Policies

• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of others.
• Be fair, considerate and honest in all dealing with others.
• Be professional in, and accept responsibility for, your actions.
• Make a commitment to providing quality service.
• Be aware of, and maintain an uncompromising adhesion to, Basketball Queensland’s standards, rules, regulations and policies.
• Operate within the rules of the sport including national and international guidelines which govern Basketball Queensland, the member associations and the affiliated clubs.
• Do not use your involvement with Basketball Queensland, a member association or an affiliated club to promote your own beliefs, behaviours or practices where these are inconsistent with those of Basketball Queensland, a member association or an affiliated club.
• Demonstrate a high degree of individual responsibility especially when dealing with persons under 18 years of age, as your words and actions are an example.
• Avoid unaccompanied and unobserved activities with persons under 18 years of age, wherever possible.
• Refrain from any form of harassment of others.
• Refrain from any behaviour that may bring the sport of basketball, Basketball Queensland, a member association or an affiliated club into disrepute.
• Provide a safe environment for the conduct of the basketball activities.
• Show concern and caution towards others who may be sick or injured.
• Be a positive role model.
• Understand the repercussions if you breach, or are aware of any breaches of, this code of behaviour.

• Involve young people in planning, leadership, evaluation and decision making related to the activity.
• Give all young people equal opportunities to participate.
• Create pathways for young people to participate in sport not just as a player but as a coach, referee, administrator etc.
• Ensure that rules, equipment, length of games and training schedules are modified to suit the age, ability and maturity level of young players.
• Provide quality supervision and instruction for junior players.
• Remember that young people participate for their enjoyment and benefit. Do not overemphasise awards.
• Help coaches and officials highlight appropriate behaviour and skill development, and help improve the standards of coaching and officiating.
• Ensure that everyone involved in junior sport emphasises fair play, and not winning at all costs.
• Give a code of behaviour sheet to spectators, officials, parents, coaches, players and the media, and encourage them to follow it.
• Remember, you set an example. Your behaviour and comments should be positive and supportive.
• Support implementation of the National Junior Sport Policy.
• Make it clear that abusing young people in any way is unacceptable and will result in disciplinary action.
• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every young person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion

• Remember that young people participate for pleasure and winning is only part of the fun.
• Never ridicule or yell at a young player for making a mistake or not coming first.
• Be reasonable in your demands on players’ time, energy and enthusiasm.
• Operate within the rules and spirit of your sport and teach your players to do the same.
• Ensure that the time players spend with you is a positive experience. All young people are deserving of equal attention and opportunities.
• Avoid overplaying the talented players; the just-average need and deserve equal time.
• Ensure that equipment and facilities meet safety standards and are appropriate to the age and ability of all players.
• Display control, respect and professionalism to all involved with the sport. This includes opponents, coaches, officials, administrators, the media, parents and spectators. Encourage your players to do the same.
• Show concern and caution toward sick and injured players. Follow the advice of a physician when determining whether an injured player is ready to recommence training or competition.
• Obtain appropriate qualifications and keep up to date with the latest coaching practices and the principles of growth and development of young people.
• Any physical contact with a young person should be appropriate to the situation and necessary for the player’s skill development.
• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every young person.

• Play by the rules.
• Never argue with an official. If you disagree, have your captain, coach or manager approach the official during a break or after the competition.
• Control your temper. Verbal abuse of officials and sledging other players, deliberately distracting or provoking an opponent are not acceptable or permitted behaviours in any sport.
• Work equally hard for yourself and/or your team. Your team’s performance will benefit, so will you.
• Be a good sport. Applaud all good plays whether they are made by your team or the opposition.
• Treat all participants in your sport as you like to be treated. Do not bully or take unfair advantage of another competitor.
• Cooperate with your coach, team-mates and opponents. Without them there would be no competition.
• Participate for your own enjoyment and benefit, not just to please parents and coaches.
• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of all participants regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.

