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Coaching and officiating agencies

The Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) Coaching and Officiating Unit provides national leadership in the development of coaching and officiating.  Working in partnership with National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) and other partners, the objective of the Coaching and Officiating Unit is to develop more and better coaches and officials at all levels of Australian sport.

The National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) and the National Officiating Accreditation Scheme (NOAS) offer education, training and a nationally recognised accreditation to coaches and officials working at all levels of sport.  NCAS and NOAS training programs developed by NSOs in conjunction with the Coaching and Officiating Unit are aimed at improving and recognising the competence of coaches and officials.

The NCAS and the NOAS training programs consist of three core components – general principles, sport specific and practical. The general principles programs are only one component of a full accreditation within the NCAS and NOAS system.

Role of coaching and officiating agencies

The role of approved Coaching and Officiating Agencies is to provide the community with greater access to Coaching and Officiating training and to assist the growth and development of sport through the provision of generic coaching and officiating training.

All organisations wishing to conduct the ASC’s generic coaching and officiating general principles programs need to be registered with the NSW Sport and Recreation Sport Education Unit. It is recommended that agencies delivering these courses use suitable presenters who have expertise in the subject area and also have practical experience, or who have a Certificate IV in workplace training and assessment.

When delivering the general principles, agencies should ensure that the competencies listed in the curriculum are covered and assessed using the assessment tasks outlined.  This information should be obtained from the Australian Sports Commission website.

There is scope for flexibility in the delivery of the modules (e.g. depending on the group the training is being delivered to, modules may be modified and the time spent on each module may vary).  However, the assessment tasks for general principles courses should be adhered to in order to maintain national consistency.

The Coaching General Principles courses provide the fundamentals of coaching and athletic performance, whilst the Officiating General Principles course enable officials to acquire greater knowledge of officiating skills and techniques.

It is recommended that participants should be a minimum of 14 years of age to gain accreditation for all Beginning Coaching or Introductory Officiating General Principles courses. 

  • School/TAFE teachers and University staff have met their legislative obligations under NSW Child Protection Legislation and prospective Training Agencies that are not schools or universities must ensure they have also met their legislative obligations under NSW Child Protection Legislation.
  •  Prior to allowing a presenter to deliver a program to minors, the agency must ensure the presenter has successfully completed a ‘Working with Children Check’.  It is the Agency’s responsibility to ensure that its presenters have:
  • (a)    signed a Prohibited Employment Declaration (PED); and
  • (b)    received cleared status from the Approved Screening Agency following a national criminal record check, a check on all relevant apprehended violence orders and a check on completed disciplinary proceedings initiated by an employer.
  •  Agencies also agree that all rights, title and interests in the Intellectual Property Rights and Moral Rights the subject of, or created in connection with, any program and its source vest in the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation and the Australian Sports Commission.  

The Agency agrees that all Intellectual Property Rights in the program and the products remain the property of the Australian Sports Commission.
The Agency will comply with any direction from the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation in relation to the use of business names and trade marks associated with the program.

By signing the Agency Registration Form the Agency warrants that its presenters will not use the intellectual property of any third party without the prior consent in writing of that third party. By signing the Coaching and Officiating Training Agencies Registration Form the Agency agrees to indemnify the Department in respect of any claim of unauthorised use of intellectual property by the Agency.

By signing the Coaching and Officiating Training Agencies Registration Form the agency agrees and acknowledges the following:

  1. That the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation will be under no liability to the Agency in respect of any loss or damage (including consequential loss or damage) which may be suffered or incurred or which may arise directly or indirectly from the provision of the coaching and/or officiating programs.
  2. That it has not relied on any representations made by the Department of Arts, Sport and Recreation which has not been stated expressly in this Coaching and Officiating Training Agencies Information Package, or upon any descriptions, illustrations or specifications contained in any document including catalogues or publicity material produced by the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation.
  3. That the Agency will at all times indemnify and hold harmless the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation and its officers, employees and agents (“those indemnified”) from and against all loss, costs (including legal costs on a solicitor-Agency or indemnity basis, whichever is higher), damages or liability incurred or suffered by any of those indemnified arising from any proceedings against those indemnified where such loss or liability occurred as a result of any coaching and/or officiating program.
  4. The Agency is solely responsible for all claims for loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the acts or omissions of the Agency, its agents, employees or contractors, including its presenter, in connection with the conduct of the program classes.

Coaching and Officiating Agencies, when collecting any information from the participants (i.e. the participants’ names and addresses etc), must provide the following written statement to the participants:

The personal information that is being collected from you is personal information for the purposes of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. The supply of the information by you is voluntary.
   
The Coaching and Officiating Training Agency will provide the information in this form to the NSW Department of the Arts, Sports and Recreation of 6 Figtree Drive, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127 and the Australian Sports Commission.  By signing the registration form you consent to the Coaching and Officiating Training Agency disclosing this information to the Department and the ASC.

The Department is collecting this information from you for the processing of coaching certificates.

