Kitty Chiller appointed to key sports integrity role while still under international sanction

Aug 18, 2023

The former Gymnastics Australia boss Kitty Chiller has been promoted to acting chief executive of the National Sports Tribunal (NST) despite still being under an international gymnastics sanction.

The NST advertises itself as an independent provider of legal dispute resolution to people and organisations within sport.

Chiller, a former modern pentathlete who represented Australia at the 2000 Games and is now a member of the Australian Olympic Committee, was chief executive of Gymnastics Australia for more than four years until 2022.

She was barred from representing the Oceania Gymnastics Union or International Gymnastics Federation at competitions until June next year in a decision by the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) last year. GEF found she had made a false statement by relying on another person’s incorrect account that a senior judge had been invited to a key Olympic selection event but was unable to attend.

Her behaviour drew strong criticism from the GEF panel. “She should have asked to see the invitation instead of solely relying on hearsay, all the more for the purposes of providing a sworn affidavit produced in an arbitral proceeding,” the decision read.

The NST began operations in 2020 following the recommendations of the 2018 Wood review, commissioned by the federal government, which found concern among stakeholders that sports adjudicating their own matters might give rise to bias.

A spokesperson for Department of Health – which oversees the NST – said Chiller had been appointed in an acting capacity following the conclusion of the term of the former chief executive, John Boultbee.

“Ms Chiller has had, and will have, no involvement in Gymnastics matters which come to the NST,” they said. “Decisions of the NST are made by the NST Members appointed to hear or mediate the matter. NST staff, including Ms Chiller, are not involved in the decision-making process of the NST Members.”

Alison Quigley, a former gymnast and co-founder of Athlete Rights Australia, said the sanction undermined the NST’s reputation.

“When trust has been abused already in sport, and athletes are left damaged, they require these new bodies to demonstrate top-level integrity and make appointments that inculcate trust,” she said.

A parent of a current gymnast competing at national level, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is very concerning to us that an administrator who is currently under international sanctions for integrity breaches is appointed to act as a head of Australia’s top sport integrity body.”

Chiller was approached for comment.