PLAYER CLEARANCES

A player who wishes to transfer to or from a club in the Basketball SA Metro & District (Junior, Youth League, Senior or NBL1 Central) competition must receive a clearance

The clearance process differs depending on whether the clearance is: local, intrastate, interstate/NBL/WNBL, international

A player who wishes to transfer to or from a club in the Basketball SA Metro & District (Junior, Youth League, Senior or NBL1 Central) Competition must receive a clearance.

The clearance process differs depending on whether the clearance is:

 – local (ie between two clubs in the Basketball SA district competition)

 – intrastate (ie one of the clubs is in the Basketball SA district competition and the other is elsewhere in SA)

 – interstate/NBL/WNBL (ie one of the two clubs is in another state or is an NBL/WNBL team)

 – international (ie one of the two clubs is in another country)

Depending on the competition, there may be other by-laws relating to clearances, including the time during a season that a player may be cleared, or the number of players that may be cleared during a season. In particular, the Basketball SA District By-Laws prevent a player from playing for a new club if they have already played a game for one club in the same season.

For more information, please check the competition by-laws, or contact Basketball SA.

A player requesting a clearance must follow the appropriate steps:

  1. Players must email both their current club secretary (or club delegate/administrator) AND Basketball South Australia (districtleagues@basketballsa.com.au).
  2. The application must include evidence of acceptance from the receiving club (in the form of an email confirmation or letter from a club delegate).
  3. Clubs must then notify the player & Basketball South Australia, within 5 business days of receipt of the decision. Failure to notify results in automatic clearance.
    • Should a clearance be refused, the club must clearly state their reasons for refusal. The following impediments are the only acceptable reasons for a club to refuse a clearance:
      • The player is unfinancial with the club;
      • The player is holding equipment that belongs to the club; or
      • The player is under a current form of a contract agreed to and signed by both parties.
  1. Approval from Basketball South Australia. Players and clubs must have final confirmation from Basketball South Australia of the transfer before are eligible.

Not following the appropriate process will rule a player ineligible to play/transfer. Players who participated in the previous District League season are not eligible to transfer outside of the transfer windows below:

 

YDL

 

Transfer Window 1 – Monday, 17 August 2026 to Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Transfer Window 2 – Thursday, 17 December 2026 to Wednesday, 27 January 2027

 

SDL

 

Transfer Window 1 – Monday, 17 August 2026 to Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Transfer Window 2 – Thursday, 17 December 2026 to Wednesday, 27 January 2027

 

JDL

Transfer Window 1 – Monday, 17 August 2026 to Thursday, 8 October 2026

Transfer Window 2 – Monday, 7 December 2026 to Thursday, 21 January 2027

For transfers between clubs in the district competition and other clubs/associations in South Australia outside the district competition (including SA Country associations), clearances are not required, unless the club/association participates in the NBL/WNBL (such as the Adelaide 36ers and Adelaide Lightning) or an Australian Club Championships League (such as the Mount Gambier Pioneers). For these clearances, a Basketball Australia Clearance Form (downloadable below) must be used. These clearances require the approval of both the club and the state association from which the player is departing.

For transfers to or from clubs that are interstate and for clearances to or from NBL or WNBL clubs (including the Adelaide 36ers and Adelaide Lightning), a Basketball Australia Clearance Form (downloadable below) must be used. These clearances require the approval of both the club and the state association from which the player is departing.

If a player is contracted to an NBL or WNBL club and wishes to play for a domestic club (either in SA or interstate), they may do so without recourse to a clearance, provided their NBL/WNBL club provides them with permission. For NBL players, this process involves the completion of an NBL Off-Season Consent Form. For WNBL players, this process involves an email from the WNBL club to Basketball SA.

For players that are transferring from a club in SA to a club overseas, the Basketball Australia Clearance Form (downloadable below) must be used. These clearances require the approval of the club and the state association from which the player is departing, as well as Basketball Australia.

For clearances from clubs in other countries to clubs in South Australia, please use the Basketball Australia International Clearance Request Form.

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