An Athlete's Guide to Receiving a Positive Drug Test in Australia

Being an professional athlete is an incredible feat. Many start as young children, training throughout their entire lives to achieve the impossible dream of winning Olympic gold or representing their country in their respective sports.

But when an athlete is accused of taking a banned substance, suddenly their dream is at risk. All those years spent training, competing and achieving milestones in their careers, become irrelevant. Those athletes face a looming drug ban from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA).

This article provides a brief description of drug testing of athletes, the rule violation process of ASADA and preventative measures athletes should take to manage the risk of testing positive for a prohibited substance.

Who are ASADA?

Established in 2006, ASADA works towards protecting the health of athletes and the integrity of sport, by minimising the risk of doping.

As a non-corporate Commonwealth entity, ASADA operate under the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Regulations 2006, including the National Anti-Doping scheme. 

ASADA's primary obligations are to implement the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA) code (in particular, drug testing and determining whether athletes have taken prohibited substance) and WADA's international standards for testing and investigations.

The Process for Doping Control in Australia

ASADA conduct testing on athletes for prohibited substances in and out of competitions. This is in accordance with WADA's international standards for testing and investigations.

Testing is conducted in Australia and overseas and samples are sent to a accredited laboratories for analysis. A list of accredited laboratories can be accessed by clicking here.

Generally, an athlete will provide an 'A Sample' and a 'B Sample' for drug testing. These are either urine or blood samples provided by the athlete for drug testing. At first instance, the laboratories will test an athlete's 'A Sample'. Once the laboratory has completed its analysis on an athlete's 'A Sample', ASADA may receive a report of adverse findings (that is, a positive anti-doping test result). At no stage in the process is information identifying an athlete to a particular sample provided to the laboratory. For more information about testing please click here.

Through this process, should an athlete receive a positive anti-doping test result or, as commonly known as, anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), and the athlete does not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (being, in a nutshell, an exemption that allows an athlete to use, for therapeutic purposes only, an otherwise prohibited substance), ASADA notifies the following:

• the athlete's national sporting organisation;

• the athlete's international sporting federation; and

• WADA.

The athlete will be given the opportunity to have their 'B Sample' analysed by a laboratory, unless the athlete waives their right to the 'B Sample' analysis.

It is important to note that even though an athlete may waive his/her right to have their 'B Sample' analysed, ASADA still retains the right to analyse the ‘B Sample'.

If a 'B Sample' is being analysed, it will occur about a week after the athlete receives notification of a positive drug test. An athlete or a representative, or both, can attend the analysis of their ‘B Sample'. If the athlete or representative cannot attend the analysis, the laboratory will appoint a witness to observe the analysis.

A week after the analysis of the 'B Sample', the athlete will be notified of the results. ASADA will also notify the athlete's national sporting organisation, the athlete's international federation, WADA and the Australian Sports Commission.

ASADA will then impose a provisional suspension on the athlete and refer the matter to Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel (ADRVP), who are an independent body, that assess the information provided. They decide on whether to make an assertion that there has been a possible ADRV by the athlete.

If the ADRVP makes an assertion that a possible ADRV has been committed, the athlete is given the opportunity to have a hearing before a sports tribunal. The sports tribunal are responsible for the determination of the matter and for imposing any relevant sanction under the sport's anti-doping policy.

An athlete can waive their right to a hearing and may appeal to their sport’s anti-doping tribunal and the Court of Arbitration of Sport.

Who is Responsible to Check for Prohibited Substances?

It is the responsibility of all athletes, including support staff, to ensure that substances used by athletes are:

• in the case of prescribed and over-the-counter medicines in Australia, are permitted or prohibited in their sport;

• in the case of supplements, only use supplements which have been screened for prohibited substances by an independent company, such as Human and Supplement Testing Australia (HASTA) or Informed Sport. Supplements screened by these companies cannot offer a 100% guarantee that an athlete will not test positive, but they are significantly less risky than other supplements.  The general position by ASADA in relation to the use of supplements is that no supplement is safe to use. Athletes should not risk their careers by taking a supplement. Many supplements are contaminated with substances prohibited in sport, which may not be listed on ingredient labels.

What Tools can be used by Athletes to Check for Prohibited Substances?

The following tools can be used by an athlete to reduce the chances of being tested positive for a prohibited substance:

• Download the ASADA Clean Sport App which lists all supplements sold on Australian shelves, which have been screened by HASTA or Informed Sport. It provides a risk analysis for other supplements that athletes may be considering.

• Access the Global Drug Reference Online website to find out whether the most commonly prescribed and over-the-counter medicines in Australia are permitted by an athlete's sport.

For further information in relation to drug testing or the ASADA process, please access the Sydney Sports Lawyer website for more information.