What is my role at centre throw-ups and after a goal is scored?

Under the Laws of Australian Football 2026, a boundary umpire has two jobs around the centre:

After a goal: you bring the football back to the Centre Square (Law 8.2.2(a)(iv)).

Starting positions at the centre throw-up: you decide whether a player has broken a starting position (Law 8.2.2(a)(iii)). The positions in Law 13.1 are:

• six players from each team in each area between the boundary line and the fifty-metre arcs
• four players from each team in the Centre Square
• one of those four, the ruck, in the ten-metre circle in their defensive half
• one player from each team in each shaded area of Diagram 2

Once those positions are met, a player who then fails to hold their position before the ball leaves the field umpire's hand is penalised with a free kick to the opposing player in the Centre Circle (Law 18.2.2(b)). If a team has fewer than 18 on the ground, the numbers can be reduced but not exceeded (Law 13.1(e)).

Your controlling body can change these duties, so your league's rules apply if they differ.