Competition regulations

Format, officials, fixture sign-off and the conduct of an Academy match.

• Fixtures are played under the Laws of the Game as adopted by the Academy, with any variation published in advance for the specific fixture or event.
• A fixture becomes official only once both teams have completed the six planning stages in the platform: proposal, opponent acceptance, venue, kick-off time, kit colours and rules acknowledgement.
• Match officials are appointed by the Academy competition office. Decisions taken on the day stand for the purposes of the match record.
• Both teams submit a result through their captain, vice-captain or coach. Matching submissions confirm automatically; conflicting submissions are held as disputed for the competition office to resolve.
• Squads must be nominated before kick-off. A player not called up for the fixture is not eligible to be recorded in the result.

Who can play, how membership is approved and how squad transfers work.

• Playing membership is open to current and former personnel of Australian first responder, frontline health and emergency support organisations, including volunteers — Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, SES, Marine Rescue, Border Force, Defence and Army personnel, doctors, nurses and allied frontline staff.
• Membership is approved in two stages: the Academy office approves the person, and the receiving team's leads approve them into the squad.
• A player represents one squad per championship cycle. Mid-cycle moves require written approval from the competition office.
• Every squad must have at least one nominated lead — captain, vice-captain or coach — accountable for roster accuracy.
• Providing false eligibility information may void results in which the player featured.

How ladder positions are calculated and how the Cup is won and defended.

• Rankings are calculated from confirmed match results only. Unconfirmed and disputed fixtures do not move the ladder.
• The First Responder Cup is held by a single team and is contested in fixtures designated as Cup matches by the competition office.
• The holder must accept a sanctioned defence when directed by the competition office, subject to reasonable notice and player welfare.
• A drawn Cup fixture leaves the Cup with the holder.
• Ranking and Cup records are published after each confirmed result and can be corrected by the competition office where an error is demonstrated.