As Diamonds begin bid for gold, a pay dispute is brewing in netball – again

Glasgow: The Diamonds have pushed aside a pay dispute with Netball Australia to clinch a clinical and ruthless 61-goal win over Tonga in their opening match of the Commonwealth Games.

The Diamonds’ win on Saturday was the first step in defending their 2022 gold medal from Birmingham, but once again, they will have a campaign overshadowed by a battle with Netball Australia over pay.

The current Super Netball collective player agreement expires on September 30, meaning all 88 players, including the Diamonds squad, will be off contract. The dispute between Netball Australia and the players’ union centres on the distribution of netball’s revenue and players’ frustration with pregnancy and parenting policies.

It is a similar situation to the messy and extended pay negotiations that dominated headlines during the Diamonds’ World Cup campaign in 2023, as players battled for a revenue-sharing partnership and more financial transparency.

The long and bitter dispute culminated in the resignation of chief executive Kelly Ryan.

Diamonds and Melbourne Vixens star Kiera Austin said the team was keeping their focus on the competition after the win over Tonga.

She pointed out that the Commonwealth Games are one of two marquee events for netball, and therefore an opportunity that doesn’t come around often.

But she acknowledged that player delegates were doing “lots of work to get that [deal] done”.

Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich dismissed suggestions the pay dispute would be a distraction for her players at the Games, saying the team was “fully focused on the job at hand”.

But the Australian Netball Players’ Association previously confirmed that players rejected a “final offer” from Netball Australia at a recent full board meeting and at a player meeting.

“The bottom line is that players were not prepared to take a real wage cut,” a union spokesperson said. “Especially without real improvements in conditions.

“The ongoing CPA negotiations are causing the players a lot of stress. They are champion athletes but also working mums, working students and people with second and third jobs.

“What’s made the situation worse is that Netball Australia has not allowed written, non-binding contract offers to be exchanged as an interim measure.”

They questioned why “the highest-paid people in netball [are] the administrators” and why “most players [are] being asked to accept a real wage cut”.

“The players see packed stadiums and ask: ‘Where does the money go?’ ‘Why do athletes in other major sports in Australia receive about 30 per cent of the revenue they generate while netballers only receive about half of that?’

“These are fair questions and it’s our job to ask them.”

The spokesperson said players needed certainty on their futures, adding that “they need to know if they can pay the bills”.

The union’s 2026 wellbeing survey reported that 77 per cent of netball players ranked financial security and fair pay as their most significant challenge, increasing from 69 per cent in 2025.

The spokesperson said maternity and parenting policies were also a major issue for players, and that Netball Australia’s pregnancy and parental policy had not been “substantively updated in almost a decade”.

“As Australia’s No.1 team participation sport for women and girls, netball’s policies should have best practice, but we don’t,” they said. “We have fallen behind other sports in the length of paid parental leave and return-to-play support. We have a lot of work to do and we need to step up.”

In a statement to this masthead, Netball Australia confirmed it had made a third offer to players but said it was for a 12-month bridging agreement.

“Netball Australia believes the league’s commercial performance will improve from 2027, with revenue to flow into the ecosystem as opportunities from the free-to-air broadcast and new sponsorship deals materialise,” the statement said.

“The 12-month bridging offer allows the necessary focus on this commercial growth and will enable Netball Australia and the clubs to table an even stronger offer for athletes from next year.

“The bridging offer presented by Netball Australia and the Super Netball clubs does include a number of improved terms and conditions on the current CPA, including multi-year contracts and increases in player salaries, health insurance, and greater ability for athletes to secure their own individual sponsorship deals. An enhanced parental leave policy is also currently being developed for adoption.”

The statement also said that Netball Australia and Super Netball wanted to reach an agreement in time for the contracting window that opens on August 4, and said an agreement with improved “pay and conditions would follow for season 2028 and beyond”.

Despite the 2023 pay dispute, the Diamonds took home the World Cup title with a win over England in the final.

And by November 2025, it looked like the sport had completely turned things around financially. Netball Australia recorded a third straight operating profit and reduced its debt from $4.2 million to $1.2 million, while Super Netball crowds averaged more than 6000 fans per game in the 2025 season.

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