The Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Journal 2011

Wests Tigers Rugby League Football v National Rugby League – The case that could have stopped the NRL

David Trodden 

This article examines the possibility of taking action to correct an incorrect refereeing decision. It also considers, in a far briefer and more general sense, the possibility of recovering damages in circumstances where the decision can’t be corrected.

Playing away from home: Sportspeople, privacy and the law

Associate Professor David Rolph

The private lives of sportspeople can often be the subject of intense media scrutiny, yet Australian law may not offer sportspeople adequate protection against invasions of privacy. This article analyses the problems confronted by sportspeople in light of the media’s interest in their private lives, canvassing the existing direct and indirect legal protections of personal privacy, developments in overseas jurisdictions, principally the United Kingdom, and current law reform proposals for a statutory tort of invasion of privacy. 

Taxation of athletes post Stone: Towards a level playing field in the era of professionalism

Mark Lebbon 

The rise in the professionalism and earning power of athletes has, in recent years, drawn the increased attention and scrutiny of the Australian Taxation Office. This article discusses two taxation cases involving athletes which have been considered by the High Court of Australia: Commissioner of Taxation v Stone and Spriggs v Federal Commissioner of Taxation. Both cases provide important insights into how the courts are willing to adapt general legal principles in cases involving athletes to ensure a level playing field for all taxpayers.

Ticket scalping: Advocating for the event organiser

Daniel Stuk

Given the desire of sporting organisations to prevent and deter the practice of ticket scalping in Australia, and the fact that the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council [CCAAC] recently discouraged the introduction of new anti-scalping legislation, this article will examine the existing regulatory framework in Australia to explore whether Australian law effectively prevents and deters ticket scalping. Particular attention is given to the effect of Australia law on the different ticketing terms and conditions used by various sporting organisations. This article highlights some of the inadequacies in the current Australian law from the event organiser’s per-spective and discusses whether a national uniform legislative scheme prohibiting ticket scalping would address some of these shortcomings. It also gives practical advice to event organisers in their bid to prevent ticket scalping.