Player's Guide to Football Australia NPL Men's First Team 2026

An Australian Player is a player who is:

• a citizen of Australia;
• a permanent resident of Australia, meaning a person living in Australia on a "permanent" visa class, shown by their Visa Grant Notice or as a listed entitlement on their online Visa Entitlement Verification; or
• the holder of a refugee visa, humanitarian visa or protection visa issued by the Australian Government.

A Visa Player is any player who is not an Australian Player. A New Zealand citizen is classified as a Visa Player unless they meet the Australian Player definition above.

Source: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026.

An NPL club may have at most two outfield Visa Players plus one outfield AFC/OFC Visa Player on its first team roster at any one time.

An AFC/OFC Visa Player is a player who is not an Australian Player and holds citizenship from a member nation of the Asian Football Confederation or the Oceania Football Confederation (both lists are annexed to the roster principles).

Goalkeepers who are not Australian Players are not permitted on an NPL first team roster. The exception is a non-Australian goalkeeper with a multiyear professional contract with an NPL club for the 2026 season that was signed and in force before 19 September 2024.

Source: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026.

The match day team sheet lists a minimum of 16 and up to 18 players from the first team roster.

• 2026 season: at least three Under 23 players, and at least one of them must be Under 20.
• 2027 season: the minimum rises to six Under 23 players, and at least three of them must be Under 20.

The roster principles say the aim is to increase match minutes for youth players.

Source: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026 (published by Football Australia in February 2026).

Age is measured at 31 December of the current NPL season.

• Under 20 Youth Player: 20 or younger at 31 December. For 2026 that means born in 2006 or later.
• Under 23 Youth Player: 23 or younger at 31 December. For 2026 that means born in 2003 or later.

Other conditions:

• A starting goalkeeper who is Under 20 or Under 23 counts as a youth player on the match day team sheet. A substitute goalkeeper does not.
• Visa Players who are Under 20 or Under 23 do not count as youth players.
• If an Under 20 or Under 23 player is unavailable through injury or suspension, the club must replace them with a like-for-like player from its age-eligible teams roster.

Source: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026.

An NPL club must have at least three Homegrown Players on its NPL first team roster. A Homegrown Player is a player who, between the ages of 12 and 21, was registered with that NPL club for three entire seasons or 36 months in total.

The periods are added together and do not need to be continuous. For example, a player registered with the club for their Under 12, Under 16 and Under 20 teams qualifies, even if they were with another club for their Under 13, Under 14 and Under 18 seasons.

Visa Players and AFC/OFC Visa Players do not qualify as Homegrown Players in the roster principles' example roster.

Source: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026.

A professional is a player with a written contract with a club under which they are paid more than the expenses they effectively incur to play football for that club. Every other player is an amateur. All professionals on an NPL first team roster must have a written contract (the NRR Prescribed Form 05 Professional Player Contract) and be registered through the Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS) as necessary.

A club can pay or reimburse an amateur's expenses (for example travel, kit, equipment or insurance premiums) without changing their status. If an amateur is paid or reimbursed more than $115 a week, the club must satisfy the competition administrator that the amount reflects the expenses actually incurred, or the player is deemed a professional.

To register as a professional for the NPL only, you self-register on the National Online Registration System, and you or the club lodge the signed NRSTR04 form and the signed contract. The club must sight your original birth certificate, passport or driver's licence, and your right to work in Australia (passport or visa) if applicable.

A contract can run for no more than five years, or three years if you are under 18.

Sources: articles 5, 6 and 11, National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations (22 September 2026); NPL Player Roster Principles 2026.

From 1 July 2024, each NPL club is limited to:

• Domestic loans: six players loaned out and six loaned in.
• International loans: six players loaned out and six loaned in.
• No more than three players loaned out to the same club, and no more than three loaned in from the same club.

A loan is exempt from the total limits if the player is a professional who is club-trained with the parent club (as defined in the National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations) and the loan happens before the end of the season in which the player turns 21.

An amateur cannot be loaned. In the roster principles' worked example, a loan of an amateur is denied because the player must first be signed to a professional contract with the parent club and registered on the Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS), with the loan club also signing the player on a professional contract.

Sources: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026; article 12, National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations.

Domestic training compensation rewards clubs that train young players. It is due when a player is registered as a professional for the first time, or when a professional transfers between clubs and signs a subsequent professional contract, up to the end of the season of their 23rd birthday. It is paid by the new club to Football Australia within 30 days of registration, not by the player.

It is not due if the former club ends the contract without just cause, if the player moves to a Category C club (any club that is not an A-League Men club or a licensed NPL club), if a professional re-registers as an amateur with a new club, or for female players.

Examples of amounts (NPL clubs other than A-League Men clubs are Category B):

• First professional contract at a Category B club, last club Category B: $6,000, shared across the player's junior clubs.
• First professional contract at a Category B club, last club Category C: nil.
• Later transfer from a Category B club to another Category B club: $6,000, not shared.

The NPL Player Roster Principles 2026 note that Football Australia was consulting on changing this from a one-time to an annual payment; the regulations dated 22 September 2026 still set out the amounts above.

Source: article 14, National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations (22 September 2026).

An A-Leagues club that plays in the NPL can only list Youth Australian Players who are no older than 23 in the year the NPL is staged on its NPL roster. Under the National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations (22 September 2026), the NPL competition rules must let such a club include players who turn no older than 23 that year, and must not add further age restrictions that limit who is on the roster or who can play in NPL matches for that club.

A Youth Australian Player is a citizen of Australia, a refugee, humanitarian or protection visa holder, a player who has applied for citizenship with legal confirmation it will be granted within six months of registering with the club, or a permanent resident (or child of one) who has satisfied Football Australia of their intention to represent the national teams if selected.

Source: Schedule 1, National Registration, Status and Transfer Regulations.