Rugby Admin

International Player Clearances
International Player Clearances within Rugby Union are governed by World Rugby Regulation 4.

The International Player Clearances Policy within Rugby is held under Regulation 4.6.1 which provides:

A Player leaving their current Union to play in another Union shall not be registered or eligible to participate in competitions organised, recognised or sanctioned by that new Union until they have an endorsed International Clearance.

International Player Clearance (From Australia to Another Union)

Players wishing to play within another International Union must obtain clearance from:

  • The Club they are currently registered with;
  • The corresponding State/Territory Member Union; and
  • Rugby Australia.

Clearance should be obtained prior to departure from the player's current Union (and after they have completed all rugby matches in Australia) and can take up to 10 days for the process to be completed.

All players applying for an international clearance are required to complete the Rugby Australia International Clearance Request Form below.

Once the form is complete, the player will receive:

  1. Immediately - A confirmation that their request has been submitted.
  2. Within 5 business days - An email from DocuSign (DocuSign EU System <dse@eumail.docusign.net>) requesting the player to electronically sign their International Clearance form.

NOTE - DocuSign is an electronic-based platform for providing and recording electronic signatures on forms/documents.

Once the player has signed the DocuSign form, it is automatically sent to the next approver for signing. This repeats until all signatures (Player, Club, Member Union, and National) have been completed, and then the completed form is sent to both the Player and to the player's new International Union.

For Incoming International Clearances (players arriving in Australia), please contact the Union you are currently registered with to understand their International Clearance process and obtain their current application form.