NCAT rules Olympian's 'enormous talent' a benefit despite inappropriate relationship
An Australian Olympian who was found to have had an inappropriate relationship with an underage athlete has had his Working with Children’s Check reinstated.
An Australian Olympian who was found to have had an inappropriate relationship with an underage athlete has had his Working with Children’s Check reinstated, with a tribunal finding there was “significant benefit” to him coaching children due to his “enormous talent”.
The athlete, who represented Australia at the Olympics three times, was found by US sporting body SafeSport to have given alcohol to an underage athlete and engaged in sexual misconduct with the girl when she was aged between 16 and 17.
The allegations arose from incidents in 2016 and 2017, when he was aged between 21 and 22 and training in the US. However, he has repeatedly denied he did anything wrong, saying he was “unaware” the girl was too young to give consent.
In the US state where the incidents occurred, the age of consent is 18 – and any sexual activity with anyone under that age is considered statutory rape.
While no criminal charges were laid against him, the US Centre for SafeSport banned him from participating in any event, program, or activity connected to the Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
The Children’s Guardian received information about the decision in June last year, and an interim bar was imposed on his Working with Children’s Check (WWCC), after it was found he posed a risk to the safety of children.
However he launched immediate action to challenge the ban at NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where it was found that while he did not “groom” the girl, she was a “lonely and vulnerable teenager” living away from home when they engaged in a relationship in the US.
It was also found he failed to exercise boundaries with his “young friend”, creating a “negative impact” on her.
Regardless, the Tribunal did not accept there was a “power imbalance” between the athlete and the girl, given there was not a vast difference in their age and experience, and that he was not coaching her at the time.
While the Tribunal accepted his sexual relationship with the girl was “objectively inappropriate and unlawful” and that he “remained insensitive to that fact” – it found he was unlikely to repeat the same behaviour again.
“The likelihood of the (athlete) engaging in this conduct (is assessed) to be very low,” the Tribunal said in a Judgement.
“There is no evidence of the (man) otherwise engaging in criminal conduct, nor is there any evidence to find that he has a pattern of behaviour which involves exploitation, abuse of power or boundary violations over others.”
While the Tribunal found a “reasonable parent is likely to be concerned about the man’s unlawful behaviour and the allegations of sexual assault made against him”, it also found they related to a time where they were both young.
“They would understand the allegations of abusive behaviour are not proven and be reassured by the time has passed,” the Judgement said.
“In circumstances where the risk to the safety of children is low, there is a public interest in the man being able to coach children as he was doing prior to the interim bar.
“He has enormous talent in his sport and there is significant benefit to individuals and the Australian community receiving coaching from him.”
As a result of the Judgement this week, the bar on his WWCC was set aside, meaning he can return to coaching in NSW.
An OCG spokesperson said it could not comment on the specifics of the matter as it was subject to current legal proceedings.
“In October 2025, significant changes for how WWCC reviews are managed in NSW came into effect,” the spokesperson said.
“All WWCC administrative reviews are now managed by the OCG, the state’s independent child safety regulator, replacing the previous external review process through NCAT.”
Originally published as NCAT rules Olympian's 'enormous talent' a benefit despite inappropriate relationship
