AFLW players have been facing a number of challenges, including working unpaid hours and inequitable access to resources such as medical care, a report released by the AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) has found.
Players also reported a lack of integration of the AFLW program into their clubs and perceived low levels of respect from across the industry.
The AFLPA's Insights and Impact report collected player responses earlier this year and during season six of AFLW, prior to the negotiation of the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, which saw an increase in the players' contracted hours.
That data showed that 42 per cent of players said they were being required to undertake additional unpaid sessions on a weekly basis.
An additional 52 per cent said they were being required to undertake additional sessions some of the time (less often than weekly).
This included over two thirds of the cohort — 71 per cent — who said they were sometimes required to come into the club on days off.
Of all workplace culture measures, AFLW players gave the lowest rating (5.81 out of 10) to the question of whether they were getting a "mental break" from the game.
The report also notes that a high number — one third of the cohort — accessed mental health support through the AFLPA.
This compares to just over one in 10 (or 12 per cent) of men's players who are accessing similar supports.
Overall, the survey found that AFLW players had lower levels of satisfaction on all measures of workplace culture compared with AFL men's players (averaging 6.82 out of 10, versus 8.26 out of 10 for men).
Access to equipment, facilities, medical care lacking
AFLW players also called out a lack of access to resources, with just under half of the playing cohort (49 per cent) saying that they had only "somewhat sufficient" or "not at all sufficient" access to equipment and facilities.
Players were asked to rank the availability of a variety of resources as either "highly sufficient", "sufficient", "somewhat sufficient" or "not sufficient at all".
Just 18 per cent rated their access to equipment and facilities as "highly sufficient".
Perhaps most alarmingly, the availability of medical care was rated poorly, with nearly a quarter of the players (23 per cent) saying they had either only "somewhat sufficient" or "not at all sufficient" access to doctors.
Just under a quarter (23 per cent) also said their access to strength and conditioning and nutrition support was either "somewhat sufficient" or "not at all sufficient".
AFLW program not fully integrated
On the topic of integration of the AFLW program within clubs, 32 per cent said while integration had started, there was "a long way to go".
Another 44 per cent agreed that while the program was "somewhat integrated", there were staff who treated AFLW as inferior to the AFL men's program.
Only 17 per cent of players agreed that the AFLW program was "completely integrated" into their respective clubs.
AFLW players also reported experiencing low levels of respect from some corners of the industry.
Players were asked to rate the levels of respect they had experienced from key players like the AFL, their club's CEO and the AFLPA, on a scale from "extremely high" to "extremely low".
While most players (43 per cent) said they experienced "more respect than not" from the AFL, the governing body had the highest rate of negative responses.
One in four (23 per cent) said the AFL either showed them more disrespect than not (14 per cent), low respect (seven per cent), or extremely low respect (two per cent).
Only six per cent said they had experienced "extremely high respect" from the AFL.
The AFLPA, club CEOs and general managers of football (GMs) were rated more highly by comparison.
Added together, 79 per cent of players said they experienced either extremely high or high levels of respect from the AFLPA, with similar numbers for club CEOs (76 per cent) and GMs (70 per cent).
'Much work to do'
AFLPA CEO Paul Marsh responded to the report by saying the data shows there "remains much work to do across the industry".
"As we enter a hopefully more normal period post constant COVID interruptions, we expect a greater focus on integration of the AFLW Football Program at clubs and on appropriate resource availability," he said.
The report also recommended that the AFL and AFLPA continue to monitor club compliance with players' contracted hours, including considering sanctions for those who failed to comply.
It further committed to conducting a more detailed club-by-club analysis on how AFLW was being integrated into clubs, while pushing for increased resources, especially those related to medical care, as well as respect and responsibility training for industry staff.
The AFL responded to the report by saying that the "concerns raised in the survey from early this year have since been addressed in the new AFLW CBA in which the average pay was increased by 94 per cent.
"Contact hours were addressed, as was further integration and access into club AFL programs/facilities," a spokesperson said.
"We continue to engage the playing cohort both directly and indirectly for feedback, ideation and to understand how the AFL and the 18 clubs can continue to provide the best possible environments for success."
When the current AFLW CBA was announced, Marsh called it an important "first step" towards the AFLPA's goal of making AFLW footballers full-time by 2026.
The AFL, by contrast, has set a goal of making AFLW players the best paid in any domestic women's competition by 2030.
