Work

Professional athletes and injury insurance: A better way forward

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Professional athletes are workers: sport is their job. Yet they are excluded from workers’ compensation schemes. This denies them the safety net provided to other Australian workers. In a world in which sport has been corporatised and commercialised, their exclusion is inequitable and anachronistic. At the same time, however, sport is different. The frequency with which injuries occur, and the speed with which they must be treated and athletes returned to play (work), do not lend themselves to bureaucratic compensation schemes. What is needed is a bespoke scheme – one tailored to professional sports’ unique needs and risk profile.

Source: Alternative Law Journal

DOI: 10.1177/1037969x251337131

Author: Eric Windholz

Institution: Monash University

Language: English

Topic: Labor Law and Work Dynamics

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650