New national PlayHQ concussion function

July 15, 2025

The AFL has today launched a new feature in PlayHQ to help leagues, clubs, players and families manage concussion across community football nationally.

Following extensive consultation with leagues and clubs, the feature is now live nationally and allows clubs and leagues to enter suspected concussions for players, making them immediately ineligible for selection and triggering email notifications outlining the steps they need to complete to manage their safe return to play.

Players, or their parent/guardian, will need to successfully complete the clearance process by making declarations through their PlayHQ profile to reactivate their selection eligibility, which includes:

• Players who suffer a concussion – must declare that it is at least 21 days since the concussion, and they have completed all the return to play requirements.
• Players who did not suffer a concussion – must declare that a doctor has cleared them of suffering a concussion. In these situations, a club administrator, via PlayHQ, must confirm they have sighted the medical clearance before the player is eligible for selection.

In 2024, the AFL introduced a new policy that states all players who suffer a concussion must sit out a minimum of 21 days before returning to play, which applies to all levels of Australian Rules Football below the elite AFL and AFLW competitions.

AFL Executive General Manager of Game Development Rob Auld said this new feature in PlayHQ was designed to make the game safer for local footballers.

“On behalf of the AFL, I’m proud to release this new functionality in PlayHQ, which will help clubs, leagues, players and parents manage concussion incidents in local football and support the health and wellbeing of participants,” Auld said.

“While we don’t want concussions to occur, we know like all contact sports, accidents will happen from time to time, so when they do, it is imperative we have the right processes and tools in place for the local footy community to manage players’ safe return to the field.

“This initiative comes off the back of the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub, which is another big piece of work that sits under the AFL’s Strategic Plan for Sport-Related Concussion in Australian Football.

“We strongly encourage all clubs and leagues to utilise this new feature that’s now live and available in PlayHQ, as well as access the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub for support, resources and educational guidelines.”

Tim MacKinnon, Chief Executive Officer of PlayHQ said that the new online automated system puts player safety first.

“PlayHQ’s concussion management feature automates the protocols that keep players safe while removing the administrative burden from volunteers,” he said

“The moment a concussion is suspected, the system takes over – managing the minimum 21-day recovery period, tracking clearances, and ensuring no player returns until they’re genuinely ready.

“Technology can improve safety and transform a fragmented, paper-based process into an automated system with player safety at its core.”

SANFL Head of Talent and Football Operations Sean Toohey welcomed the new function on PlayHQ, which will apply to all players in SANFL competitions and community football in SA.

“Together with the AFL, we are committed to ongoing education and support when it comes to the management of concussion for players, coaches, umpires, families and volunteers,” Toohey said.

“This new technology in PlayHQ is a great initiative to help with managing concussion and SANFL will be supporting all leagues, clubs and schools across the State to make sure everyone is familiar with the new feature.”

The new functionality is a key initiative under the AFL’s Strategic Plan for Sport-Related Concussion in Australian Football and follows the release of the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub, which was launched on the AFL Play website in April.

Home to all AFL community concussion resources, the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub has translated policies and community guidelines into simplified, engaging and easy to understand content, empowering everyone in local footy with the knowledge and tools they need to recognise, respond to, and manage concussion.

As part of the new functionality in PlayHQ, if a player is suspected of suffering a concussion, they or their parent/guardian are automatically directed to the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub via email communication, which contains information to help support and educate.