Fan's Guide to AFLW Rule Changes, Season and Draft 2026

From the 2026 AFLW season the "reasonable time" allowed for a kick-in drops from about 12 seconds to eight seconds. That matches the time allowed after a mark around the ground.

Source: AFL.com.au, "Four rule alterations announced ahead of 2026 AFLW season".

From the 2026 AFLW season, a shrug while being tackled counts as prior opportunity, because the player is trying to evade or fend off the opponent. That means a player who shrugs the tackler and then fails to dispose of the ball legally can be penalised for holding the ball. The change matches the men's competition.

Source: AFL.com.au, "Four rule alterations announced ahead of 2026 AFLW season".

From the 2026 AFLW season, a player within five metres of a mark or free kick must stand. This is one of four rule alterations the AFL Commission approved for the 2026 AFLW season after consulting clubs, umpires, players and the AFLPA, and it matches a change in the men's competition.

Source: AFL.com.au, "Four rule alterations announced ahead of 2026 AFLW season".

No. The AFL's 2026 change to goalsquare starting positions at ball-ups in the men's competition does not apply to the AFLW. The AFLW still requires a forward to start in the square.

Source: AFL.com.au, "Four rule alterations announced ahead of 2026 AFLW season".

Two of the seven men's rule changes for 2026 brought the men's game into line with rules the AFLW already had:

• Last disposal (the "lasso" rule): a free kick is awarded when the ball crosses the boundary line from a disposal between the arcs. The AFL described this as aligning the men's game with the AFLW rule.
• Ruck nominations: umpires can restart play without a nominated ruck present, which the AFL said brings the men's game in line with AFLW rules.

The other men's changes (goalsquare starting positions, centre ball-up contests, kick-in time, shrugging in the tackle and the stand rule) are separate. Four of the related ones were also made for the 2026 AFLW season: see the questions above.

Source: AFL.com.au, "Explainer: the seven AFL rule changes coming in for 2026".

The 2026 NAB AFLW season has 12 home-and-away rounds followed by a four-week finals series.

• The season opened on Sunday 9 August with a standalone match, St Kilda v Carlton at Marvel Stadium. The rest of Round 1 followed the next week.
• The first week of finals is the week starting Monday 2 November.
• The Grand Final is on Saturday 28 November.

The AFL's season memo said the home-and-away season could grow to 14 rounds if attendance (6,000 average, or 90 per cent of capacity at smaller venues) and broadcast (100,000 viewers) benchmarks were met. The fixture was released with 12 rounds.

Sources: AFL.com.au, "AFLW confirms number of rounds, start date for 2026 season" and "Fixture confirmed for 2026 NAB AFLW Season".

The 2026 NAB AFLW fixture has 18 clubs and includes:

• Four AFL/AFLW double-headers, including the season opener, St Kilda v Carlton at Marvel Stadium as part of Spud's Game. Others include North Melbourne v Geelong at Marvel Stadium and GWS v West Coast at ENGIE Stadium in Round 1, and Sydney v Essendon at the SCG in Round 2.
• Three AFLW-only double-headers: IKON Park in Indigenous Round (Richmond v Fremantle, then Carlton v Collingwood), Windy Hill in Pride Round (Round 10), and a Grand Final Eve match at IKON Park (Melbourne v North Melbourne).
• Cockburn ARC Oval and Kennedy Community Centre host premiership-point matches for the first time.

Source: AFL.com.au, "Fixture confirmed for 2026 NAB AFLW Season".

Under the AFLW Draft Handbook for the 2025 draft, a player must:

• turn 18 on or before 31 December of the draft year (31 December 2025 for the 2025 draft);
• not already be bound to an AFLW club; and
• have been registered in that year in a recognised Australian club or school competition, or have been a bona fide resident of another country for three continuous years before the draft. The AFL General Counsel can waive the residency requirement in some cases.

Players nominate online at play.afl/draftnominations. For the 2025 draft, nominations were open from 9am AEST on 6 November to 5pm AEST on 27 November 2025. Nominations are for the National pool only.

Source: AFLW Draft Handbook, afl.com.au/aflw/talent-pathways/draft/booklet.

Per the AFLW Draft Handbook for the 2025 draft (held 15 December 2025 at Marvel Stadium):

• There are two draft regions: National (all clubs) and International (only for players who normally live outside Australia).
• Draft order follows the reverse finishing order from the previous season, plus any compensation picks the AFL allocates.
• Each club must make at least two selections.
• A selected player is bound to the club that picks her.
• Father-daughter and Northern Academy (Brisbane, Gold Coast, GWS and Sydney) nominations are bid on during the draft. Clubs submitted those nomination forms to the AFL by Friday 12 December 2025.

The handbook covers the 2025 draft. The AFL had not published the 2026 draft handbook when this was written.

Source: AFLW Draft Handbook, afl.com.au/aflw/talent-pathways/draft/booklet.

The AFL introduced a pre-season draft for AFLW ahead of the 2026 season, to replace the last-minute signings of inactive players that clubs used to make before the season.

• When: late April or May 2026, so undrafted players can play for their state league sides first.
• Who is eligible: players who nominated for the previous national draft but were not selected.
• Order: reverse ladder order, as in the main draft, so the weakest sides get first access.
• List spots: clubs must take at least two players in the national draft, then may pass on further picks and keep spots open for the pre-season draft.
• Injury replacements: clubs can still sign replacement players after the pre-season draft if a primary-listed player becomes unavailable through serious injury, pregnancy or mental health reasons.

Source: AFL.com.au, "AFLW to introduce pre-season draft ahead of 2026".