The Albanese Government has introduced legislation to criminalise match-fixing and strengthen the integrity of sport in Australia.

Sport is woven into the fabric of Australian life. It builds community, teaches resilience, and unites Australians across generations and cultures.

However, the growing threat of match-fixing exposes athletes to coercion and exploitation, threatening the integrity of Australian sport. It undermines the credibility of sporting competitions and defrauds the public.

Match-fixing can also provide a foothold for transnational crime syndicates to launder money, manipulate outcomes, and target vulnerable participants in our domestic sporting codes.

The new offences under the Criminal Code Amendment (National Sport Integrity Offences) Bill 2026 will target a range of competition manipulation and betting-related corruption. This includes the corruption of a sporting event, inducing or soliciting the corruption of a sporting event, and the improper handling of information about conduct that corrupts a sporting event and inside information.

The offences carry penalties of up to ten years’ imprisonment, reflecting the gravity of harm that can arise from match-fixing conduct.

The Bill responds to recommendations from the Review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements, and is a crucial step towards Australia’s ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, known as the Macolin convention.

Australia was the first non-European nation to sign this international treaty to prevent, detect and sanction national or transnational match-fixing of national and international sporting competitions.