List of recommendations

Recommendation 1

2.96The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish the National Sports Injury Database as a matter of urgency, noting this will significantly help address the lack of sports injury data available in Australia, including at the community level of sport.

Recommendation 2

2.97With a view to increasing transparency, the committee recommends that professional sporting codes collect data on concussions and identified sub‑concussive events and share this data with the National Sports Injury Database.

Recommendation 3

3.135The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider establishing independent research pathways, including through a newly created body or through existing bodies, such as the National Health and Medical Research Council, that is dedicated to supporting and coordinating research into the short- and long‑term effects of concussion and repeated head trauma incurred during participation in sport, including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

The committee envisages that, amongst other things, such pathways would enable well-structured scientific investigations—including prospective, longitudinal clinicopathological studies—to help identify clinical features, progression, and interventions.

Recommendation 4

3.136The committee recommends that the Australian Government and sporting organisations continue to fund research into the effects of concussion and repeated head trauma on at‑risk cohorts who incur these injuries during their participation in sport.

Recommendation 5

3.137The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider measures to encourage Australians, in the event of their death, to donate their brain to a brain bank for scientific research into brain health and disease, including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Recommendation 6

3.138The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider a coordinated and consolidated funding framework for ongoing research regarding sport-related concussion and repeated head trauma.

This work should be undertaken in consultation with state and territory governments, sporting organisations, universities, and other scientific research bodies.

The committee recommends the governing bodies of sports associated with concussion and repeated head trauma support their codes to invest in the health and welfare of their players.

Recommendation 7

4.79The committee recommends that the Department of Health and Aged Care in consultation with relevant stakeholders, consider how best to improve community awareness and education regarding concussion and repeated head trauma, with these measures being health lead. These initiatives would help individuals:

recognise the acute signs and symptoms of concussion;

appropriately respond to and manage such injuries; and

understand the short- and long-term risks of concussion and repeated head trauma.

The committee recommends the development of awareness and education initiatives, with appropriate consideration given to dissemination strategies; the need to review or update existing materials; and ensuring tailored resources are available to different cohorts including, players, parents, coaches, teachers, other volunteers involved in sport and the general public.

Recommendation 8

4.83The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments consider how best to address calls for:

the development of standardised, evidence-based, and easy-to-access concussion and head trauma guidelines for GPs;

suitable general practice consultations for people with concussion, repeated head trauma and other complex care needs; and

increased training for first aid responders at sporting venues that focuses specifically on treating concussion and head injury.

Recommendation 9

5.141The committee recommends that national sporting organisations in Australia explore further rule modifications for their respective sports in order to prevent and reduce the impact of concussion and repeated head trauma. This work should prioritise modifications that protect children and adolescents, and take into account emerging evidence both domestically and internationally.

Recommendation 10

5.147The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in collaboration with medical experts, develops return to play protocols, adaptable across all sports, for both children and adults that have incurred a concussion or suffered a head trauma. The committee envisages that protocols may include lengthier stand-down periods for children and individuals who have a history of repeated head trauma.

Recommendation 11

5.153The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider developing a national strategy to reduce the incidence and impacts of concussion, including bindingreturn to play protocols and other rules to protect sport participants from head injuries. Consideration should be given to whether any existing government bodies would be best placed to monitor, oversee and/or enforce concussion related rules and return to play protocols in Australian sports.

Recommendation 12

6.91The committee recommends that professional sporting codes and players associations consider ways for a best practice model to provide ongoing support, financial and otherwise, to current and former players affected by concussions and repeated head trauma.

Recommendation 13

6.96The committee encourages professional sports organisations to ensure their athletes have insurance coverage for head trauma. The committee also encourages state and territory governments to engage with professional sporting organisations to explore how the general exclusion of professional sports people from various state and territory workers’ compensation schemes could be removed.

The committee envisages that such a review should, amongst other things, assess the financial impact such a reform would have on the various sporting organisations across Australia.