As Australia looks ahead to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, significant investment and attention continues to be directed towards high-performance pathways and elite athlete development.

At the same time, Australian sport continues to confront the experiences of athletes who came through earlier generations of those systems.

One important part of that process is now approaching a significant deadline.

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Restorative Program, established to recognise and respond to former Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship athletes who experienced harm through inappropriate practices or abuse arising from their time at the AIS between 1981 and 2013, is due to close to new applications on 31 December 2026.

The approaching closure of the Program is an important reminder that, while Australian sport has changed considerably, the effects of past high-performance environments have not necessarily ended for the athletes who experienced them.

Assistance with the ASC Restorative Program

For former AIS scholarship athletes considering the ASC Restorative Program, our firm can assist with understanding the Program, considering eligibility and preparing an application.

We can also assist participants to collate relevant historical, medical and supporting material, prepare accounts of their experiences and the impact those experiences have had, and provide guidance throughout the restorative engagement process.

Where appropriate, we can also advise on how participation in the Restorative Program may interact with any other legal rights or options available to the individual.

The ASC Restorative Program is separate from pursuing a civil claim and participation does not, of itself, prevent a former athlete from pursuing legal action. Each person’s circumstances are different, and the appropriate pathway will depend upon their individual experiences, objectives and the applicable legal framework.

Looking beyond sporting success

Over recent decades, the way we understand athlete welfare has changed significantly.

Mental health, safeguarding and athlete wellbeing are now recognised as important components of high-performance sport. Sporting organisations increasingly have access to psychologists, welfare services, safeguarding frameworks and formal mechanisms through which athletes can raise concerns.

This represents an important cultural shift.

Success is no longer measured solely by medals, records and podium finishes. Increasingly, there is recognition of another important question:

What did sporting success cost the people who achieved it?

Independent reviews and athlete advocacy have brought greater attention to harmful practices that existed within some elite sporting environments, including psychological abuse, public humiliation, body shaming, unsafe coaching practices, excessive training demands and failures to adequately safeguard young athletes.

Experiences reported across a number of Australian sports have contributed to a broader discussion about athlete welfare and the responsibilities of sporting organisations towards the people placed in their care.

For some former athletes, the contrast between today’s approach and the environment in which they trained can be stark.

Practices that would now raise significant welfare concerns were, in some environments, normalised as simply part of becoming an elite athlete. Athletes may have experienced intimidation, excessive control over food and weight, pressure to continue training while injured, public criticism or humiliation, or coaching practices that placed performance ahead of physical and psychological wellbeing.

The imbalance of power within elite sporting environments can also be significant.

Young athletes may depend upon coaches and sporting organisations not only for training, but for selection, scholarships, accommodation, education, financial assistance and the opportunity to progress within their sport. For athletes who entered high-performance programs as children or young adults, there may have been little ability to challenge the conduct of those in authority or even recognise at the time that particular practices were inappropriate or harmful.

The hidden injuries of elite sport

Not every sporting injury is visible.

For some former athletes, the consequences of their experiences continued long after they stopped competing.

Those consequences can include:

• anxiety and depression;
• eating disorders and disordered eating;
• post-traumatic stress symptoms;
• chronic low self-esteem;
• difficulties with trust and relationships;
• ongoing physical problems associated with training or competing through injury; and
• impacts upon education, employment and career progression.

Importantly, the significance of these experiences may not have been apparent when an athlete first left their sport.

Elite athletes are often conditioned to tolerate discomfort, follow instructions, push through injury and prioritise performance. Behaviours which may later be recognised as harmful can therefore have been regarded at the time as normal, necessary or simply part of achieving at the highest level.

For some former athletes, it may only be many years later — sometimes after obtaining treatment, speaking with other former athletes or reflecting upon their experiences from an adult perspective — that they begin to understand the relationship between those experiences and difficulties they have experienced later in life.

The ASC Restorative Program

The ASC Restorative Program represents one response to the experiences of former athletes.

The Program was established to recognise and respond to former AIS scholarship athletes who experienced harm through inappropriate practices or abuse arising from their time at the AIS between 1981 and 2013.

Eligible participants may be able to access confidential counselling and wellbeing support and participate in a restorative engagement process, which may include meeting or corresponding with a senior ASC representative.

