Overview

• The Riddell District Netball Football League excluded two transgender Melton Central players from competition for the rest of the 2025 season under a Sex Discrimination Act clause citing superior stamina and physique.
• A widely circulated video showed Manawa Aranui – who played elite men’s netball before transitioning – knocking an opponent to the ground during a legal play.
• Melton South Netball Club threatened to boycott its matches against Melton Central over safety fears, and some players say they felt intimidated by the athletes’ physicality.
• Netball Victoria has launched a formal review by appointing an independent expert to assess safety or fairness complaints from rival clubs.
• Under Netball Victoria’s 2018 policy, transgender athletes may play based on self-identified gender, but Australian Sports Commission guidelines allow exclusions when a safety or competitive advantage can be objectively demonstrated.