Leanne Faraday-Brash's Message
Integrity Report
Maccabi Victoria continues to focus on living the values that define our organisation despite another sobering year for Israel and our Australian Jewish community. With more than 3000 members competing across 20 sports in 250 teams, MacVic plays such an important role in fostering physical and psychological health and fitness and a sense of belonging and identification as proud Jewish Australians. Our members do this while engaging in wholesome competition, learning and living respect for rules and authority with commitment to excellence and fair play.
The Integrity and Governance Committee under the expert and dedicated oversight of our national Chair, Jacquie Seemann-Charak embarked, this year, on its most ambitious program of work to date. Policies were overhauled, position descriptions were re-written, club constitutions examined and processes refined in line with those of best-in-class organisations in community sport and participation.
My heartfelt thanks to the dedicated members of the IAG Committee, our National Integrity Officer, Yvonne Fayman, the State-based Integrity Officers who support one another and step in when conflicts of interest arise in our tight-knit community. Again, my heartfelt thanks to Shari Cohen, our dedicated State General Manager with much wisdom and experience in this space and to Donna Olbourne, our National Integrity Program Manager, who has made a real impact as a dedicated resource to continuous improvement in policies, processes, compliance and training. Revised policies and processes are already operational for the upcoming record-breaking Carnival to be held in Melbourne in January 2026 with over 500 registered participants and for Maccabiah, in Israel, June/July 2026. Our intention is to roll out this new IAG framework across States and Clubs in the coming year as an adjunct to the advice, empowerment and active support given to our Clubs throughout each year as befits the ongoing need for education or responsive issues management.
When I was asked to take up this privileged and challenging role 10 years ago, Maccabi was at the vanguard of member protection in the aftermath of a Royal Commission. Much has been done to advance this cause at Maccabi in the past several years. We must stay relevant, compliant and responsible in the way we educate, model and enforce integrity and governance. There is no room for complacency. It is indeed a privilege to see the ever-present dedication, wisdom, skill and discretionary effort of all at Maccabi who strive to meet our lofty obligations to the community and to government.
Disturbing events and behaviours are readily reported on the front pages of broadsheet and digital publications. Sadly, this seems to occur almost daily and has highlighted, as pointedly as ever before, the criticality of child safeguarding and the human right for people of all ages and stages to participate as members of our society safely; with every expectation they will be treated with fairness, dignity and respect.
It is easy to look back on the past year in our state of Victoria with pessimism and grieve the loss of confidence, social cohesion, even trust in humanity. As Gandhi said, and as I passionately believe, we must “be the change we want to see in the world”. Equity of access, fair play, absence of unlawful discrimination and harassment, spirited competition must be fought for. At the same time, winning and losing are both part of life. But we must hold ourselves to account for our behaviour, committing ourselves to fair play, mindful interactions with opposition players, player families and officials. If people in the broader community are quick to judge us, let us not give them pretext much less reason to think of us poorly.
We cannot predict when and how integrity issues will arise. In the past year, as every year, we have dealt with several integrity issues. Some are easy to resolve or mediate, other complaints are potentially quite serious, many are complex and all require sound judgment and sensitivity to address them. A grievance can arise between players, between Maccabi members and officials and opposition clubs, between players or parents and coaches. Working with children adds a whole layer of risk and responsibility that can range from cyberbullying by our own members towards each other and enforcing rules and other mechanisms for safe billeting and transport of juniors. Coaches and parents must balance how they cultivate a high-performance mindset in team members and enable skill development without crippling pressure or impacts on self-esteem and psychological health.
While the scope of day to day integrity matters can involve fair play, player welfare and allegations of bullying, cyberbullying, harassment and will often require general conflict and grievance management, through to formal investigations, international events like Maccabiah extend further the remit of the integrity portfolio to wagering or sports betting, use of performance enhancing or illegal substances.
As we look towards the coming year, Maccabi Victoria reaffirms our dedication to the safety, wellbeing and best sporting interests of our members. We look forward to a safe, fun and successful Carnival, great competition across all Clubs next year and participating in what will surely be an unforgettable Maccabiah symbolising the centrality of Israel and its people to our lives and the pride and joy for our delegation representing Australia.
Leanne Faraday-Brash – State Integrity Officer, Integrity Committee
