Racial and Religious Tolerance Policy

Racial and Religious Tolerance Policy

Section 1
Commitment
1.1. The North Brunswick Junior Football Club is committed to an environment which
promotes racial and religious tolerance by prohibiting certain conduct and
providing a means of redress for victims of racial and religious vilification and/or
racial discrimination.
1.2. The Club is bound by the relevant state legislation and the Racial Discrimination
Act 1975 (Cth). This Policy is consistent with the Australian Football League’s own
Racial and Religious Tolerance Policy. This Policy is not in substitution of the
legislation.
1.3 The Club will ensure that this Policy is communicated to spectators and
participants of the Club. It will also ensure that participants of the Club receive
anti-racial and religious vilification and racial discrimination training on an annual
basis.
1.4 Nothing in this Policy prevents a person lodging a complaint in relation to racial
and religious vilification and/or racial discrimination under the legislation. In the
event a complaint is made under this policy the Club shall ensure that the parties
are informed of their rights.
Section 2
Prohibited Conduct
2.1 Racial and Religious Vilification
No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the League in the
course of carrying out his/her duties or functions as or incidental to being a
participant in the League shall engage in conduct that offends, humiliates,
intimidates, contempts, ridicules, incites, threatens, disparages, vilifies or insults
another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion, colour, descent or
national or ethnic origin.
2.2 Serious Racial and Religious Vilification
No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the Club in the course
of carrying out his/her duties of functions as or incidental to being a participant in
the Club shall intentionally engage in conduct that he/she knows Is likely to incite
hatred against another person, or threaten physical harm or incite hatred in others
to cause physical harm to a person or to a person’s property because of that
person’s race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.
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2.3 Racial and Religious discrimination
No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the Club in the course
of carrying out his/her duties or functions as or incidental to being a participant in
the Club shall engage in conduct that discriminates, directly or indirectly against
another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion, colour, descent or
national or ethnic origin.
2.4 Victimisation
2.4.1 No person in his/her capacity as a spectator or participant in the Club in the course
of carrying out his/her duties or functions as or incidental to being a participant in
the Club shall victimise another person.
2.4.2 A person will victimise another person (the victim) if:
(a) the person subjects or threatens to subject the victim to any detriment
because the victim (or a person associated with the victim) intends to or
has lodged a complaint in contravention of this Policy; or
(b) the person assists, requests, induces, encourages or authorises another
person to subject the victim to any detriment because the victim (or a
person associated with the victim) intends to or has lodged a complaint in
contravention of this Policy.
Section 3
Authorised Persons
3.1 The Club will appoint a Complaints Officer (the Club’s Complaints Officer) to
ensure that any breach of this Policy is responded to in an equitable and prompt
manner. The Club’s Complaints Officer shall be the individual who is acting as the
Secretary of the NBJFC.
3.2 The President of the Club (the President) is the senior decision-maker in the Club’s
Complaints Process. Therefore, should the President be absent for a significant
period, he/she must nominate a person to act on his/her behalf should the process
need to be enacted.
Section 4
Confidentiality and Records
4.1 Confidentiality must be maintained throughout the complaints process. All parties to
a complaint, the President (or Delegate), the Club’s Complaints Officer, any
witnesses and the Conciliator must all agree, in writing, to the maintenance of
confidentiality. No person involved in the complaints process shall publicly
comment on any aspect of the complaints process without the prior written
agreement of all parties.
4.2 The Club shall ensure that any documents relating to a complaint shall remain
confidential and be retained for 7 years from the date that the complaint is made.
Section 5
Inter club Breach of the Policy
In the event that it is alleged that a spectator or participant from another Club has
contravened this Policy:
5.1 an Umpire, spectator or participant of the Club may by 5.00pm on the first working
day following the day on which the contravention is alleged to have occurred,
lodge a complaint in writing with Complaint’s Officer of the Club;
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5.2 the Complaint’s Officer of the Club where the complaint was made shall subject to
the Club Senior Executive resolving that the claim has merit, by 5.00pm on the next
working day following the Club Senior Executive’s decision that the complaint was
lodged with the Club, lodge the complaint with the League’s Complaints Officer;
5.3 the Club’s Complaints Officer will take no further action once the complaint has
been lodged with the League unless otherwise instructed by the League’s
Complaints Officer.
