A total of 20 national, state and territory based and club bodies have signed a declaration of commitment, which requires the entire netball system to understand and then resolve the issue of a lack of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players at elite levels.

The dearth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches, umpires and administrators is also set to be tackled. 

The agreement is the result of discussions between key decision makers in the sport, who apologised for failing to fully address the barriers which confront Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the netball system. 

They also acknowledged participation rates were high at grassroots and state and territory competitions, but were not translating into the elite pathway.

Jemma Mi Mi, who plays for Queensland Firebirds, is the only Aboriginal player in the Suncorp Super Netball league. 

Marcia Ella-Duncan and Sharon Finnan-White, the only two Indigenous players to compete in the Australian national team, will be among those to play a key leadership role in supporting netball to develop the necessary strategy framework.

There are a number of milestones for the declaration of commitment in the coming months. 

This month, the independent State of the Game review - which conducted a root-and-branch assessment of Australian netball, including the structural and behavioural barriers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - will be released. 

The Progressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pathways Forum is scheduled for December, with a national strategy framework and targets launched in April. 

"The need to enact sustainable, systemic change is a large and multi-faceted challenge," said Netball Australia.

"But it’s one that, from today, will be a focus for the entire netball family."