Outgoing Netball Australia boss Kate Palmer has called for sports to use commonsense when dealing with female athletes, as Cricket Australia continues to deal with the fallout of "miscued" contract policies.
Palmer has led the charge for improving pay and work conditions for female athletes, helping netball become the industry leader in sporting equality.
Outgoing Netball Australia boss Kate Palmer.Credit:Pat Scala
The revamped national competition will see players earn almost double the previous average salary with 80 players sharing in a wage pool of $5.5 million.
Palmer will leave her netball job next week to become the first female Australian Sports Commission chief executive and will move to Canberra in January.
Her vision is for netball to become a full-time professional sport and cricket is on the same trajectory after taking massive leaps forward this year in the women's game.
However, Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland has been forced to defend the pregnancy, maternity leave and carer support for female cricketers.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has contacted Cricket Australia to seek further clarification of the policies, which ask female players to sign contracts saying they are not pregnant.
Netball Australia encourages its players to discuss any pregnancy decisions with a doctor as well as offering income protection for up to two years.
"I don't doubt [Cricket Australia's] motives because what they want is to make sure they look after the athletes," Palmer told Fairfax Media.
"I suspect they were trying to achieve it, but maybe they miscued how they were trying to achieve that.
"Our policy is that we encourage an athlete to inform our medical team [about being pregnant] as soon as possible, noting they have the complete right to privacy, so we can care for them and they can perform at their best.
"I suspect that's what cricket wants as well. It's not even about equality, it's about treating everyone with the same level of respect.
"There are a number of things that are very different for female athletes. Everything needs to be taken into account and I think it's just about having a commonsense approach.
"We deal with female athletes all of the time and there are some unique and wonderful things about female athletes that need to be taken into account. I think it's about being generous."
Sutherland said Cricket Australia was developing new policies and is seeking guidance from industry and sporting experts.
The Australian Cricketers Association raised allegations about potential pregnancy discrimination, prompting the Fair Work Ombudsman to get involved.
"We will co-operate fully with the Ombudsman, and welcome their inquiries because it is always our intention to provide the best support for all our players," Sutherland said.
"The pregnancy clause has never affected a female player's right to sign a contract, and we have never, nor would we ever, discriminate against anyone on those grounds. It has only been about ensuring the safety of our players."
Palmer's pioneering work with netball over the past 10 years led to her being appointed as the new sports commission leader.
She will move to Canberra in January to start working at the AIS campus to develop strategies for improving Australian sport and Olympic Games hopes.
Palmer hopes her rise will help inspires female leaders to chase their corporate or sporting goals.
But she also refuses to settle on what has been achieved for female athletes, outlining her hopes that netball, among other sports, will be in a position to fund professional contracts within five years.
"That's the ultimate, but we are still striving for full-time professional athletes who can make a living from the sport. Some do, but not all of them yet," Palmer said.
"That will happen, [Netball Australia] is perfectly positioned and I'd be surprised if in five years time they aren't fully professional.
"The next step is building programs for netballers to give them career development and a strong players' association.
"Women's sport needs to be aware of professional sports. I'd hate to see our athletes retiring when they're 30 with no career or idea of what comes next. That would be sad."
Chris Dutton is the sports editor at The Canberra Times.