Sport4All x AFL NSW/ACT Staff Development Days
Supporting Game Development Officers to champion disability inclusive sport
The Opportunity
Every coach, coordinator, and development officer plays a vital role in shaping what sport looks and feels like for participants, especially in schools, where first impressions often determine lifelong engagement.
Recognising this, AFL NSW/ACT invited Sport4All to lead inclusion focused training at their Staff Development Days for Game Development Officers from the Sydney North and Sydney City regions. These staff are responsible for delivering AFL programs to thousands of school aged participants, making them key enablers in creating a sport environment where everyone feels they belong.
With 1.58 million people in NSW living with disability, and 90% of those disabilities being invisible, the need for inclusive thinking at every level of sport delivery has never been more critical.
The Solution
Sport4All led an interactive session that combined lived experience, practical frameworks, and real-world examples to build confidence and capability among AFL NSW/ACT development staff.
Key components of the session included:
Inclusion Check-In Survey: A self-reflection tool designed to help participants assess their own assumptions, knowledge gaps, and comfort levels around disability inclusion.
Sport4All Core Modules
Facilitated by Acting State Manager – NSW & ACT, Jenny Crandell, the training focused on:
- Communication & Language
- Disability, Accessibility & Inclusion
- Misconceptions & Unconscious Bias
These modules provided both context and actionable tools that could be immediately applied to school programs and game development settings.
TREE Model: A practical framework used to modify coaching activities by adjusting:
- Teaching Style
- Rules and Management
- Environment
- Equipment
This model was particularly impactful in helping participants understand how small adaptations could make AFL more accessible, whether for a student with sensory sensitivities, mobility challenges, or simply someone new to the sport.
Showcasing Inclusive AFL Formats: Sport4All introduced Wheelchair AFL and AFL Blind – powerful demonstrations of how AFL can be played by people of all abilities with just a few key adjustments. These examples helped ground the theory in tangible, inspiring practice.
“At the AFL we are always working to support individuals to love and connect with our game and feel a sense of belonging. A significant part of that involves supporting and training our development staff to be inclusive of everyone, regardless of their ability. Sport4All have really supported us to achieve this by delivering engaging and relatable training and education to our Game Development Officers, and this is something we want to continue long into the future.”
The Impact
While this session marked an early-stage intervention, its impact was deeply felt:
- Widespread Reach
Dozens of AFL Development Officers, who collectively influence programming across hundreds of schools, were equipped with the mindset and tools to drive disability-inclusive sport from the ground up. - Shift in Understanding
Post-training reflections showed increased awareness around hidden disabilities, inclusive language, and environmental barriers in school sport delivery. - Practical Confidence
The TREE model gave staff a replicable process they could apply immediately, without needing extra funding or major overhauls. - Strategic Momentum
AFL NSW/ACT is now exploring how Sport4All training can be embedded into ongoing staff development pathways, ensuring that inclusion becomes core — not optional.
What’s Next
In the coming months, five new Inclusion Coaches will be joining Sport4All in regional NSW and ACT, significantly expanding the program’s reach. These new Inclusion Coaches will be well positioned to:
- Embed inclusion check-ins and TREE planning into annual development planning cycles.
- Showcase stories from staff who have applied their learning in real AFL school or club environments.
- Track outcomes in terms of participation growth and inclusive practice uptake.
This regional expansion ensures that Sport4All’s commitment to building disability-inclusive sport continues, even as structural details evolve, and that inclusive foundations laid through staff development can be strengthened and scaled from the ground up.
Learn more about working at AFL NSW/ACT by contacting Zac Sultana at zac.sultana@afl.com.au
