
The event also served as a last official engagement for the outgoing Sport Integrity Australia Chief Executive Officer, David Sharpe.
Mr Sharpe commended the growth in international law enforcement cooperation dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of sporting competition for future generations.
"Protecting the integrity of sport is more than just ensuring our sports are safe, clean and fair today. It is an absolute must that we understand the vulnerabilities and work together to strengthen the sport integrity environment on the pathway to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games," Mr Sharpe said.
"I'm proud of everything we have achieved so far as an agency and these continued partnerships with law enforcement will only reinforce those efforts."
International representative Gunter Younger, Director of Intelligence and Investigations, WADA said collaboration between sport organisations and law enforcement is key to the fight against doping.
"Sport Integrity Australia with its law enforcement partners have set a global benchmark and we are looking forward to continuing to work with Sport Integrity Australia to strengthen partnerships in the Asia and Oceania region to achieve significant operational outcomes," said Mr Younger.
Earlier this year Sport Integrity Australia launched the Law Enforcement Partnership Program to ensure a proactive agency posture in preventing integrity threats to sports where a criminal nexus exists.
The program will maximise opportunities to share information and collaborate on activities to prevent and respond to integrity threats and position Sport Integrity Australia to influence local and global efforts to protect sports through sport and law enforcement partnerships.
The program will bring focus, coordination and commitment to the diverse range of initiatives identified at the domestic and international level, in partnership with law enforcement.
