Australia is committed to dope free sport. There are two aspects to Australia's anti doping programme. The Senate Inquiry into the Use of Drugs in Sport (1989) resulted in the establishment of the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) and allowed for a independent and separate laboratory for the analysis of athlete's urine. ASDA is governed by the ASDA Act 1990 and has responsibilities for the maintenance of a national drug testing programme and the conduct of educational programmes at all levels. The other aspect of Australia's antidoping programme is the analysis of urine for dope agents. In 1987 AGAL set up the Drugs in Sport Section in its NSW laboratory and IOC accreditation was obtained in 1990. This facility was upgraded to an separate business unit within AGAL in 1995 to ASDTL.

Australia's anti doping programme ensures that the use of drugs in this country will be minimised. With agreements in place with countries such as Canada, Norway, UK, New Zealand these programs can be made worldwide. The model established within Australia is often considered for use by countries which are still developing programs. Worldwide use of programmes such as Australia's throughout the world will result in ongoing education and continuous testing will ensure Sydney can provide a dope free Olympics and ParaOlympics in 2000.

It is envisaged that there will be a large number of International events held within Australia and particularly in Sydney in the two years before the Olympics. These will be used to check preparedness and systems including those of the laboratory. Drug testing will be undertaken at ASDTL. The demands on the laboratory for analysis and training will increase steadily until the end of 1999 followed by a major increase in activities in 2000. The six months preceding the games will see the installation of the numerous instruments (mainly GCMS) which will be required during the Olympics in order to analyse the 2500 samples expected during the 15 days of the Games.