The AFL has today confirmed the list establishment rules for Tasmania Football Club ahead of its entry into the AFL in 2028.

The announcement follows the AFL Commission’s approval of Tasmania’s list build concessions last October. 

Six principles guided the development of Tasmania’s list establishment rules. They included:

• Competitive from the start
• Prioritise local Tasmanian talent
• Recognise the history and legacy of Tasmanian Australian Football
• Access to both new and mature talent
• Balanced impact on existing Clubs
• Sustainable list profile

AFL Executive General Manager of Football Performance, Greg Swann, said Tasmania’s list rules were established following extensive consultation with stakeholders across the football industry.

“When Tasmania enters the competition, it is important we provide them the best opportunity to be competitive on the field with a list that features local Tasmanian talent and recognises the history of Tasmanian football,” Swann said.

“To achieve this, the AFL set out key guiding principles that would underpin the Club’s list build. Once the principles were established, thorough consultation was undertaken with key stakeholders, including Tasmania Football Club and all other 18 AFL clubs, to create the list rules and to balance impact on the existing clubs.

“Confirming the list rules marks another significant milestone in Tasmania’s journey towards entering the AFL and I thank all other Clubs and stakeholders for their collaboration and contribution in reaching the list establishment rules.”

The list establishment rules for Tasmania Football Club’s (TFC) entry into the AFL are as follows:

Playing list sizes
The maximum and minimum number of players who may be included on TFC’s primary and rookie lists (excluding any 17-year-old pre-selections in their first year after pre-selection) for the Club’s first five years of competition participation are as follows:
  

The maximum number of players who may be included on TFC’s rookie list will be dependent on the number of players included on its primary list. For example, if TFC includes 37 players on its primary list in 2028, it will only be able to include a maximum of nine players on its rookie list.

From 2033, TFC will be subject to the AFL list size rules set out in the AFL Rules.

AFL establishment player Signing Bonuses
TFC may offer establishment player signing bonuses, representing an additional payment for football services under the terms of a player’s standard playing contract (SPC).

The signing bonus must be an annual amount that can be applied for a minimum of one and a maximum of two AFL seasons during the 2028 and/or 2029 AFL seasons only.

The total amount of all agreed Signing Bonuses must not exceed $5 million, with the total amount in each year not to exceed $3 million or be less than $2 million.

TFC may offer a contract with a Signing Bonus to:

• Existing AFL players who are uncontracted at the end of the 2027 or 2028 AFL seasons, to a maximum of 18 players (up to one per existing AFL club);
• Eligible AFL Free Agents;
• Undrafted players; or
• Existing AFL players who agree to be traded to TFC

TFC is prohibited from offering a Signing Bonus to:

• players under the age of 18; or
• players selected through the National Draft, Rookie Draft, Pre-Season Supplementary Selection Period, Mid-Season Rookie Draft (or any other mechanism as determined by the AFL) who are still on their regulated payments SPC.

Access to TFC Academy players
TFC may pre-select eligible Tasmanian based players in advance of each of the first four National Drafts (2027 to 2030) in which it participates.

Players eligible to be pre-selected in advance of the National Draft must:

• be born or raised in Tasmania, including having ordinarily resided in Tasmania for at least the five years immediately prior to 31 December in their 17th year;
• consent to being pre-selected;
• have been a registered member of the TFC Academy for more than 12 months immediately prior to pre-selection;
• not have previously been on an AFL List; and
• be eligible to nominate for the National Draft in accordance with the AFL Rules.

Immediately following the first round and prior to the second round of the 2031 and 2032 National Drafts, TFC may pre-select eligible Tasmanian based players.

From the 2033 National Draft, any players who are a member of the TFC Academy will be eligible to be selected under the normal operation of the TFC Academy bidding and matching rules to be formulated by the AFL, which are intended to be modelled on the existing Northern Academy bidding and matching rules.

Additionally, ahead of the 2026 National Draft, TFC may sign up to four Tasmanian based players who are in their 18th year. Players would be eligible to play in the club’s VFL team in 2027, ahead of the club’s entry into the AFL in 2028. 

Prior to the 2031 National Draft, the AFL intends to undertake a review of TFC’s access to eligible Tasmanian based players. 