Section 6
Intra Club Breach of the Policy
In the event that it is alleged that a participant of the Club has contravened this Policy an
umpire, spectator or participant may by 5.00pm on the first working day following the day
on which the contravention is alleged to have occurred, lodge a complaint in writing with
the Club’s Complaints Officer.
Section 7
Management of Intra Club Complaints
The Club’s Complaints Officer shall:
7.1 make every effort to ensure that:
7.1.1 confidentiality is maintained at all times during the complaints process and
that the outcome of the complaints process remains confidential;
7.1.2 any breach of confidentiality is referred to the Yarra Junior Football
League’s Tribunal no later than 5pm on the next working day following the
day that the breach was discovered;
7.2 inform the person alleged to have contravened the Policy (the respondent) of the
complaint and provide the respondent with an opportunity to respond to it;
7.3 inform only the President of the Club or Nominee, that a Complaint has been
received by the Complaints Officer;
7.4 obtain written statements from any witnesses identified by both parties to the
complaint;
7.5 where available, obtain any other evidence;
7.6 arrange for the complaint to be conciliated, by an independent conciliator agreed
upon by both parties;
7.7 take all steps necessary for the complaint to be conciliated within 5 working days
from the day on which the incident is alleged to have occurred;
7.8 refer the complaint to the League’s Tribunal:
7.8.1 when the complainant informs the Complaints Officer that the matter has
not been resolved through conciliation. The Complaints Officer will if
requested by the complainant, take all steps necessary for the complaint
to be referred to League’s Tribunal within 5 working days from when the
conciliation failed;
7.8.2 directly when a respondent has previously taken part in conciliation as a
respondent of a complaint;
7.8.3 when both the Club’s Complaints Officer and President have determined
that the complaint was lacking in substance and was made vexatiously;
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7.8.4 when both the Club’s Complaints Officer and President determine that
under the relevant sections of the state legislation the complaint could be
considered as “serious”, he/she will take all steps necessary for the
complaint to be referred to the League’s Tribunal within 5 working days
from the day on which the incident is alleged to have occurred;
7.9 ensure that any time limit referred to in this Policy may be extended by the Club if
in the opinion of the President of the Club it is just and equitable to do so;
7.10 ensure that where a matter is resolved by conciliation the only public statement that
shall be made shall be agreed to by both parties to the complaint and the Club’s
President and that the terms of any settlement are finalised to the satisfaction of
the complainant and respondent and signed by the parties and the conciliator.
Section 8
Club’s Liability
The Club may be liable for conduct engaged in by a participant where the participant is
found to have contravened this Policy and the Club is unable to establish that it took
reasonable precautions to prevent the participant from engaging in that conduct.
Section 9
Definitions
In this Policy-
“complaints process” means the procedure outlined in sections 6, 7 and 8 of this Policy.
“Club” means the North Brunswick Junior Football Club..
“engage in conduct” includes use of the internet or email to publish or transmit statements
or other material.
“League” means the Yarra Junior Football League.
“detriment” includes humiliation and denigration.
“discrimination” means for the purpose of this Policy, conduct based on a person’s race,
religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. Discrimination may be direct or indirect.
Direct discrimination means treating or proposing to treat another person less favourably on
the basis of a person’s race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. Indirect
discrimination means imposing or intending to impose a requirement that a person of a
particular race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin cannot comply with, but
which a higher proportion of people without that attribute (or with a different attribute)
can, when it is not reasonable in the circumstances to do so.
“participant” includes a player, director, officer, employee, volunteer to and agent of a
North Brunswick Junior Football Club that participates in the League.
“spectator” is a person that attends a football game or event conducted by a Club or the
League.
Section 10
Monitoring and Review of the Policy
The Policy will be monitored on an ongoing basis by the Club’s Senior Executive.
Section 11
Policy Commencement
This Policy was passed by the Club’s General Committee on 16th July 2013 and will take effect
from 17th July 2013.