Welcome back to another episode of Building Better Basketball, the podcast for coaches who want to make a bigger impact on the game and their communities. I’m BA Community Capability and Educations Manager, Neil Gray, and today we’re talking about one of the most important areas in sport — making sure the game we all love is safe, fair, and inclusive for everyone.

To help us explore this, I’m joined by Lauren Halliwell, Basketball Australia’s General Manager of Integrity and Security. Lauren leads the work that ensures basketball in Australia is built on strong foundations — from child safety and safeguarding, to risk management, integrity policies, and creating environments where players, coaches, officials, and parents can enjoy the game with confidence.

In our conversation, we’ll talk about Lauren’s journey into this role, what a week looks like for her and her team, the systems and safeguards in place across the sport, and most importantly, the practical things coaches and clubs can do to make sure their environments are child safe and aligned with best practice.

So, whether you’re coaching juniors on a Friday night, leading a club program, or supporting athletes at the national level, you’ll walk away with clear takeaways on how to help protect the integrity of the game while keeping basketball fun, safe, and inclusive.