For community, junior and club athletes of all ages in sports with an anti-doping policy, 2026 Prohibited List and TUE criteria. Covers: who can be tested, testing pools, what happens when tested, checking medicines and supplements, the Sport Integrity App, Therapeutic Use Exemptions, anti-doping rule violations and reporting doping.
Yes. Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) says that under clause 1.06 of the National Anti-Doping scheme, any athlete who competes in a sport with an anti-doping policy can be tested, so if you play in a code-compliant sport you can be tested at any level. SIA also says anyone signed up to a sports organisation that abides by the National Anti-Doping Rules can be sanctioned for doping, and an athlete can be selected for testing anywhere, any time.
Sports that have adopted the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy include Australian Athletics, Swimming Australia, Hockey Australia, Basketball Australia, Netball Australia, Rugby Australia, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia, Touch Football Australia, Gymnastics Australia, Golf Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia (Cricket, Tennis and Surf Life Saving have approved variations). Football Australia and the NRL have SIA-approved anti-doping policies, and the AFL is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code. SIA keeps the full list at https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/world-anti-doping-code/sports-anti-doping-policy-or-similar
If you are under 18 and selected for testing, you are encouraged to have a representative present while you provide a sample.
Sources: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/athlete-testing/testing-pools and
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) places athletes in one of three testing pools and tells them (or their International Federation does): the Registered Testing Pool (RTP), National Testing Pool (NTP) and Domestic Testing Pool (DTP). SIA is the final decision maker on placement.
Domestic Testing Pool criteria include participation in team-based sports, meeting one or more RTP/NTP criteria without being placed in those pools, and competing at a national or state level or being identified as an emerging talent. If you are in the DTP:
National Testing Pool athletes provide contact and home address, overnight address, training schedule, regular activities and competition schedule. Registered Testing Pool athletes, the most rigorously tested high-performance group, must give daily whereabouts including a 60-minute testing window (5am to 11pm).
Athletes in any pool can be tested in and out of competition. Athletes who are not in a pool can also be tested, as SIA says anyone in a sport with an anti-doping policy can be tested.
Source: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/athlete-testing/testing-pools
A Doping Control Officer (DCO), helped by a Chaperone, runs the sample collection. Testing can be in-competition (straight after you compete, or at any time during an event) or out-of-competition (any time of year, anywhere, including home, training or a hotel).
Once notified you must stay in direct sight of the DCO or Chaperone until collection is complete, show identification, provide your first urine sample, follow the DCO's directions and report to Doping Control straight away unless you have a valid reason for delay (for example finishing a training session, a warm down, further events, a medal ceremony, medical treatment, or finding a representative or interpreter). Evading notification may be an anti-doping rule violation.
Your rights include:
During collection: a urine sample is provided in direct view of a same-gender Chaperone or DCO, you seal the A and B bottles, and you declare any medications or supplements taken in the past 7 days. You get an electronic copy of the Doping Control Form by email. Samples go to a WADA-accredited laboratory.
Sources: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/athlete-testing and https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/athlete-testing/athlete-rights-and-responsibilities
Use Global DRO (https://www.globaldro.com/AU/search), an internationally recognised medication checker developed for sport. It tells you whether a medication is banned in-competition, out-of-competition, both, or not at all, based on the current World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List (the 2026 List took effect on 1 January 2026). You can also check medications in the Sport Integrity App.
Steps from Sport Integrity Australia (SIA):
Be aware:
Sources: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/substance-education/check-substances and https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/substance-education
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) says no supplement is 100% safe for an athlete, and the only way to be risk-free is to avoid supplements. SIA recommends a food-first diet, and getting advice from an accredited doctor, nutritionist or sports dietitian before deciding on a supplement.
Under doping rules you are totally responsible for any substance found in your body, no matter how it got there, so if you take a supplement it is up to you to do the checks, every time, even if a health professional recommended it.
To lower the risk:
Risks SIA highlights: a supermarket shelf does not make a product safe; supplements that are not batch-tested carry far greater risk; marketing such as "all natural" or "herbal" does not make a product safer for athletes; and supplement-related positive tests can bring bans of up to 4 years. Global DRO does not give the prohibited status of pre-workouts, fat burners or dietary supplements in general.
Source: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/substances/supplements-sport
The free Sport Integrity App (launched in 2018 to help Australian athletes compete clean) lets you:
It is available on the App Store and Google Play (SIA lists an iOS age rating of 13+). SIA also offers a free "Health Effects of Doping" app, developed with Sport Integrity Commission New Zealand, which uses augmented reality to show the health effects of performance enhancing drugs. For help using the apps, email education@sportintegrity.gov.au.
Source: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/education/sport-integrity-apps-and-vr
A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) permits an athlete to use a substance or method that is otherwise prohibited, strictly for legitimate medical treatment. In Australia, TUEs are managed and approved by the Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee (ASDMAC).
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) says to work it out like this:
Timing: apply before taking the medication, except in emergencies and hospital visits. For substances prohibited in-competition only, apply at least 30 days before your next competition, unless it is an emergency or exceptional situation.
Keep in mind:
Source: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/therapeutic-use-exemption-tue
Under the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes competing below national level can usually apply for a retroactive TUE (after the fact) rather than in advance. You may be eligible for a planned retroactive TUE if your sport is not on the in-advance list, you have not been notified of inclusion in the Registered, National or Domestic Testing Pool, and you meet none of the in-advance criteria.
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) says to:
Retroactive applications may also be considered for emergency or urgent treatment, or where there was insufficient time or other exceptional circumstances to apply before sample collection. Emergency treatment should be carried out as medically appropriate, and the TUE question dealt with after the issue is stabilised.
Preparing a medical file does not guarantee a TUE will be granted, and ASDMAC warns there are strict minimum evidence requirements for every condition.
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) updates the in-advance TUE criteria every 1 January. For 2026 these athletes must apply in advance:
Athletes classed as international level by their International Federation, or competing in international events, must check TUE requirements with the International Federation or event organiser.
If your sport is not listed or you meet none of the criteria, SIA says you should prepare a medical file in case you need a planned retroactive TUE. SIA also offers an online TUE checker.
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) lists 11 anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) that apply to athletes, 7 of which also apply to coaches and support personnel:
Strict liability: for rule 1 it is not necessary to show intent, fault, negligence or knowing use. You are responsible for any substance found in your body, regardless of how it got there, so even unintentional use can be a violation.
Penalties: sanctions range from a reprimand, through a suspension, to a lifetime ban. SIA says bans from supplement-related violations can be up to 4 years. A sport may impose a provisional suspension while a case is investigated, and time served in compliance counts towards any final sanction.
Sources: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/11-anti-doping-rule-violations and https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/anti-doping-rule-violations
Report it to Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) through its online doping report form at https://report.sportintegrity.gov.au/doping
SIA says you do not need the full story: if something does not feel right, let SIA know, because speaking up protects clean sport for all athletes who compete fairly. You can also call the Safe Sport Hotline on 1800 161 361 for confidential guidance and anonymous reporting options, or use the report function in the Sport Integrity App.
It is itself an anti-doping rule violation for an athlete or other person bound by an anti-doping policy to discourage or retaliate against someone for reporting information about a doping violation. SIA's example is a teammate who threatens to harm an athlete if they tell the authorities.
Sources: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/make-a-report/what-you-can-report and https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping/11-anti-doping-rule-violations