An athlete's mother alleged the chief executive of Gymnastics Australia, Kitty Chiller, should not have closed a 2018 investigation into the National Centre of Excellence.
But the mother's complaint — made under a formal process hastily set up to give athletes a chance to air their grievances — was deemed "out of scope".
And now new information has revealed the policy that governed the "independent" complaints process was actually co-drafted by those in the office of Ms Chiller, although Gymnastics Australia has distanced itself from any involvement in its drafting, saying it merely “endorsed” the policy.
The scheme limited valid complaints to only those involving direct conduct towards an athlete, thereby excluding from potential investigation officials who may have handled historical complaints or had knowledge of abuse.
The mother's complaint concerned Ms Chiller's decision to end an investigation into the National Centre of Excellence in 2018, following evidence provided by multiple parents.
That complaint was deemed "out of scope" by the so-called Supplementary Complaints Management Process, set up in 2020 to run alongside a Human Rights Commission review of the sport.
Three years after the investigation was closed by Ms Chiller, the Human Rights Commission revealed widespread cultural problems in the sport.
Ms Chiller did not provide a response to the ABC this week addressing the mother's complaint about closing the investigation. Gymnastics Australia said it did not comment on investigations, but in response noted Ms Chiller was not a respondent under the SCMP and offered a statement:
In 2018 when closing the investigation, Ms Chiller provided a letter to parents saying the "majority" of allegations were found to be "incomplete" and that Gymnastics Australia did not find that any staff member was in breach of their employment.
As it was deemed out of scope, the complaint against Ms Chiller under the SCMP into why the 2018 matter was closed was never investigated.
'Independent and fair'
When it was established in 2020, the Supplementary Complaints Management Process (SCMP) was described by National Sports Tribunal (NST) chief executive John Boultbee as "an opportunity to have [athletes'] voices heard and grievances addressed in a forum that will be independent and fair to all parties”.
Evidence during Senate estimates last week revealed that Gymnastics Australia provided input into the policy's design, which excluded officials who handled complaints.
Instead, the process was limited to covering only direct abuse or harassment of athletes.
Labor Senator Don Farrell said the gymnastics process — which has informed a new complaint-handling system across all sports — should have been fully independent.
"Young gymnasts, who reported traumatic experiences, regrettably seem to have become guinea pigs, in a trial run," he said.
"Those who have raised their concerns with me certainly don’t feel like the process was independent or fair."
The country's new template complaint policy, developed under the National Integrity Framework, has a broader scope and requires officials to report abuse to SIA as soon as reasonably practicable.
Question of scope
David Sharpe, chief executive of Sport Integrity Australia, told the estimates hearing last week that 35 allegations were made in Australia after the 'Athlete A' documentary that detailed sexual abuse perpetrated by a team doctor on young American gymnasts.
Of those, he said, 13 complaints "were deemed out of our scope, 22 of the complaints were in scope … under a supplementary complaints policy that was developed between us [SIA], gymnastics and the NST".
Asked by Senator Farrell to explain why 13 complaints were deemed out of scope, Mr Sharpe said, "Some were actually not deemed to be complaints under the complaints-handling model, so they didn't meet abuse behaviour-type approach [sic] or thresholds".
The ABC has been provided documents detailing one complaint that names Ms Chiller as a respondent. It was deemed by the independent assessor not to be a valid complaint under the scheme because the complaint did not concern direct conduct towards an athlete.
Under the SCMP, Gymnastics Australia even provided responses to complainants at the end of the process, in an approach Mr Sharpe said had now been changed for other sports.
The SIA boss admitted: "We've certainly learned a lot from that, and the new National Integrity Framework solely sits with us — all responsibility is developed by us and sits with us now."
The Human Rights Commission report into gymnastics released last year found a win-at-all-costs culture created unacceptable risks for the safety and wellbeing of often very young gymnasts.
Gymnastics involvement
The ABC has sought more information from SIA, the NST and Gymnastics Australia about how the SCMP was drafted and, in particular, who made the decision to exclude from the scheme officials who handled complaints or may have had knowledge of abuse and failed to act.
A statement from SIA said Gymnastics Australia was "ultimately responsible" for the SCMP, "which was developed by the NST for Gymnastics Australia board approval", while SIA "provided input on the sections relevant to our role".
The NST described the SCMP as "a Gymnastics Australia policy, and therefore Gymnastics Australia was involved in its development, up to board level, for adoption", although it noted the SIA and NST assisted Gymnastics Australia in its development.
When asked to confirm who was involved in the drafting of the SCMP, Gymnastics Australia provided a statement that distanced itself from the policy.
"It was developed by the NST, with input from SIA, in relation to their role in the process. This policy was endorsed by the Gymnastics Australia Board."
Ms Chiller, the chief executive of Gymnastics Australia, is departing her post to take up a job as deputy chief executive of the NST.
Her last day is on March 4, but she has already started working for the NST one day per week.
The NST has confirmed Ms Chiller has — and will have — no involvement in any gymnastics matters which come to the tribunal.
