Some constituents raised some concerns about the steroid testing of Australian Defence Force athletes.
At Senate Estimates I asked Sports Integrity Australia whether they have received any notifications from the ADF in relation to steroid testing.
Transcript
Senator ROBERTS: My questions go to sports integrity, Mr Sharpe. Could you briefly explain the rules around testing for athletes, as in who is eligible and who is required?
Mr Sharpe : They’re quite broad. Our focus is on international- and national-level athletes from a testing perspective. We can test lower, but our focus and our policy is that where there’s an absence of education at a lower level, in the first instance, we wouldn’t be testing unless there was specific intelligence that would suggest we need to take a facilitator or someone out of sport.
Senator ROBERTS: Your focus is on international level?
Mr Sharpe : And on a national level.
Senator ROBERTS: Can you explain why athletes that are tested are prohibited from private testing?
Mr Sharpe : They’re not prohibited from private testing.
Senator ROBERTS: Can they go and test themselves?
Mr Sharpe : Absolutely. Sports do have illicit policies, where they all conduct testing around that, which is separate to our agencies. But athletes, if they felt they needed to, would not be prevented from doing that.
Senator ROBERTS: What is the efficacy of hair follicle testing for steroids?
Mr Sharpe : We don’t do hair follicle testing.
Senator ROBERTS: Because it’s not efficacious?
Mr Sharpe : We just don’t do it because we follow the world Anti-Doping Code and it’s not a part of the code.
Senator ROBERTS: Are you aware of the Defence Force exemption from their testing regimes for competitive athletes in the Australian Defence Force?
Mr Sharpe : No, I’m not aware.
Senator ROBERTS: Should Defence be making you aware of any suspicions of doping?
Mr Sharpe : I think that’s a matter for Defence. We’d certainly be willing to work with Defence if it related to a sporting event that was under an anti-doping policy.
Senator ROBERTS: I take it they have not made you aware of any of that.
Mr Sharpe : No, they have not.
Senator ROBERTS: How would you action it if they did make you aware?
Mr Sharpe : It would depend on whether the sport is a registered sport in this country and under an anti-doping policy—whether they participate in those sports or not.
Senator ROBERTS: Thank you. That’s the end of my questions.
