With the Silver Ferns taking their series against Australia down to the wire, and Dame Noelene Taurua returning as coach, Netball New Zealand seems able to move on from some high-profile challenges. But staff within the organisation have spoken of their own concerns about the workplace culture. Nathan Limm reports.
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Netball NZ: Staff expose concerns about workplace culture, call for leadership change
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They have also called for an overhaul of the board to introduce greater accountability.
Behind closed doors: The workplace culture
The Herald understands 22 of NNZ’s 43 staff members have left over the past two years, including 11 in the past 12 months.
The exodus wiped out an entire commercial team, an events team and most of a marketing team.
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It is understood that four of those people left because of a restructure at the end of last year.
Some of those staff signed non-disclosure agreements on the way out, usually as part of redundancy conditions. Some were afforded exit interviews, some were not.
A source said the restructure “saw some people in pretty decent roles being moved away and pushed out to the side”.
The six current or former NNZ staff to whom the Herald spoke all cited concerns about its workplace culture.
They cited examples of mocking and joking about certain staff within earshot.
The sources believe the senior leadership team had a duty to address this culture.
One source, still employed by NNZ, is convinced it is an issue from the top down, starting with the senior leadership team and the board.
That source believes: “They have unfortunately operated under a fear environment, where people feel like they’re not able to speak up, or they will be targeted.”
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NNZ has confirmed one staff member filed a personal grievance claim, but would not confirm when the claim was made, saying only that it was “in the last three years”. The case was settled.
Another source, currently employed by NNZ, alleged that staff were treated terribly.
“Sometimes, I’d sit in my car for like 20 minutes just trying to amp myself up to go in and do my job.”
A source said, “None of the issues that you raise are ever addressed. It’s just always your fault, or there are no issues and nothing’s actually properly taken into account.”
Multiple sources claimed that the culture and workload badly affected the health of the staff.
One said it was the main reason they left the organisation.
“I basically got to the point of being physically sick from being overworked. I was doing probably 70-hour weeks, and there was no real level of support around hiring more people or taking tasks away.
“I had super-high blood pressure, and I was like, ‘I’d rather not die’.
“I got to the point where I was never seeing my family. I was sick, and it just wasn’t worth it.”
Another claimed: “People have been told by medical practitioners to leave because it’s not healthy for them to continue to stay in the environment.”
A source said they were repeatedly belittled by a colleague in front of others. They said a complaint was made to management, but no further action was taken.
The source said the inaction played a role in their decision to leave NNZ.
“I gave them that feedback as well when I did leave. I thought, overall, I wasn’t being taken seriously in my mental health there, but also in my career progression.”
NNZ has removed the page detailing the senior leadership team on its website.
Different lenses
The Herald understands there was a meeting in August 2024 to review NNZ’s Poipoia Plan, during which staff voiced their dismay at the culture and the way NNZ operated. Poipoia is a Māori word referring to nurturing and growth.
A week later, an email was sent to staff thanking them for their contribution.
This email, which has been seen by the Herald, said: “There were some great questions yesterday and some conversations which we could have spent a lot more time exploring.
“It was encouraging to hear different lenses on things and, alongside this, having our peers speak to how this comes to life in different ways for them.”
The source said nothing came of the meeting.
The introduction to NNZ’s Poipoia Plan on its website says: “It is important that we listen to the many voices who make up the guardians of our sport. Inclusivity, excellence, fun, inspiration, friendship, care for one another.”
It is understood that another Poipoia meeting took place in June.
The Herald put the claims of the current and former staff to NNZ, which responded with a statement from chairman Matt Whineray.
“It’s absolutely true that our staff have been working incredibly hard in recent years, and I know they have carried heavy workloads.
“This isn’t ideal, but as we all know, this does happen when you’re navigating tough periods and needing to make every dollar count.
“I have no reason to doubt the professionalism or work ethic of our staff, because I’ve seen how much they care and how hard they work.
“The board and management have an agreed expectation that all staff get time away to recharge and that their efforts are acknowledged and celebrated as much as possible.”
Some sources describe NNZ’s board as being out of the loop, while others are astounded at how the board could possibly be in the dark about the current workplace culture.
NNZ has a 10-member board, overseen by Whineray.
One source said the board should inquire about the mass exodus of staff.
Secrets: The broadcast deal
For most of the past two years, NNZ has been embroiled in a turbulent battle to secure broadcast deals to ensure the Silver Ferns and ANZ Premiership can be viewed on television.
The commercial contract accounts for most of the pay structure, meaning it is responsible for the bulk of player and coach salaries.
It has been widely reported that Sky offered a significantly downgraded broadcast deal for 2025, which accounts for much of NNZ’s income.
In July, NNZ announced a one-year deal with TVNZ to broadcast the ANZ Premiership in 2026. NNZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie acknowledged to Newstalk ZB that, as a result, the organisation would have to use its cash reserves to make ends meet.
The deal followed months of outcry from athletes pleading for information.
Silver Fern Maddy Gordon stated publicly that panic was starting to set in, with athletes “freaking out” over their futures.
A similar scenario took place last year, when a one-year broadcast partnership was signed with Sky and TVNZ for this year’s domestic competition and test fixtures.
