- WA Government appoints independent audit specialists KPMG to conduct review into WAIS governance and culture
- Current and former staff and athletes from the past five years will have the opportunity to contribute to the review
- New Board members committed to restorative justice process
Audit and business management specialists KPMG have been appointed to undertake a holistic review of the governance and culture at the WA Institute of Sport (WAIS).
The review will investigate the WAIS culture, as it is relevant to the safety and wellbeing of the athletes under its care, and the staff it employs, including the adequacy of relevant policies and their resourcing and implementation. It will identify areas for improvement and propose appropriate recommendations to address those areas.
Importantly, the governance and culture review will enable any current staff and athletes, and those who were at WAIS within the past five years, the opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives.
The Sport and Recreation Minister has also announced the first round of new WAIS Board members, with experienced administrator Dr Neale Fong appointed Chair. Dr Fong is joined by former Director General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet Darren Foster, Hockey WA Chief Executive Officer Fabian Ross and former WA Police Force Deputy Commissioner Gary Dreibergs.
Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries Deputy Director General Jennifer McGrath is an Ex-Officio member, representing the Director General. Further Board appointments will be announced shortly.
WAIS is an independent incorporated organisation that receives most of its funding from the WA Government. That funding supports the institute to provide pathways for athletes to safely progress to elite levels, such as the Olympics or Paralympic Games.
Work has also begun to identify the optimum business model for WAIS into the future, looking at alternatives to its current establishment as an incorporated body.
As stated by Sport and Recreation Minister David Templeman:
“I am very pleased to announce that KPMG will lead the work on this important review into the governance and culture at WAIS.
“The process to appoint the right organisation has taken time, however there was a large number of responses and the department needed to properly evaluate them all to achieve the right outcome.
“Now this work can start, I encourage anyone who is at WAIS now or has been in the past five years to start thinking about how they might like to contribute to this review.
“I am also pleased to announce the new Board Chair Dr Neale Fong, who replaces former Chair Priya Cooper, as well as new members Darren Foster, Fabian Ross and Gary Dreibergs. I would like to thank Ms Cooper and the former Board members for their work and commitment to high performance sport and wish them well.
“I intend to make further Board appointments in the coming weeks and have asked the new Board Chair and members to proceed with the restorative justice process forthwith.”
