Join Our Team

Every match needs a referee. Join us to make that happen!

New South Wales Rugby Referees Association is both the oldest and the largest Rugby referee association in Australia. Our members are primarily appointed to Adult games within the Sydney metropolitan area, but we also cover some junior and school matches, as well as representative appointments and tournaments. Rugby is now a ten month a year sport, so you can referee almost any time of the year.

All referees start somewhere, but each of us follow our own pathway. For most new adult referees with good Rugby knowledge and confidence you will start on a lower graded Suburban or Women’s match. Others might start on a Pathways (U8-12) match or an U13 match. Sevens is also an excellent way to introduce new referees to the game. The association will ensure you are paired up with a Match Official Developer or mentor for your first few games to ensure you are supported until you feel confident to take the training wheels off.

Most of our matches are on Saturday, particularly between 10am and 5pm. You may also be able to do juniors or sevens on Sundays and we have a small number of midweek school games during or after school hours.

Why become a referee?

  • Give back to the game,
  • Develop your knowledge of the game and its Laws,
  • Keep fit,
  • Challenge yourself mentally and physically,
  • Help the game to keep growing,
  • Make new friends and create new experiences, and
  • Travel the world.

How do I start?

  • Fill out the ‘Join The Team’ form below. One of our team will be in touch to guide you through the next steps.
  • If you are an existing referee transferring from elsewhere this will likely involve a recognition of prior knowledge process and an on-field sighting to see where your skills are currently at.
  • For new referees you will likely do the Referee Ready Course. This is a three hour course that gives you all the knowledge necessary for you to do your first game (as well as some homework to ensure you read the necessary Laws).
  • See the course schedule at https://nsw.rugby/participate/referee/courses
  • After the course we will get you kitted out and appoint you to your first game, with a Match Official Developer or mentor.
  • Once you’re on the journey you will never stop learning. We have monthly education nights and weekly fitness sessions to help you with this, and later you can do further courses such as the Level 2 Referee course.
Join Our Team

Are there other ways I can help?

  • Yes!
  • Match Official Developers (AKA referee coach or MODs) help our referees to become better through their excellent listening and questioning skills. MODs are not expected to have all the answers, but you are expected to learn about the referee you’re coaching, how you can help them to improve and where you/they can go for the answers when you can’t develop them yourselves. You don’t need to have a strong knowledge of Rugby as that can be learned along the way. You would generally start by doing the Level 1 MOD course and get appointed with a more experienced MOD to mentor you through your first year. We have ongoing education for MODs and the same opportunities for additional courses, as well as representative and exchange opportunities.
  • Assistant Referee (AKA touch judge) is a way to get closer to the action with less responsibility than the Referee. From there you can build confidence to move into the middle. For most games the Assistant Referee (AR) is provided by each team, with NSWRRA only appointing ARs for the highest grades. You should tell your club or school that you’re interested in being an AR and complete the online Assistant Referee Level 1 program.
  • Committee members are vital to keeping our association of volunteers running. We need people with interest and ability across all areas of the association, in such areas as governance, sponsorship, communication, social media, web admin, event planning, gear management and member welfare.
  • Become the referee liaison at your club. This is likely the person who makes referees feel welcome on match day. More importantly you act as a link between NSWRRA and your club, ensuring the club is kept up to date with Law changes and encouraging other members of your club to become referees.

If you are have further questions please contact:

divan.uys@nsw.rugby for adult rugby

jack.jones@nsw.rugby for junior/school rugby

secretary@nswrugbyreferees.com.au for any general questions

You may also find our Handbook a helpful resource.