Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Thistlethwaite raises a very important aspect of the fight against doping in sport. Investigations are a crucial component of ASADA's work. Since 2006, about one-third of Australian athletes banned from sport for doping violations were caught without ever returning a positive result on a traditional doping test. Intelligence gathering played a key role in that.

With the extraordinary revelations of sophisticated doping from the United States Anti-Doping Agency, it is little known that it was ASADA that redefined antidoping globally with its unique investigative function. ASADA employs full-time investigators who, in addition to their work in Australia, have assisted numerous antidoping agencies around the world to establish their own intelligence program. Such is the reputation of Australia's investigations intelligence capability, ASADA will soon visit Switzerland to impart its expertise with a number of European countries.