ASC Restorative Program
Reparation and redress for AIS Scholarship Athletes
The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Restorative Program has been established to recognise and respond to former Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship athletes who experienced harm from inappropriate practices or abuse as a result of their time at the AIS.
The ASC is committed to providing meaningful acknowledgement, care and support to these athletes.
Insights and learnings from the ASC Restorative Program (the Program) will inform future practices both internally and within Australian sport.
The Program will be managed within the ASC, but independently of the AIS.
The Program is confidential and any information you provide will be treated in accordance with the ASC-Restorative-Program-Privacy-Collection-Notice-July-2022.pdf.
Contact Us
Our support team is available to answer any questions you may have:
- 1300 345 616
- restorative@ausport.gov.au
- 9am-4:30pm AEST, Monday-Friday (excluding national and ACT public holidays)
Eligibility
The program is available to AIS scholarship athletes from 1981 to 2013 who experienced harm from inappropriate practices or abuse as a result of their time at the AIS.
If you are unsure about your eligibility, we encourage you to contact us for a confidential discussion about the application process.
Program overview
The Program provides you the opportunity to seek restoration relating to past practices or abuse from your time as an AIS scholarship athlete.
Participating in the Program does not prevent you from pursuing legal action at any time.
The Program consists of three core elements:
- access to counselling and wellbeing services via the Mental Health Referral Network, and/or
- participation in restorative engagement, such as a meeting with a senior ASC representative, and/or
- a one-off financial payment (for applicants eligible for a payment).
You will be assigned a dedicated case coordinator who will stay connected with you throughout the process.
You can choose how and when to engage with the Program elements.
If you aren’t sure about applying now, please contact us so you have time to prepare if you choose to apply at a later date.
We understand that accessing the Program may bring up difficult memories and emotions and that recalling what happened can be challenging. Support is available to you.
Additional information
Applying to the Program
The application process
Step 1: Complete the initial application form (Part One). This form asks some simple questions about you, your contact details and your time at the AIS.
Step 2: You will be contacted by a member of the Restorative Program Team who will outline the steps involved for accessing the Program and explain the support options we can provide. You will be assigned a dedicated Case Coordinator who will stay connected with you throughout the Program.
Step 3: You will be asked to complete a more detailed application form (Part Two) to tell us about your experience at the AIS and the impacts of this. If required, we can assist you to complete this step.
Step 4: Once we receive Part Two of your application, an assessment process will be undertaken.
Step 5: Once your application has been assessed, your dedicated Case Coordinator will contact you to talk through the outcome of this and what Program elements you are eligible for.
You can withdraw or put your engagement with the Program on hold at any time.
Help to apply
Once you contact the Program, you will be assigned a dedicated Case Coordinator who will answer your questions and explain the process and possible outcomes. They will stay in contact with you and can connect you to the Mental Health Referral Network for specialised support services.
The Program support team is available to guide you through this process and talk about any concerns you may have and/or to help you complete an application.
Phone: 1300 345 616 Email: restorative@ausport.gov.au
Withdrawing from the Program
You choose how and when to engage with the Program. You can withdraw, request to slow down or put your matter on hold at any time. Our aim is to support you through the process. Please raise any concerns with your dedicated Case Coordinator.
You can still access support services even if you withdraw from the Program.
Program timeframe
Participation in the Program can take from 6 to 12 months and the total time for each person will vary.
How long does the process take?
There are 5 stages in the ASC Restorative Program. These stages and the timeframes are outlined in the 36969_Restorative-Program-fact-sheet.pdf.
You have the opportunity to choose how and when to engage with the Program elements.
You can withdraw from, or put on hold your involvement with the Program at any stage.
Information you will need to supply
Stage 1 intake form:
In the Stage 1 intake form, some details are required to help us determine your eligibility to participate in the Program:
- full name
- date of birth
- AIS scholarship program (sport)
- dates you were at the AIS
- confirmation that you will be reporting a matter that is connected to the AIS
- consent to the ASC accessing and data matching your personal details
- contact details
Proof of Identity:
After completing the Stage 1 intake form, you will be assigned a dedicated Case Coordinator who will contact you to discuss the next steps. You will also be directed to a third party identification provider to confirm your identity.
This identity check helps us maintain confidentiality and protect individuals engaging with the Program.
Stage 2 intake form:
Once your identity is validated and eligibility to participate in the program is determined, you will be provided a second form, where you will be asked to provide information about your experience. Please note: You are not required to provide any evidence or documentation to validate your report.
Program elements
Participation in the Program provides an opportunity for you to raise concerns, be heard and be supported through meaningful outcomes that are designed to enable your recovery and improved wellbeing.
Access to counselling and wellbeing services
You will be eligible to access counselling and related support services to enable your recovery and improve your wellbeing.
The AIS Mental Health Referral Network (MHRN) is a group of expert psychologists and mental health clinicians available to provide confidential and specialised support to you.
