Netball New Zealand has quietly scrapped the final restrictions preventing Silver Ferns and other leading players from pursuing overseas contracts.

As fears over the future of the ANZ Premiership grow, the national body has been forced to make changes to the Silver Ferns’ eligibility criteria.

Under the rule change, which was confirmed to RNZ by representatives of both Netball NZ and the players’ association, athletes will be able to take up contracts overseas without the requirement for dispensation from Netball NZ.

The move is a further worrying sign there is no guarantee there will be an elite domestic competition next year, with the organisation forecasting significant financial losses this year.

Netball NZ board chair Alastair Carruthers said the national body the ANZ Premiership ran at a deficit of $3.7 million this season.

“This type of loss is able to be supported by the balance sheet at the moment, but it’s really going to take our savings away quite quickly if we can’t find a sustainable model,” Carruthers said.

“We’ve got a competition that is very expensive to run, it doesn’t create enough revenue to meet its cost.”

Carruthers, who was appointed to the role in April, added the total deficit would likely be in the realm of $6m.

It is understood Netball NZ is forecasting significant financial losses this year after dipping into its cash reserves to prop up this year’s ANZ Premiership. Without a broadcast deal lined up for next season, the future of the competition is under serious threat.

Given the organisation is unable to offer players certainty about whether they will have jobs next year, the board has made what one official described as a “pragmatic” decision to allow them to pursue opportunities in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Carruthers said that the decision was made after consultation with the New Zealand Netball Players Association.

“The contracting window for international teams is open right now, so we’re not in a position to say what form the domestic competition will take, so at the players request, we released them so they have opportunities to work elsewhere and to carry on with their ambitions to get back into the Ferns. It isn’t a signal at all about what will happen next year.”

It is understood Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua is supportive of the rule change, which will likely see more of the country’s top players taking up contracts in the highly competitive Suncorp Super Netball league.

Six players were granted exemptions to play in Australia this season, five of whom — Karin Burger, Grace Nweke, Kate Heffernan, Kelly Jackson and Maddy Gordon — were included in the Ferns squad for the Commonwealth Games, which gets underway on Friday.

But franchises fear the decision will further hollow out the country’s playing stocks.

Southern Steel chief executive Sonya Fleming said while the franchise was not part of the decision-making process regarding changes to eligibility, the rationale behind it was understandable.

“Naturally there is some disappointment with this decision as there’s no denying it could have an impact on our franchise at a critical time for the future of the sport we love,” she said.

“I believe it is incredibly important we continue to have as many of our Silver Ferns as possible playing domestic netball in New Zealand, showcasing our sport at the highest level and inspiring the next generation.”

However, Fleming acknowledged the uncertain environment, and said she respected the need for players to protect their own futures.

“Our focus now is to keep the lines of communication open with our players to ensure they know we are working incredibly hard to retain them as part of our Steel family going forward by building an environment they want to stay part of.”

Franchise officials also fear the change could undermine efforts to secure the broadcast and commercial investment needed to sustain a semi-professional competition.

Netball NZ is now in the difficult position of trying to sell a product without some of the game’s most marketable stars.

The situation illustrates why Netball NZ resisted relaxing its Silver Ferns eligibility rules for so long.

The once-strict criteria, which prevented players who plied their trade overseas from being eligible for Silver Ferns selection, was revisited last year after Nweke — considered New Zealand’s most exciting shooting talent in a generation — elected to take up a contract with the NSW Swifts for the 2025 season.

The national body introduced an exemption process, to allow greater flexibility for those wishing to take up opportunities overseas.

That resulted in eight more current or former Silver Ferns joining Nweke in the Australian competition in 2026.

But despite the absence of some of the game’s biggest names from the domestic league this year, official viewership figures from TVNZ, obtained by RNZ, reveal the move to free to air television resulted in a significant audience boost.

Last month’s title decider between the Northern Mystics and Southern Steel was the most-watched grand final since the league started, attracting more than 120,000 viewers.

Overall, the ANZ Premiership attracted 1.05 million unique television viewers — a 16% increase on the previous season.

The audience growth has been matched by strong participation numbers.

Netball Central chief executive Ann Hay, who oversees the Pulse franchise, said player registrations across the region had increased 7% this year, while netball remained the country’s biggest participation sport at secondary school level.

Hay said the numbers show there is a big market for netball, but she believed the sport needed to get better at telling its story.

“I think that we’ve allowed other sports to talk about their successes and have sat back and allowed them the space to do that, and in doing so, have not sold ourselves particularly well to potential commercial partners, and even members of the general public who may not know the strength of netball in New Zealand.”

Hay said the sport now needed to work together to mobilise that community in the fight to save the competition.

“There are obviously some hurdles that we need to get across, and they are things that Netball New Zealand, the players association and the teams are working on together on trying to resolve. There is a real desire for us to continue to have an elite domestic competition. I’m still optimistic.”