Football Victoria 2020 Fee Refund Policy

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent effect on football in Victoria, Football Victoria (FV) has released its 2020 Fee Refund Policy to Clubs & Associations.

Please note that this policy relates only to the FV portion of fees for competitions administered by FV. Clubs and Associations will develop their own policies in accordance with their own costs incurred to date.

In addition, regional players that are administered by an Association should contact their Association for information relating to their specific policy.

View the FV Fee Refund policy here.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who does FV’s Refund Policy apply for?

This policy applies to FV sanctioned NPL Victoria, Metropolitan, State and Junior competitions, and regional competitions as referenced below (see Appendix A in the policy for the full list of competitions).

Whilst FV is the state authority responsible for governing the game in Victoria, there are some competitions directly administered by other authorities, particularly in regional areas. It will be up to those Associations to form their own refund policy regarding their portion of fees. This policy will apply to the FV portion of the fees charged by those Associations.

How did you land on the final refund % for each competition?

FV has used cost apportionment (actual expenses incurred) principles, a reasonable and transparent method of refund calculation that involves assessing what costs have been incurred by FV in planning and delivering the competitions to date. This means different levels of refund have been calculated for each competition.

What is FV’s component of the registration fee used for?

The fees paid to FV directly cover a range of costs associated with delivery of football for 355 clubs, almost 4,000 teams and over 40,000 fixtures annually.

In general, FV staff are required to support and deliver the following:

  • Insurance
  • Team entry management
  • Fixturing
  • Competition rules, policies and support
  • Registrations and Play Football administration
  • Referee scheduling, education and accreditation
  • Determination of player dispensation requests
  • Development of our Rules of Competition and Player Regulations
  • Establishment of our discipline procedures (including the GDT)
  • Council liaison - facilities and grounds
  • Club support (including Club Ambassadors)

Over the COVID-19 affected period, FV staff were intensely focussed on:

  • Rescheduling and amending fixtures across competitions and hotspots
  • Developing and supporting Club COVID-19 safe operations and logistics
  • Extensive liaison and communications across councils and local policies
  • Return to Training and Return to Play Conditions.

These costs are not linear to matches, in fact a substantial proportion of costs are incurred prior to the commencement of any season. In preparation for season 2020, and as a result of having delivered many competitions in part, FV incurred a range of these costs, most of which are unrecoverable.  FV has calculated the extent of these costs in formulating this policy.

What about the Football Federation Australia (FFA) component of registration fees?

Football Federation Australia (FFA) have elected to reduce their portion of the player registration fees by 5% for Victorian participants for 2020. FFA ordinarily collects the National Registration Fee (NRF) from FV’s portion ($14 per junior and $33 per senior player).

Hence, FV will pass on $13.30 per junior player and $31.35 per senior player to FFA and these amounts are not refunded under this policy. The 5% FFA discount ($0.70 for Juniors and $1.40 for Seniors) forms part of FV’s total refund amount.

How much of FV’s component of registration fees will be returned to me?

Please view the refund tables in Section 2.0 - 2.3 of the FV Fee Refund Policy.

When and how will the player registration refunds be processed?

FV will reconcile the total amount owed (in player registration refunds) on a per Club/Association basis in September. In October, FV will either transfer the amount to each Club/Association or provide an invoice for the balance. Clubs will then be responsible for distributing these refunds to participants, unless another arrangement is made between the club and the participant directly.

Each Club must complete this process with their players by 30 November 2020.

I play at a regional club through an Association. How will this policy affect me?

Refunds for the FV component of registration/team entry fees will be issued in October either directly to regional clubs, or to their Association where it administers fees, using the same process at metropolitan clubs.

Whilst FV is the state authority responsible for governing the game in Victoria, there are some competitions directly administered by other authorities, particularly in regional areas and an additional fee may have been paid to these Associations. It will be up to those Associations to form their own refund policy regarding their portion of fees.

I registered and paid online. Will I be refunded directly from FV?

Regardless of whether you paid your registration fee online or manually through your Club/Association, the fee refunds will be returned to Clubs/Associations in October, for distribution to their members.

It is vital that we ensure no Club, Association, player or parent is disadvantaged on the basis of their payment method. Accordingly, given over 50% of payments were made manually via Clubs/Associations this season, FV’s only option to ensure equity is to process refunds back via the Clubs/Associations.

Why wasn’t this policy released earlier?

Football Victoria has undertaken a thorough consultation process with a range of stakeholders, including Clubs and Associations, to ensure all relevant information was considered to finalise the policy. This process, combined with reduced hours across Football Victoria staff, has taken many weeks to complete.

Further, given the announcement on September 6 regarding the State Government Roadmap, we can now confirm competitions will not proceed in 2020 and accordingly, the full FV Refund Policy can now be released.

What is the process for team entry fee refunds?

Team entry fee refunds will be processed in October, at the same time as participant refunds.

Please note that regional clubs administered by an Association will need to refer to their Association for their policy.

Is there still a chance 2020 seasons will resume?

Following the most recent announcement on September 6 regarding the wind-back of restrictions in both metropolitan and regional Victoria, the resumption of competition football in 2020 is now deemed impossible.

FV will continue to plan for social football, when it is safe to do so. Our summer football products, including GO Fives and GO Sevens, will be made available when it is deemed safe to play.

The FV refund is only a small part of the fees I paid to my club. Do they have to refund me?

Clubs will each need to develop their own policy, in line with their individual circumstances.

In accordance with the FV cost apportionment principles, we would anticipate clubs will have also incurred unavoidable costs to date that they will need to recover. For example, clubs may have delivered training and kits.

Please note that each individual Club/Association may construct their own refund policy and FV is not able to mandate any Club/Association’s individual refund policy as it relates to their portion of the fees.

I am in financial hardship. What should I do?

As the majority of player registration fees go directly to the Club to cover their costs, we recommend you contact your club to discuss any options available as part of their refund policy.

I have a question. Who can I contact?
  • Clubs/Associations:
    Your FV Club Ambassador is your best initial contact for enquiries. 
     
  • 2020 Registered Players:
    We encourage you to view these FAQs first, which provide answers to the most common enquiries we have received from the football community.

If you cannot find an answer to your question online, please direct your enquiry to your club in the first instance.

Please note that FV staff are working reduced hours. We will endeavour to respond to all enquiries as quickly as possible and appreciate your ongoing patience.