Officials Courses & Development
Basketball games rely on a team of officials working together both on and off the court.
The Bendigo Basketball Association provides opportunities for people to become involved as Referees, Scoretable Officials and Statisticians, with pathways available from local domestic basketball through to state, national and international competitions.
Basketball Australia introduced a new National Officiating Curriculum and Pathway in 2026, creating a more consistent approach to how officials are trained, supported, assessed and accredited throughout Australia.
Referee Courses
The New Basketball Australia Referee Curriculum
The way new referees are trained has changed.
Rather than becoming qualified simply by attending a traditional one-day referee course, the new Basketball Australia model combines:
Online Learning → Supported On-Court Training → Coaching → Assessment → Accreditation
The aim is to develop referees over time through practical experience rather than expecting someone to learn everything in a single course.
Step 1 – Register with Bendigo
People interested in becoming a referee should first register their interest with the Bendigo Basketball referee program.
Once registered, new officials will receive information about completing the required Basketball Australia online education and commencing their development with the Bendigo program.
Step 2 – Online Learning & On-Court Training
New referees begin with Basketball Australia’s online referee education through the national learning platform.
The online component introduces the fundamental knowledge required to begin refereeing, including rules, officiating principles, communication, signals and basic game management.
Rather than completing a separate practical course, Bendigo combines this learning with supported on-court experience.
New referees enter the program as Trainee Referees and begin working games alongside experienced referees, trainers and coaches.
This allows new officials to put what they have learned online into practice in a real basketball environment while receiving support.
Development includes:
- Whistle technique and signals
- Positioning and movement
- Calling fouls and violations
- Out-of-bounds responsibilities
- Communication
- Working with another referee
- Basic game management
- Starting and finishing games correctly
Initially, a trainer or experienced referee may provide considerable assistance. As the trainee becomes more confident, this assistance is gradually reduced.
The objective is for the trainee to progressively develop the confidence and skills required to referee independently.
Step 3 – Coaching & Assessment
Development continues through actual games.
Referee coaches observe officials and provide feedback to help improve their:
- Rules knowledge
- Positioning and mechanics
- Communication
- Decision making
- Foul and violation recognition
- Teamwork
- Game management
Once a referee can consistently demonstrate the competencies required for their accreditation level, practical assessment can take place.
Accreditation is therefore based on demonstrating competency on the court, not simply completing an online course.
Step 4 – Accreditation & Progression
Once the required competencies have been demonstrated and the accreditation has been approved, the referee becomes accredited at that level.
Officials can then continue gaining experience, receiving coaching and working towards the next stage of the Basketball Australia referee pathway.
Progression is not intended to be a race. Referees need opportunities to consolidate their skills and experience different game situations before progressing.
A Development Pathway – Not Just a Course
The biggest change under the new system is that referee education should be viewed as an ongoing development pathway, rather than a series of individual courses.
Online Education + On-Court Experience + Coaching + Assessment = Referee Development
Some referees may simply enjoy officiating local domestic basketball, while others may choose to progress through representative, senior, state and national competitions.
There is a pathway for both.
Scoretable Officials
You don’t have to run up and down the court to become a basketball official!
Scoretable Officials play an essential role in administering the game and work closely with the referees.
Depending on the competition, a scoretable crew can include:
Scorer – Maintains the official scoresheet or digital scoring record, including points, fouls, time-outs and other required information.
Assistant Scorer – Assists the scorer and commonly operates or monitors the visible scoreboard.
Timekeeper – Operates the game clock and ensures playing time, intervals and time-outs are correctly administered.
Shot Clock Operator – Operates the 24-second/14-second shot clock in accordance with the basketball rules.
Where Can Scoretable Take You?
Scoretable provides an excellent pathway from local basketball into higher-level competitions.
Officials can begin developing their skills through Bendigo competitions before progressing into competitions such as:
Domestic Basketball → Representative Basketball → CBL → VBL → NBL1 → National Championships → WNBL/NBL → International Basketball
Different competitions require different combinations of scoretable positions and experience, allowing officials to progressively develop their skills.
Experienced scoretable officials can have opportunities to work some of the biggest basketball events in Victoria and Australia without ever needing to pick up a whistle.
Basketball Statisticians
Every field goal, rebound, assist, steal, turnover and blocked shot recorded during a basketball game has to be identified and entered by someone.
That’s the job of the Basketball Statistics Crew.
Statisticians provide the detailed record of what happens during a game and are an important part of basketball at representative and elite levels.
Training teaches officials how different statistical events are recognised, communicated and recorded.
Statistics Crew Roles
Caller – Watches the game and verbally identifies the statistical events occurring on the court.
Inputter / Operator – Listens to the Caller and records each event into the statistics software.
Spotter – Supports the statistics crew by identifying player numbers, substitutions and off-ball actions that may otherwise be missed.
Together, the crew records information including field goals, three-point attempts, free throws, rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, blocked shots, fouls and player minutes.
Where Can Statistics Take You?
Bendigo provides opportunities for statisticians to develop from local and representative basketball into senior and elite competitions.
The pathway can include:
Local & Representative Basketball → VBL → NBL1 → National Championships → WNBL/NBL → International Basketball
Working VBL and other senior competitions provides developing statisticians with valuable experience using professional statistics systems and working as part of a statistics crew.
For people who enjoy basketball, technology, data or analysing the game, statistics provides another pathway to become part of the officiating team.
One Officials Program – Multiple Pathways
Referees are only one part of basketball officiating.
At Bendigo Basketball, our officials program provides opportunities across three major pathways:
Refereeing
Manage the action and apply the rules on the court.
Scoretable
Manage the official score, game clock, shot clock and game administration.
Statistics
Record and communicate the detailed statistical story of the game.
Whether you want to be involved in local basketball, develop your skills, earn some extra money or work towards officiating at higher levels of the sport, there is a place for you in the Bendigo Basketball officials program.
