How to obtain advice or support

PFA PLAYER RELATIONS TEAM

The PFA’s Player Relations Team comprises a highly experienced group of legally qualified personnel and former players with a wide range of expertise who are well-placed to provide world class advice, assistance and representation to Australian footballers both at home and overseas.

PFA PLAYER RELATIONS EXECUTIVES/LAWYERS

For specialist advice on any of the above matters, players can contact any of the following:

Brendan Schwab LL.B, MBA
Laura Sigal BA, JD, LL.M (Hons.) 
James Johnson, BMS (Fin), JD (Hons.), GDLP

PLAYER RELATIONS OFFICERS

As the PFA’s office is based in Melbourne and given the expansion of the A-League, the PFA has also appointed 2 recently retired professionals with an outstanding record of service to the PFA to personally support members on the ground:

David Zdrilic (to focus on supporting players based in New South Wales and overseas)

Jeromy Harris (Queensland)

PFA CLUB AND NATIONAL TEAM REPRESENTATIVES

PFA Delegates

Pursuant to the PFA Rules, the PFA Executive appoints a current player as a PFA delegate at each club, team or squad to liaise between the Executive and the players of that club, team or squad and to perform duties such as the dissemination of information from the PFA to the players in a club as well as to report any problems faced by players to the PFA. 

Click here for a full listing of the PFA’s Delegate Committees

PFA LEGAL ASSISTANCE POLICY

In general, the PFA does not charge players for legal advice and assistance but there are exceptions to this rule in the form of a policy to guide the PFA Chief Executive in exercising his discretion whether or not to charge a fee for the PFA’s services.

The PFA may charge players a fee for legal assistance rendered where there is an international dimension to a dispute. For example in cases heard before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber or the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, where it involves a foreign club or a foreign player’s agent for the recovery of unpaid remuneration or other forms of financial compensation.

The fee shall not be more than 10 per cent of any amount ultimately paid to the player in a successful determination in his or her favour by a tribunal or court and shall not be payable until the player receives the proceeds payable to him or her pursuant to the determination.  Players do not pay a fee under the legal assistance policy if a claim proves to be unsuccessful. 

On occasions, external legal costs may be incurred by the PFA in representing a player (e.g. barristers’ fees). The PFA may pay such costs on behalf of a player if the fees are incurred in relation to the player’s employment as a professional footballer, based on the following criteria:

• the player’s contribution to football;
• the player’s service to and support of the PFA; and/or
• the nature of the case, which will necessarily raise questions of relevance to all professional footballers to the extent that the successful conduct of the case will assist in delivering a better collective outcome for all professional footballers.