Beyond Equal Pay: What Should the Next AFLW Collective Bargaining Agreement Deliver?
In 2026, AFLW players will contest just 12 home-and-away matches, compared with 24 rounds in the men's competition.[1] Despite significant progress towards professionalisation, this disparity raises a fundamental question: should female athletes' opportunities to compete depend upon their competition's commercial performance? With the current AFL/AFLW Collective Bargaining Agreement ('CBA') expiring in 2027, negotiations for its successor provide an opportunity to reconsider the employment conditions of Australia's elite female footballers. Although the existing agreement represents a significant achievement, the next CBA should prioritise guaranteed season expansion, greater financial security, and a meaningful pathway towards full-time professionalism.
A Landmark Deal, but Still an Uneven Playing Field
The 2023–2027 CBA represented a landmark development in Australian sport. For the first time, AFL and AFLW players were covered by a single agreement, establishing a shared framework for negotiating employment conditions. The agreement secured substantial remuneration improvements, including a projected 77% increase in total AFLW player payments by 2027 and average salaries reaching approximately $82,000.[2] It also introduced longer contractual arrangements and improved employment protections. These achievements demonstrate the capacity of collective bargaining to advance the interests of female athletes. Nevertheless, increases in remuneration alone cannot resolve the structural inequalities that continue to distinguish the competitions, particularly regarding opportunities to play professional football.
The Season Expansion Dilemma: Growth at What Cost?
Perhaps the clearest example is the AFLW's restricted season length. Under sch 5B cl 1.3 of the existing CBA, players are guaranteed a minimum 12-match season between 2025 and 2027. Expansion to 14 matches is conditional upon average attendance reaching 6,000 spectators and average television audiences reaching 100,000, subject to the agreement's qualifications.[3] This mechanism makes additional playing opportunities dependent upon commercial performance rather than guaranteeing progressive expansion. Its limitations are evident in the AFL's confirmation that the 2026 season would again comprise 12 rounds.[4]
This arrangement risks perpetuating a cycle of commercial disadvantage. A shorter season provides fewer opportunities to attract spectators, develop rivalries, secure sponsorships, and establish consistent broadcasting audiences. Requiring the AFLW to demonstrate commercial growth before expanding its fixture may therefore constrain the very opportunities necessary to achieve that growth. Importantly, this is not a new concern. Reflecting on the 2022 CBA negotiations, Fremantle player Hayley Miller identified the number of games as the principal point of disagreement between players and the AFL. She explained that progressive expansion was integral to achieving the players' ambition of full-time professionalism.[5] Season length is therefore not merely a matter of competition administration; it is a central industrial issue affecting athletes' professional opportunities.
The AFL's commercial concerns are nevertheless legitimate. Additional matches generate costs associated with player remuneration, travel, broadcasting, and venue operations. Sustainable expansion requires careful financial planning. However, the existing CBA arguably places too much emphasis on demonstrated commercial success and insufficient emphasis on creating the conditions necessary to achieve it. During negotiations for the current agreement, the AFL Players' Association advocated a pathway towards a 17-round competition, enabling every team to play each opponent once.[6] The next CBA should revisit this objective by establishing a binding, staged commitment towards a 17-match season, supported by corresponding investment in broadcasting, marketing and player welfare. Such a mechanism would provide greater contractual certainty while allowing expansion costs to be negotiated in advance.
The Price of Professionalism: Pay, Hours and Job Security
Importantly, additional matches must be accompanied by improvements in remuneration and employment security. Although the current CBA has delivered significant salary increases, AFLW players continue to operate within a different employment framework from their male counterparts. For 2026 and 2027, the agreement generally provides for 25 committed hours per week during the preseason and playing season.[7] This arrangement reflects the competition's developing professional structure, but also highlights the challenges of reconciling elite sporting commitments with employment outside football. The next agreement should establish a clearer pathway towards full-time professionalism, ensuring that increased playing obligations are accompanied by appropriate remuneration, training resources and welfare protections.
The proposed introduction of an AFLW salary cap also presents an opportunity to reconsider remuneration structures. In February 2026, AFL Media reported that the AFL and AFLPA were discussing accelerating its introduction, potentially replacing the existing tiered payment system.[8] Such reform could provide clubs with greater flexibility to reward individual performance and experience. However, any new framework should preserve meaningful minimum salaries and protections against excessive remuneration disparities. Greater contractual flexibility should complement, rather than undermine, the collective employment standards already achieved.
The Next CBA: Turning Promises into Progress
Ultimately, the next CBA should be judged not merely by the salary increases it delivers, but by whether it establishes enforceable commitments to the AFLW's continued professionalisation. A guaranteed pathway towards a 17-match season, accompanied by improved remuneration and employment security, would represent a meaningful step towards substantive equality. Commercial sustainability remains important, but it should not justify indefinitely postponing investment in women's football. The next collective bargaining agreement must ensure that AFLW players receive the professional opportunities necessary to sustain the competition's growth.
References
[1] Australian Football League, ‘Fixture Confirmed for 2026 NAB AFLW Season’, AFL (Web Page, 21 May 2026). https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1523432/fixture-confirmed-for-2026-nab-aflw-season.
[2] Australian Football League, ‘Landmark Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement Reached’, AFL (Web Page, 21 September 2023). https://www.afl.com.au/news/1036867/landmark-joint-collective-bargaining-agreement-reached.
[3] Australian Football League and AFL Players’ Association, AFL and AFLW Collective Bargaining Agreement 2023–2027 (Agreement, 2023) sch 5B cl 1.3. https://www.aflplayers.com.au/app/uploads/2024/01/2023-2027-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement-FINAL.pdf (‘CBA’).
[4] Sarah Black, ‘AFLW Confirms Number of Rounds, Start Date for 2026 Season’, AFL (Web Page). https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1442213/aflw-confirms-number-of-rounds-start-date-for-2026-season.
[5] Hayley Miller, ‘Miller: My Insight into the AFLW CBA Negotiations’, AFL (Web Page). https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1000556/miller-my-insight-into-the-aflw-cba-negotiations.
[6] Gemma Bastiani, ‘“It’s the Number One Priority”: AFLPA Pushing for Historic Joint AFLW-AFL CBA’, AFL (Web Page). https://www.afl.com.au/news/1002257/its-the-number-one-priority-aflpa-pushing-for-historic-joint-aflw-afl-cba.
[7] CBA (n 3) sch 4 cl 8.1(c).
[8] Sarah Black, ‘A Tier-y Farewell? AFLW to Fast-Track Salary Cap Introduction’, AFL (Web Page, 10 February 2026). https://www.afl.com.au/news/1464376.
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