• Modify rules and regulations to match the skill levels and needs of young people.
• Compliment and encourage all participants.
• Be consistent, objective and courteous when making decisions.
• Condemn unsporting behaviour and promote respect for all opponents.
• Emphasise the spirit of the game rather than the errors.
• Encourage and promote rule changes which will make participation more enjoyable.
• Be a good sport yourself. Actions speak louder than words.
• Keep up to date with the latest trends in officiating and the principles of growth and development of young people.
• Remember, you set an example. Your behaviour and comments should be positive and supportive.
• Place the safety and welfare of the participants above all else.
• Give all young people a ‘fair go’ regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.

• Remember that children participate in sport for their enjoyment, not yours.
• Encourage children to participate, do not force them.
• Focus on the child’s efforts and performance rather than winning or losing.
• Encourage children always to play according to the rules and to settle disagreements without resorting to hostility or violence.
• Never ridicule or yell at a child for making a mistake or losing a competition.
• Remember that children learn best by example. Appreciate good performances and skilful plays by all participants.
• Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from sporting activities.
• Respect officials’ decisions and teach children to do likewise.
• Show appreciation for volunteer coaches, officials and administrators.
• Without them, your child could not participate.
• Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every young person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.

• Remember that children play sport for their enjoyment, not yours.
• Applaud good performance and efforts from each team.
• Congratulate all participants upon their performance regardless of the games outcome.
• Respect officials’ decisions and teach children to do the same.
• Never ridicule or scold a child for making a mistake. Positive comments are motivational.
• Condemn the use of violence in any form be it by spectators, coaches, officials or players.
• Encourage players to follow the rules and the officials decisions.
• Do not use foul language or harass players, coaches or officials.

To assist us in helping keep our referees in our game and in a supportive environment the following code of conduct will be applied to our officials in the Under 8 to Under 12 games.

• (a) Coaches are to refrain from questioning the officials on Under 8 to Under 12 games inclusive. They can communicate with score table. Issues must be directed to the Referee Supervisor or Court Controller. The Referee Supervisor or Court Controller will not stop the game immediately.
• (b) Spectators are not permitted to communicate in any manner to referees in Under 8 to Under 12 games inclusive. Any breaches is an automatic removal from the game.
• (c) Players are not permitted to communicate in any manner to referees in Under 8 to Under 12 games inclusive. Any breaches require immediate action by the teams coach to remove a player from the court.
• (d) Two breaches of any of the above rules at any time will be an automatically enforced 2 week playing/coaching/spectating suspension from Mackay Basketball.

Blue Card Services administers the blue card system—Queensland’s Working with Children Check.

All children in Queensland have a right to be safe and protected from harm. The blue card system regulates activities which are essential to children’s lives. These include child care, education, sport, cultural activities and foster care. Blue Card Services check and monitor people who work in these industries and help organisations to create safe environments for children.

The blue card system is made up of 3 parts: screening, ongoing monitoring and risk management strategies.

The first part of the blue card system is the screening which is also known as the blue card check. This is to check if you are eligible to work with children.

Find out if you need a blue card before you apply.

The blue card check is more than a police check, it looks at:

• a charge or conviction for any offence in Australia, even if no conviction was recorded (this includes spent convictions, pending and non-conviction charges)
• child protection prohibition orders (both respondents and subjects to the application)
• disqualification orders
• reporting obligations under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 or Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003
• disciplinary information from certain organisations (this includes information about teachers, child care licensees and foster carers)
• police investigative information relating to allegations of serious child-related sexual offences, even if no charges were laid.

If your application is approved we will give you a blue card.

If your application is refused, we will not give you a blue card and you will not be able to work or volunteer with children. Before we make this decision, we may ask you for your side of the story through a submission.

Find out more about the submissions process.

We get updates from the Queensland Police Service each day. These updates let us know if there has been a change to an applicant or card holder’s police information. This means we can take immediate steps to protect children from harm.

We also monitor organisations and business operators to make sure they are complying with their obligations under the blue card system.

Find out what happens if there is a change to your police information.

Child-related organisations and people who run a child-related business need to have a child and youth risk management strategy. This strategy is to make sure your organisation is a safe place for children.

Blue Card Services have resources available to help create a child and youth risk management strategy.

Find out more about risk management.