Eligible participants may also receive a one-off financial payment intended as a symbolic acknowledgement of their experience and its impact.

An important aspect of the Program is that participation does not, of itself, prevent a former athlete from pursuing legal action. Participants are not required to release the ASC from legal liability as a condition of participating in the Program.

The Program should therefore be understood as a restorative process rather than necessarily an alternative to every other avenue that might be available to a former athlete.

The opportunity to make a new application is, however, drawing to a close.  Applications are currently due to close at midnight on 31 December 2026.

Applications received or already underway by that date are expected to continue to be progressed through the Program.

For former AIS scholarship athletes who have been considering whether to participate, the approaching deadline provides an important reason to consider their position before the opportunity to make a new application closes.

A changing legal landscape

The ASC Restorative Program is not the only avenue that may be relevant to the experiences of former athletes.

As the understanding of psychological injury, safeguarding and institutional responsibility has developed, some former athletes have also sought advice about whether the organisations responsible for their training, supervision and welfare met the legal obligations owed to them at the time.

The legal position will depend heavily upon the individual circumstances.

Sporting organisations, institutes, schools, clubs, coaches, government bodies and other organisations involved in an athlete’s development may, depending upon the circumstances, have had responsibilities concerning reasonable care, supervision, training practices and athlete safety.

Where an athlete experienced physical or psychological injury associated with abusive coaching practices, unsafe training methods, excessive training, inappropriate weight-control practices, inadequate supervision or other institutional failures, questions can arise about whether reasonable steps should have been taken to prevent that harm.

However, the existence of a difficult or harmful sporting experience does not automatically mean that a legal claim exists.

Relevant considerations can include:

• the identity of the organisation responsible for the athlete at the relevant time;
• whether the athlete was a child or adult;
• the nature and duration of the conduct;
• the relationship between the athlete, coach and institution;
• what was known or reasonably foreseeable at the time;
• the nature of any physical or psychological injury;
• the available documentary and witness evidence;
• whether the organisation is legally responsible for the conduct of particular individuals; and
• the limitation laws applying in the relevant State or Territory.

These issues can become particularly complex where the events occurred many years or decades ago.

Psychological injury and delayed recognition

One important feature of historical claims is that psychological injury is not always recognised when the relevant events occur.

An athlete may leave a sporting program experiencing anxiety, difficulties with food, loss of confidence, relationship problems or other symptoms without understanding those difficulties as the consequences of what occurred during their sporting career.

A formal diagnosis may occur much later.

The legal consequences of delayed diagnosis or delayed recognition differ between jurisdictions and depend upon the particular circumstances. This means that the passage of time should not necessarily be assumed to answer the question of whether any avenue remains available.

Equally, each matter requires careful assessment of the relevant evidence and applicable legislation.

Restorative processes and legal remedies serve different purposes

Restorative programs and legal claims should not necessarily be viewed as interchangeable.

A restorative process may provide acknowledgement, an opportunity to have an experience recognised, counselling support and engagement directly with the responsible institution.

A legal claim, where available, serves a different purpose and may involve consideration of legal responsibility and compensation for injury and loss.

For some former athletes, acknowledgement may be their primary objective. Others may wish to understand whether their experiences have broader legal implications. Some may choose to do both.

The appropriate pathway will depend upon the individual and their circumstances.

Beyond the podium

Australia’s ambitions for Brisbane 2032 provide an opportunity to continue building a high-performance sporting system in which athlete welfare and sporting excellence are not competing objectives.

Protecting the next generation of athletes is an essential part of that work.

So too is recognising those who came before them.

For former athletes who continue to live with the consequences of harmful sporting environments, institutional reform cannot undo what occurred. But acknowledgement, appropriate support, restorative processes and, where appropriate, accountability can all form part of the response.

With the ASC Restorative Program scheduled to close to new applications on 31 December 2026, former AIS scholarship athletes who believe they may fall within the Program should consider obtaining information about it before the deadline.

More broadly, the changing conversation around elite sport provides an opportunity to recognise that achievement and harm can sometimes exist side by side.

The medals, records and performances form one part of Australia’s sporting history.  The experiences of the athletes behind those achievements form another.

Looking beyond the podium means not only celebrating what Australian athletes achieved, but recognising what some endured in order to get there.