Disability law explained

It is unlawful to exclude a person from a sporting activity on the basis of a person’s disability. This includes participation as a coach, official or administrator, as well as selection and participation as a player.

There are exceptions to this, however, if:

• a person is not reasonably capable of performing actions reasonably required in relation to the sporting activity
• people who participate in the sporting activity are selected by a method which is reasonable on the basis of relevant skills and abilities
• a sporting activity is conducted only for persons who have a particular disability and the person does not have that disability.

It is also unlawful to exclude a person from a sporting activity on the basis of their association with a person with disability or to harass a relative or associate of a person with disability.

A sporting organisation may also be vicariously liable if people representing the organisation (e.g., coaches, board members, managers, officials, etc.) behave unlawfully in the course of their duties. The sporting organisation would need to show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the unlawful act, (e.g., establishing codes of conduct, policies/procedures and offering education and training) to avoid liability.