The information provided will be stored by the Australian Sports Commission and the Department on a database that will only be accessed by authorised personnel, is subject to privacy and will only be used for the purpose for which it was collected.

Any information provided by the Coaching and Officiating Training Agency to the Department can by accessed by you during standard office hours and updated by writing  or contacting the Department on 131302

General Principles programs

There are a number of Coaching and Officiating programs that are available for approved agencies to deliver:

  • Beginning Coaching General Principles – covers the general skills needed to coach. The competencies listed are the minimum standard required for first level NCAS accreditation programs for NSOs. It is the first step towards a sport specific coaching accreditation. 
  • Intermediate Coaching General Principles - aims to further develop practical coaching knowledge and skills for the intermediate coach.
  • Introductory Level Official – covers basic skills required for new officials to officiate including such topics as people management and risk management. This course is the initial step towards a sports specific officiating accreditation.
  • Advanced Level Official – aims to further develop and challenge the official through practical experiences, scenarios and an introduction to the concepts of mentoring.

How to register

Registration as a Training Agency lasts for 12 months and must be renewed with NSW Sport and Recreation each year.

The cost of agency registration is $40.00 per year for each type of course the agency wishes to deliver.

  • Step 1 – Complete the Agency registration form.
    Alternatively, a form can be emailed or sent to you by contacting the Coaching and Officiating unit on (02) 9006 3827 or email sported@dsr.nsw.gov.au
  • Step 2 – Send the completed form, including payment, to: NSW Sport Education Unit, Community Sport and Recreation,SW Sport and Recreation, Locked Bag 1422, Silverwater, NSW, 2128
  • Step 3 – NSW Sport and Recreation will assess the applications and advise all applicants in writing of the outcome.

Successful applications will receive a certificate and letter confirming the course/s they are able to deliver.

Applicants are not permitted to conduct programs or take enrolments until they have been advised in writing by the Department.

Unsuccessful applicants will receive a refund and a letter advising the applicant that they are unsuccessful

All curriculum information, worksheets, presenter’s slides and notes for each course are available from the ASC Website www.ausport.gov.au/supporting/coachofficial/generalprinciples Follow the links to coaching or officiating.

Insurance

Agencies must have appropriate insurance plans that underwrite their organisation and its operations ($10 million public liability is recommended).

Benefits

There is a range of benefits to becoming an approved Coaching and Officiating Agency. These include:

  • Access to professional development and training conducted by the NSW Sport and Recreation
  • Potential generation of income derived from course delivery
  • Increased public profile and kudos by holding accredited training provider status
  • Increased marketing opportunities
  • Ability to deliver nationally recognised generic courses
  • Opportunities for participants to complete full NCAS/NOAS accreditation through State Sporting Organisations.
  • The Agencies participants receive a certificate from NSW Sport and Recreation sating that they have successfully completed the course and this information is recorded on the Australian Sports Commission National Coaching/Officiating Accreditation Database.

Presenter qualifications

Presenters of the General Principals programs should possess suitable presenter skills in addition to one of the following:

  • Tertiary Education in a related field e.g. Physical Education teachers, Science-Human Biology teachers, Sports Coaching, Human Movement; OR
  • be a recognised specialist in the module topic in which they are presenting with a minimum of two years practical experience in the sporting field; OR
  • Certificate IV in Training and Assessment; OR
  • Presentation skills (e.g. have successfully completed a course presenter, workplace trainer or presentation skills course, or similar); AND hold a current NCAS or NOAS accreditation.

Obligations of a registered agency

Registration as a Coaching and Officiating Agency is available to organisations who agree to:

  • organise, promote and conduct courses based on information provided in the developed program curricula
  • provide NSW Sport and Recreation with the contact details and relevant information of participants who have completed all course requirements in the format compatible with the national database.
    Please note: All personal Information will not be used or disclosed except in accordance with provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.
  • adhere to the principles of access and equity as they apply to course participants
  • ensure the personnel conducting courses are suitably trained and qualified
  • ensure that adequate public liability and professional indemnity insurance is maintained
  • ensure ongoing liaison through the NSW Sport and Recreation regarding the implementation of courses, including providing feedback on course materials
  • liaise with State/Territory coaching and officiating centre coordinators for assistance in course delivery
  • attend state-based workshops that may be organised by the state/territory coaching and officiating centres for professional development

Course completion

At course completion please do the following:

  • Step 1: Enter participant details on supplied spreadsheet
  • Step 2: Submit the excel spreadsheet completed in step 1 & 2 to the email address sported@dsr.nsw.gov.au

On receipt of a correctly completed Spreadsheet NSW Sport and Recreation will forward certificates to the Training Agency to be distributed to the successful candidates.

Publications

All enquiries, orders and payment for ASC resources for candidates attending your courses should be directed to:

Customer Service Officer
Australian Sports Commission
PO Box 176, Belconnen ACT 2616
Phone: (02) 6214 1795
Fax: (02) 6214 1995
Email: pubs@ausport.gov.au

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