Tasmanian father-son players
To support the heritage of Tasmanian football through TFC’s list, the Club will be provided with an alternative model for father-son prospects.

A player will be eligible to nominate as a TFC father-son selection if:

• the player is the son of a Tasmanian born AFL Men’s player who has played 100 or more AFL matches (applicable for the first 10 National Drafts that TFC participates); or
• the player is the son of a player who has played 200 or more senior men’s Tasmanian State League matches in total (applicable for no more than 30 AFL seasons).

Where a player is also eligible for selection as a father-son selection by another AFL Club, that player will be considered as having father-son eligibility for both Clubs and may nominate any such Club under the normal operation of the father-son nomination rules under the AFL Rules.

A player who nominates TFC as a father-son selection will be subject to the normal operation of the father-son bidding and matching rules that apply.

17 year-old players
TFC may pre-select up to eight 17-year-old players in each of 2026 and 2027, up to a maximum of 12 in aggregate for both years.

TFC 17 year-old Mini Draft
In 2027 and 2028, the AFL will conduct two separate Mini Drafts. Each Mini Draft will comprise two draft selections, both of which will be granted exclusively to TFC and must be traded to another Club.

TFC will have the right to trade access to the 2027 Mini Draft selections during the 2027 player movement period and the 2028 Mini Draft selections during the 2028 player movement period.

To be eligible for the 2027 Mini Draft, a player must nominate for the draft and turn 17 years of age between 1 July 2027 and 31 December 2027. To be eligible for the 2028 Mini Draft, a player must nominate for the draft and turn 17 years of age between 1 January 2028 and 31 December 2028.

Registered members of a Northern Academy or Next Generation Academy, and players who qualify as an eligible father-son at a Club other than TFC may be selected in the Mini Drafts if they choose to nominate.

National Draft selections
TFC will be allocated a number of concession selections in the 2027, 2028 and 2029 National Drafts, in addition to the selections that it would ordinarily qualify for under the normal allocation of draft selections to Clubs.

TFC will be provided following draft selections over three National Drafts:

• In the 2027 National Draft, selections 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and the first selection of each subsequent round (noting that selections 5, 7, 11 and 13 must be traded but may be rolled forward for up to two National Drafts);

• In the 2028 National Draft, selections 5 and 9 and the first selection in each subsequent round in addition to their natural draft hand (noting that selection 5 must be traded but may be rolled forward to the next National Draft); and

• In the 2029 National Draft, selections 5 and 9 in addition to their natural draft hand (noting that selection 5 must be traded).

Rookie Draft and Mid-Season Rookie Draft
In the 2027 Rookie Draft, TFC will be allocated priority selections 1, 2 and 3.

Provided TFC qualifies for a selection in the 2028 Mid-Season Rookie Draft, the Club will be allocated priority selection 1 in replacement of the lowest selection it would ordinarily qualify for.

Uncontracted AFL Players
TFC may sign up to 18 existing AFL players who are uncontracted but do not otherwise qualify for free-agency, subject to the conditions outlined below:

• TFC will have the right to make these signings during the 2027 and 2028 player movement periods respectively;
• eligible players must have been on an AFL List in the season immediately preceding the relevant signing period and out of contract at that end of that AFL Season;
• TFC may only sign a maximum of one existing player from each other Club

This Rule does not prevent TFC from signing eligible free-agent players from another Club in addition to any uncontracted player signings under the ordinary operation of the AFL free agency rules.

Where an existing player who is uncontracted moves from a Club’s playing list to TFC, that Club may be entitled to a compensatory selection(s) in a future National Draft, which will be assessed on an all‑inclusive basis (including any approved Signing Bonus) in accordance with guidelines to be determined by the AFL. This compensation model is separate to the free agent compensation model.

Signing undrafted players
During a period in 2027 to be determined by the AFL, TFC will have the right to sign players who have previously nominated for any Draft, provided they have not previously been included on an AFL list.

TFC will be entitled to trade the right to sign an undrafted player to another Club in exchange for an existing player or National Draft selection(s).

Access to TFC VFL-listed players
During a period in 2027 to be determined by the AFL, TFC may sign up to four players directly from its VFL program to its AFL rookie list, provided the player(s):

• nominated for the most recent National Draft; or
• played a minimum of three matches for the TFC VFL team in the year immediately prior to the signing