[1] The current tribunal process is as follows: On-field umpires and certain off-field observers can report players for incidents which occur during games.
It is important to note that an incident involving accidental/incidental conduct, or negligible impact, will be rejected and the player will receive no penalty, even if the activation points in the other categories are high.
As an example, any player charged by the Match Review Panel with a Level 4 Kicking offence receives 550 base demerit points.
Alternatively, a player may choose to appeal the findings of the Match Review Panel, and attend a Tribunal hearing to argue the case.
Finally, players will receive a 25% deduction by accepting the Match Review Panel's finding without contest; this is typically known as an early guilty plea.
This loading is meant to discourage excessively rough or violent play, as any penalties given as a result would not apply until the following season.
This was instituted as a result of fighting in the 2004 AFL Grand Final between Alastair Lynch and Darryl Wakelin, and several brawls during the match, which resulted in the Tribunal handing down stiff penalties – Lynch was suspended for ten matches and fined $15,000 – and adding the double penalty rule.
The Match Review Panel also assesses a variety of offences for which players are fined but not suspended, including wrestling, negligent contact with an umpire, making an obscene gesture, etc.
[6] Since the overhaul, the heaviest suspension for a single offence has been eight weeks, handed out to Fremantle's Dean Solomon for elbowing Geelong's Cameron Ling in round 15 of the 2008 season, and to West Coast's Andrew Gaff for striking Fremantle's Andrew Brayshaw in round 20 of the 2018 season.
[7] In Round 4, 2008, Barry Hall of the Sydney Swans was suspended for seven matches after striking West Coast's Brent Staker.
In 2007, Steven Baker of St Kilda was suspended for seven matches for rough conduct on Jeff Farmer (although the base suspension was only four weeks, with residual points and a significant loading due to his poor record his penalty increased to seven).
[10] In May 2014, Melbourne midfielder Jack Viney was sent straight to the tribunal following a bump which resulted in Adelaide forward Tom Lynch breaking his jaw.
[11][12] Viney was found guilty of rough conduct by the tribunal, and suspended for two matches, after it was ruled that he had options other than to bump Lynch.
[16] In June 2017, the AFL challenged the tribunal's verdict for the first time in history, following an off-the-ball incident involving Richmond player Bachar Houli and Carlton's Jed Lamb: Houli was originally given a two-week suspension for striking Lamb during the first quarter of the Round 14 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
When his case went before the tribunal that week, he was given the two-week suspension, but part of the reason the penalty was low was due to character reference statements given by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and media personality Waleed Aly.
It remains one of the most infamous suspensions in the modern history of the sport, and was covered by Australian media for some time afterward.