Integrity Awareness and Education Survey: What We Heard
Equestrian Australia thanks everyone who participated in our recent Integrity Awareness and Education Survey, with 605 people taking part and sharing their views on integrity awareness, education and support across equestrian sport.
The survey was designed to help EA better understand how people across the sport access integrity information, where further education and support may be beneficial, and how future resources can be made more practical and relevant to the different roles within our community.
The responses provide valuable insights that will help inform the future direction of EA’s integrity education and resources.
Who responded?
Athletes and participants represented the largest group of respondents, accounting for 45.79% of primary roles identified. Officials represented 17.52%, coaches 9.92% and parents or guardians 8.60%, with responses also received from volunteers, club administrators and committee members, State Branch representatives, EA representatives and support personnel.
Many respondents hold more than one role within equestrian sport. As response numbers varied significantly between role groups, feedback from smaller groups will be interpreted cautiously.
What did we hear?
A clear theme across the survey was the need for integrity education that is easy to access, practical and relevant to the role of the person undertaking it.
When asked which delivery formats would help them learn most effectively, 73.08% selected short online modules, making this the strongest preference. Written guides or checklists were selected by 27.50%, short videos by 23.08%, live webinars by 22.69% and recorded webinars by 21.92%.
Respondents also supported keeping learning concise, recognising equivalent recent learning and avoiding unnecessary duplication across roles or accreditation systems.
Making integrity information easier to navigate
The survey identified opportunities to make it easier for members to find integrity education and understand where to go when they need advice or want to raise a concern.
Only 43.71% of respondents said they knew where to find integrity education relevant to their role, while 39.47% said they did not and 16.82% were unsure.
The results also highlighted uncertainty about the different reporting pathways. 31.92% said they did not know there were different pathways, while 30.19% said they were not sure which pathway applied.
These findings highlight the importance of providing clear contacts and plain-English information that helps people distinguish between advice, complaints and integrity reporting pathways.
Different roles, different needs
The results reinforce that a single learning pathway will not meet the needs of everyone involved in equestrian sport.
For athletes and participants, the most commonly selected topic was how to raise a concern, followed by rights, respect and safety, and bullying, harassment and discrimination. Other areas included supplements, drugs and medicines, selection or conflicts of interest, safe online behaviour and anti-doping.
For parents and guardians, the strongest areas of interest included how and where to report, supporting athletes through complaints or concerns, safeguarding and safe practices, and respectful parent behaviour.
Coaches highlighted complaints and referral pathways, social media and electronic communication, working with parents and guardians and conflict resolution with athletes under 18 among the areas where additional education would be useful.
Officials identified practical, event-ready resources and capabilities including complaint triage, referral pathways, difficult conversations, de-escalation, complaint response, safeguarding recognition and neutral decision-making.
Feedback from volunteers, support personnel and people in club, State Branch and national governance roles also reinforced the need for resources tailored to their particular responsibilities.
Education is only part of the picture
Another important message from the survey was that education needs to be supported by effective systems and processes.
Qualitative feedback linked education with the need for visible leadership, simple and accessible reporting and complaint pathways, support for people who raise concerns in good faith, and timely, fair and consistent responses when concerns are raised.
This feedback reinforces the importance of combining education with clear communication, practical systems and visible accountability.
What happens next?
The results will help inform the continued development of EA’s approach to integrity education and support.
The findings point towards a model that combines a common foundation with education and resources tailored to different roles. This could include short online learning supported by practical guides, checklists, scenarios, webinars and other resources appropriate to each role and level of responsibility.
The survey also provides direction for making integrity information and reporting pathways easier to navigate, including clearer information about where to find education, where to seek advice and how to determine the appropriate pathway for raising a concern.
EA will use these findings to inform the next stage of its integrity education work, with a focus on ensuring education is relevant, accessible, practical and proportionate to the responsibilities of each role.
Thank you for having your say
We thank everyone who took the time to participate in the survey and provide feedback.
Your responses provide an important foundation for improving integrity awareness, education and practical support across equestrian sport.
View the full Integrity Awareness and Education Survey results
Find integrity information and resources
Newsletter