Multiple sources said staff were finding things out through the media. One said numerous reviews had taken place, but a plan of action was never given to the staff.
“It’s always kept at senior leadership level and never distributed lower down.”
The handling of Dame Noeline Taurua
NNZ has recently dominated headlines because of its standoff with Dame Noeline Taurua. The Silver Ferns coach was stood down days out from the Taini Jamison series against South Africa; she was finally reinstated last Saturday.
The governing body has determined Taurua’s integrity is sound, more than nine months after player complaints about feeling “unsafe” in the Ferns environment.
Taurua and NNZ were locked in negotiations over how to resolve the matter over the past two months.
In a statement released on Saturday, NNZ said: “Netball NZ and Dame Noeline have agreed to implement enhancements to support wellbeing and performance, including strengthening the player voice.”
However, Wyllie and Whineray refused to pinpoint any specifics about these changes when they spoke to the Herald on Sunday.
While Taurua is technically back as head coach, she will not rejoin the team until next year. NNZ said the 2019 World Cup winner will sit out the impending tour of Scotland and England to “minimise disruption”.
The Ferns are divided over Taurua, with the likes of Grace Nweke speaking out in support of her and skipper Karin Burger confirming she did not have a problem with Taurua’s coaching.
It is understood seven players anonymously voiced concerns to the New Zealand Netball Players Association (NZNPA) after a training camp in Sydney in January.
The NZNPA took this to NNZ, which eventually launched an investigation led by former New Zealand Cricket high-performance chief Bryan Stronach.
Outgoing selector Gail Parata said the review involved five senior and two junior squad members, out of a total of 31 people in the Silver Ferns environment, including management and athletes.
From there, discussions began between Taurua, NNZ, the NZNPA and High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) about making changes to the Silver Ferns environment.
HPSNZ and the NZNPA exited the negotiations once it became a confidential employment process in early September, around the time that Taurua was publicly stood down.
The discussions resulted in the team’s first training camp being cancelled, with players forced to run their own drills.
Former Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie and former Silver Fern Liana Leota took charge in an interim capacity and will lead the side until the end of the year. McCausland-Durie was asked to step in just hours before the announcement of her appointment was made.
None of the current or former staffers were surprised by the way the situation was handled.
One source said that, in their view, NNZ’s way of dealing with issues was to ignore them.
“It’s embarrassing and it’s just unfortunate for anybody who’s passionate or involved in sport or a supporter of Noels [Taurua] or the players that are affected. It’s disgusting, and it makes us look like idiots.”
What needs to change?
Multiple current or former NNZ staffers are calling for leadership changes in the organisation.
One said, “They’re not bad people, and I honestly think they have the best interests of the sport at heart. I just think they’re stuck and they don’t know how.
“Certainly, they’re being shaped by the direction and strategic leadership above.”
Another source had no faith that the current leadership could turn things around.
“It’s hard when you give so much to a place and you love the people that you work with and the external people – the venues, teams, everything like that.
“I’ve got some great relationships, but you can see the organisation is falling apart and the wrong people are at the helm.”
Another, currently employed by NNZ, is calling for Sport NZ to oversee a full inquiry into the organisation.
“There should be an investigation. There should be an executive chair – someone who’s running the board and also the executive – to guide it through the next six months to get it back on track.”
They said netball had massive challenges and had not evolved over the past five or six years, when it needed to be innovative and change.
NNZ’s challenges
In his statement, Whineray also said: “Like a lot of organisations, Netball NZ has had to deal with an incredibly challenging operating environment over the past two years.
“This has required us to restructure and reduce our head office staff numbers. Some of our people were made redundant, and some have chosen to leave during that period.
“All change processes are tough, and we accept those affected will have strong feelings about it. Maintaining a strong and positive culture in the organisation is very important to the board and the leadership team.
“Netball NZ undertakes regular staff feedback processes and responds to those outputs. The board is kept informed of those responses and of wellbeing and culture initiatives led by the leadership team.
“The board is confident that the leadership team is fully committed to Netball NZ’s purpose – connecting and inspiring communities through netball.”
In response to specific allegations about claims of a “toxic culture”, NNZ issued a further statement from Whineray.
“Like a lot of businesses, we’ve been battling serious headwinds as we work to secure the funds needed to grow the country’s most popular women’s sport.
“Over the past two years, we’ve had to make some staff redundant, and that is a tough process to go through. Other staff have chosen to leave during that period, and those that remain have taken on heavy workloads at times to keep the game running, which we’re deeply appreciative of.
“We understand we have some critics, including former staff. The same claims passed to the NZ Herald have been shopped to multiple media while we’ve been working through the well-publicised matter with the Silver Ferns coaching team.
“I can’t speak to how these anonymous critics feel or to their motivations, but what I know is that we have robust systems in place for our people to speak up.
“No organisation is perfect; however, when credible issues are raised, we have processes in place to assess and address them.
“With people at the heart of all that we do, a healthy culture is very important to us.”
A Sport NZ representative said they “can’t comment on any internal issues at Netball NZ or any commentary on whether there should be a review of the organisation”.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the New Zealand Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates on rugby and netball for Gold Sport.