Restorative engagement
The restorative engagement process provides you the opportunity to engage with a senior representative from the ASC. These engagements occur after careful preparation by a specially trained facilitator who will work with you to understand what aspects of your experience you would like to discuss with the senior representative and what potential outcomes you hope to achieve. The engagement between you and the ASC representative involves sharing your story and experiences and the representative responding to this. These engagements may be in the form of a meeting, letter, other form of exchange or to visit a particular site.
Financial payment
As a participant in the Program, you may be eligible for a one-off financial payment. Eligibility for a payment is a separate determination to eligibility to participate in the Program. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The Program is not a compensation scheme. Any payment is intended as a symbolic acknowledgement of an athlete’s experience and its impact, not as compensation.
A payment is not intended to affect any legal liability. An athlete receiving a payment under the Program will not be required to release the ASC from any legal liability and similarly the payment will not constitute an admission of legal liability by the ASC.
Privacy information
How will my privacy be maintained?
TheASC-Restorative-Program-Privacy-Collection-Notice-July-2022.pdfexplains how the ASC manages the information that you may provide when engaging with the Program. If you are unsure of any information in this notice, please contact the Program restorative@ausport.gov.au or the ASC Privacy Office privacy@ausport.gov.au.
We will treat all personal information in accordance with the ASC Privacy Policy.
We will not share any personal information with any other agency or organisation outside of the Program without your consent, except when a disclosure is required under law or to protect the safety of an individual or others. Where a disclosure is required, the ASC will notify you of this. You can discuss any privacy concerns with your Case Coordinator at any time.
What will you do with my information?
The Program aims to demonstrate our leadership in institutional accountability, through meaningful engagement with eligible athletes and provide outcomes that will assist you to address the impacts of your experience.
The ASC is committed to improving culture and governance both internally and within Australian sport and will use the insights and learnings from the program to inform future practices.
Frequently asked questions
The ASC determines both your eligibility to apply for the Program and the support that you may receive, including any financial payment.
The ASC is committed to making consistent and fair assessments of every application.
If you are unsure about your eligibility, we encourage you to contact us for a confidential discussion about the application process.
Restorative engagement is a process of formal engagement which provides athletes with an opportunity to speak to their experience and its impact (at the time and now) with a senior leader of the ASC.
You can talk to your Case Coordinator for more information about this outcome to assist you to decide if this is something you would like to do.
Support team contact details:
Phone: 1300 345 616 Email: restorative@ausport.gov.au
Yes. The Program will be managed within the ASC, but independently of the AIS, with a dedicated support team to help you through all stages of the process.
The Program support team is available to guide you through this process and talk about any concerns you may have:
Phone: 1300 345 616 Email: restorative@ausport.gov.au
The program is confidential and any information you provide will be treated in accordance with the
We will not share any personal information with any other agency or organisation without your consent, except when a disclosure is required by law or to protect the safety of an individual or others. Where a disclosure is required, the ASC will notify you of this. You can discuss any privacy concerns with your Case Coordinator at any time.
The ASC is committed to leading child and athlete safe practices for our sites and operations. See the ___SQUIZ_FILE_ID___:1061011 (File:___SQUIZ_FILE_ID___:1061011) for more information
If you are not eligible to apply for the Program you can still share your story through AIS Be Heard. AIS Be Heard is where anyone in Australian high performance sport, past or present, can feel safe to share their experiences and seek support. It’s free, independent and completely confidential. There are no obligations.
Web: https://www.ais.gov.au/aisbe-heard Phone: 1800 565 965 (Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm AEST) Email: aisbeheard@coreintegrity.com.au
If you are unsure about your eligibility, we encourage you to contact us for a confidential discussion about the application process.
The___SQUIZ_FILE_ID___:1062282 (File:___SQUIZ_FILE_ID___:1062282)___SQUIZ_FILE_ID___:1062282 (File:___SQUIZ_FILE_ID___:1062282) explains how the ASC will manage the information that you provide when engaging with the Program.
We will not share any personal information with any other agency or organisation without your express consent, except when a disclosure is required by law or to protect the safety of an individual or others. Where a disclosure is required, the ASC will notify you of this. You can discuss any privacy concerns with your Case Coordinator at any time.
Privacy and confidentiality will be always maintained by the Program, and a sporting organisation (including NSOs or state/territory institutes/academies of sport) will not be made aware of any individual cases that come through the Program, nor will they be asked to provide any information. If an individual requests for another organisation to be involved in the restorative engagement process, the other organisation may be notified of the request and supported to participate.
The ASC will collate and share broader learnings and insights from the Program with our key stakeholders, including NSOs and the National Institute Network.
The National Redress Scheme is specifically for people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse before 1 July 2018 and were under the age of 18 years at the time. This Program is in addition to the National Redress Scheme, and is available to former AIS Scholarship holders between 1981-2013 who experienced harm from inappropriate practices or abuse as a result of their time at the AIS.