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Australian Institute of Sport

AIS Wellbeing Health Check

Measuring the culture of wellbeing in high performance sport.

The AIS has introduced a Wellbeing Health Check (WHC) to assess the wellbeing culture of high performance (HP) sport.

Why we measure wellbeing

Wellbeing is a key part of achieving sustained performance and success in elite sport. But it’s not enough to talk about wellbeing, we need to measure and track it, so that we can improve it.

The WHC measures how well athletes and staff are supported by their National Sports Organisation (NSO) when it comes to their cultural, mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

What do we mean by ‘wellbeing’?

At the AIS, our vision is to ‘win well to inspire Australians’. Winning well is about balancing ambitious performance goals while also creating a culture of care.

A culture of care and wellbeing is one where behaviours and actions are consistent with prioritising the mental, emotional, cultural and physical wellbeing of athletes and staff. We know a culture of wellbeing will contribute to sustained performance and success in elite sport.

The WHC is one of a series of initiatives by the AIS to diagnose how effectively sports have integrated holistic wellbeing initiatives and services into their HP programs.

What the WHC involves

All HP athletes, coaches and staff receive a confidential survey from the AIS as part of the WHC.

The survey has six key themes:

  1. Cultural Values
  2. Equity and Inclusion
  3. Conduct and Behaviour
  4. Selection and Non-selection
  5. Mental health
  6. Injury and Illness

Everyone who shares their experiences through the WHC survey is helping to improve the culture of wellbeing of high performance environments for them, their peers and future generations.

Have your say

Participating in this survey is important. To improve wellbeing in HP programs, we need to be informed by the experiences and insights of athletes, coaches, and staff.

This is your opportunity to tell us what works in your program, what doesn’t work, what should continue and what needs addressing. The WHC is a tool for you to have your voice heard in a confidential and anonymous way.

Outcomes of the WHC

The results from the survey within the WHC guide the AIS in identifying areas of strength, and opportunities for improvement, in your sport and across the sector as a whole. They will also be used to support new strategies to improve wellbeing.

Timing

The WHC will be available from October 2023 onwards. The AIS will work with National Sporting Organisations to determine an appropriate time based on performance plans and major events.

How to complete the survey

The survey will be provided to participants directly from the AIS through either camp-based delivery a text message or email. It will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

The survey asks athletes, coaches and staff to consider their high performance program over the last 12 months.

Confidentiality

The survey does not ask you for specific information or feedback about individuals in your sport. It collects information on the high performance system as a whole.

Your responses will be combined with the survey responses from other participants and results will only be communicated in summary form. Individual survey responses will not be provided to your sport, coach or high performance staff. The information collected will not be used to identify you in any way.

Frequently Asked Questions

We do not expect that taking part in the survey will cause you distress, based on the AIS’s experience in conducting surveys of this nature. However, you may consider some of the questions (for example, around mental health, bullying or sexual harassment) to be potentially sensitive. It is your choice if you need to skip any of the questions.

If you do find any part of the survey distressing or upsetting, there are a number of support services available:

  • Mental Health Referral Network on 02 6214 1130 (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm AEST, for free mental health or wellbeing support in high performance sport)
  • Lifeline on 13 11 14 (free 24/7 counselling service for support with crisis and suicide prevention)
  • Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 (free 24/7 counselling service for support with anxiety, depression and suicide prevention)
  • 1800Respect on 1800 737 732 (free 24/7 support service if you have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment and feel like you would like to speak to someone for support or information)
  • You can also contact your sport’s AW&E National Manager for further information.

The research is being conducted by the Australian Institute of Sport.

The survey has been supported by independent experts Right Lane Consulting; and developed in consultation with a diverse cross-section of athletes, coaches, staff, subject matter experts and NSO and National Institute Network representatives.

The following athletes and staff are invited to participate in the AIS Wellbeing Health Check:

  • All current athletes – all current able-bodied and para-athletes
  • All current coaches
  • High performance (HP) staff – including high performance support staff members, administrative staff members and other NSO role-holders or representatives.

The survey will be available from October 2023 onwards. The AIS is working with National Sporting Organisations to ensure timing is appropriate based on performance plans and major events.

Eligible participants will be contacted directly via an email and text message from the AIS with a link to complete the survey.

Participation in the survey is voluntary. You can stop or withdraw at any time. You can also select ‘prefer not to say’ in response to certain questions.

Any personal information obtained from you through this survey, is provided voluntarily by you.

Your decision whether or not to take part, will not in any way affect your relationship with the AIS.

  • If you are 15 or older, you do not need parental consent to complete this survey.
  • If you are under 15, you will need your parent or guardian’s permission to complete the survey. You will also need to complete the survey together with your parent or guardian.

After the survey is completed, your sport will receive a summary of key findings and recommendations (Outcomes Report).

The AIS encourages sports to provide athletes and staff with a summary of these findings; and to work with athletes and staff to identify actions it proposes to take in response.

The overall results will help the AIS to learn from best practice; develop system-wide standards; and work with sports to develop strategies to better support wellbeing.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to start again. Your responses will be saved and you can return to the survey by clicking on the original link (from the device you were previously using). You’ll be taken back to the most recent section that you had completed and you can continue from there.

Your personal information is being collected by Sport Australia (incorporating the AIS).

Sport Australia is authorised to collect and manage personal information for the purposes of delivering sport services to Australians and to sporting organisations under the functions of the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989 (Cth).

Sport Australia collects personal information only for the purposes of providing support to you and to Australian sport. The purpose of capturing information in this survey (as set out in more detail above), is to measure how well athletes and staff are supported by their NSO when it comes to mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

All information obtained in connection with this project will be electronically stored in a secured, password-protected directory on an AIS maintained server, to which only the Project Team will have access.

The AIS works collaboratively with a range of organisations to deliver its programs. This collaboration includes using shared information holding systems and sharing information, which was collected for the primary purpose of delivering sport services.

The AIS will not disclose to third parties (in Australia or overseas) identifiable personal information provided in this survey. The AIS may provide aggregated or de-identified data to its sport partners, including NSOs.

Further information on the third parties the AIS discloses information to (in Australia or overseas) is available in Sport Australia’s Privacy Policy.

Yes. Overall group-based findings may be published in a report or on the AIS website. It is important to note that all of the data collected is anonymous and cannot be linked back to individuals. Only large-scale group data will be used in any published material.

Sport Australia’s Privacy Policy contains information about how you may access and seek correction of personal information about you that is held by the AIS.

It also contains information about how you may complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how the AIS will deal with complaints.

The WHC surveys athletes, coaches and staff; and is focussed on the cultural, mental, physical and emotional wellbeing experience. Results will be used to improve current and long-term wellbeing programs.

The DPE Insights Survey is a tool for the Australian HP System to gather feedback annually from athletes, coaches and performance support team members about the Daily Performance Environment of categorised athletes. The DPE Survey will provide high level insights into Daily Performance Environment enabling conversations and/or undertake a deeper dive into specific areas.

If you would like more information, or would like to raise a concern about a conduct, integrity, bullying, harassment, discrimination, or other issue, please contact:

Further information

If you have any questions about the AIS Wellbeing Health Check, please contact Richard Redman Richard.redman@ausport.gov.au or Kelly Lean Kelly.Lean@ausport.gov.au.

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