Commonwealth Numbered Regulations

AUSTRALIAN SPORTS DRUG AGENCY REGULATIONS 1999 - NOTES

Contents

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Reader's guide
Reader's guide

Aim of the guide

The aim of this guide is to help you to understand the Australian Sports Drug Agency Regulations 1999 (the Regulations). However, the guide is not part of the Regulations and has no legal force.

Definitions

Some of the words and phrases used in the guide and the Regulations are defined in the Australian Sports Drug Agency Act 1990 (the Act) and some are defined in regulations 3 and 4.

Words and expressions used in the Regulations that are defined in the Act have the same meaning in the Regulations as they do in the Act (see Acts Interpretation Act 1901, s 46 (1) (a)). For example, subsection 2 (1) of the Act contains definitions of Agency, Commission, competitor, drug testing scheme, negative test result, positive test result, sample and scheduled drug or doping method.

Background to the Regulations

The Regulations replace the Australian Sports Drug Agency Regulations (as amended) which were made in 1990.

Overview of the drug testing legislative scheme

Part 3 of the Act is about drug testing schemes. Subsection 11 (1) of the Act (which is in Part 3 of the Act) provides that the Regulations may formulate one or more drug testing schemes. There is a comprehensive definition of drug testing scheme in subsection 11 (2) of the Act.

The Regulations set out some of the important details of a drug testing scheme called Scheme A in accordance with Part 3 of the Act. Scheme A applies to all competitors, within the meaning of the Act. However, there is scope in the Act for other drug testing schemes (that may apply to competitors in particular sports, for example) to be formulated in the future.

The Regulations also deal with other matters relating to drug testing in accordance with other parts of the Act. Under the Regulations, the Agency may ask competitors to give bodily samples and, if asked for a sample, a competitor must give the sample requested except in particular circumstances set out in the Regulations. The Regulations also provide that the Agency may arrange for competitors' samples to be tested for the presence of a scheduled drug or doping method. Under section 17ZC of the Act, the Agency may ask a sporting administration body to arrange for a person to be asked for a sample and to arrange for the sample to be tested. That power will generally be used by the Agency when a competitor is competing overseas and the Agency needs to rely on a foreign sporting administration body to arrange any drug testing required in relation to the competitor.

The Agency will generally enter details of a competitor's failure to comply with a request for a sample or a positive test result on the Register of Notifiable Events for the relevant drug testing scheme that is maintained by the Agency. Competitors have certain rights in relation to requests for samples and related matters, many of which are set out in Division 2.6 of the Regulations.

Section 17G of the Act provides that a drug testing scheme may empower the Agency to make orders, to be known as drug testing orders, for the scheme. Regulation 7 provides that, under Scheme A, the Agency may make orders for Scheme A about any matter for which the scheme may or must provide. The Australian Sports Drug Agency Drug Testing (Scheme A) Orders 1999 to be made under that regulation, for example, will set out some of the details of the drug testing scheme called Scheme A.

To fully understand the Regulations, it may be necessary to refer to the Act and the Orders. Notes have been included in the Regulations and will be included in the Orders to help you to work out how the Act, the Regulations and the Orders fit together. However, the notes have no legal force.