Recruitment and Retention
Find support for your club in growing your disability inclusion profile.
Club
The first impression is always a lasting one and it starts with your club. You can make your website, social media pages, newsletter, committee reflect that you are an inclusive and welcoming club, with imagery and policies in place, to provide the player or parent with the confidence that you are a club for people with disability.
Region Football Manager
Reach out to your Regional Football contact and ask for their support. They may be running clinics around your area targeted towards people with disability, in schools, or at disability support services, and could provide support in promoting your program or club.
They can also connect you in with the state AFL affiliated body should you require additional support from their disability inclusion specialists.
Local Council
Local councils are a well-connected resource, where their expertise lie in connecting clubs with disability support services, grants, and volunteers in the area.
Most councils will have an Access Officer on staff and are the best person to engage with.
Sports Assemblies
Connect with your Sports Assembly should your area have one. They too play an important role in supporting the development and promotion of your program to the community.
In some situations, funding opportunities are made available to new programming initiatives.
Disability Sport and Support Services Providers
These services can benefit clubs in a huge range of areas, including player recruitment, marketing, volunteer recruitment and providing local expertise in the disability space.
In the early stages of planning, it should be prioritised to set up a relationship with the local Disability Support Services, with the aim of recruiting a staff member of theirs who can play a role in guiding your club on the players needs.
Age Dispensation Policy
The Age Dispensation Policy provides provisions for the dispensation of a player to participate in underage competitions where a disability, physical size and/or development considerations exist. Click here to view the National Age Dispensation Policy
Understanding misconceptions and unconscious bias
Examples how we might reframe the way we see people with disability and those with access needs. Click here to learn more about misconceptions and unconscious bias.
