Worksafe Victoria to probe AFL drug’s policy after father of Melbourne’s Joel Smith reaches out

Worksafe Victoria is set to investigate the AFL’s drug saga after being contacted by the father of Melbourne player Joel Smith.

Shaun Smith reached out to the organisation, responsible for ensuring strong workplace safety standards throughout all industries, in the wake of a Sport Integrity Australia investigation into the AFL’s “off-the-books” illicit drug policy.

Earlier this year, the AFL was accused of allowing players to secretly take illicit drug tests if they felt they would test positive on game day.

The SIA report found no evidence that the off-the-books testing did not “constitute an ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation)” and no evidence to support allegations players who tested positive for banned drugs faked injuries to miss games.

However, with his son facing at least a four-year suspension for testing positive to Cocaine, and being investigated for drug trafficking, Mr Smith said the SIA findings left him no choice but to contact Worksafe.

“Where else can I go?” he told the Herald Sun.

“It’s not just about Joel; it’s about every parent, every son or daughter who has had some issues.

“I think Clayton Oliver is a pretty bad victim of the system as well. There’s Harley Balic.

“We have people in jail. We have people who have committed suicide.’’

WorkSafe chief executive Joe Calafiore confirmed Smith’s complaint has been reported to their investigation and safety teams.

“I’m just a concerned parent,’’ Mr Smith said.

“The off-the-books testing was the killer for me. They enabled young men to take drugs and get away with it. That’s disgusting. And the exact words out of (AFL chief executive) Andrew Dillon’s mouth are that they make no apologies for it and that they do not condone illicit drug use.

“But they have a medical model, which is exactly the opposite.

“It just seems the AFL gets away with anything at the moment.”