National Programs

While the senior Australian teams are perhaps the best known, much of their success is built upon solid foundations developed at youth and development levels. This page explains more about the different high performance programs run by Hockey Australia.

Hockeyroos (senior women's program)

The Hockeyroos squad, comprising up to 27 athletes, is the senior women’s program and represents the pinnacle of Australian women’s hockey. A high majority of athletes train full time at the Hockey Australia High Performance Unit in Perth, Western Australia across a 48 week program. Some athletes are based in the SIS/SAS network and at different times in the Olympic cycle, targeted athletes may play overseas in European leagues. From this world class development and preparatory environment teams are selected to represent Australia in international competitions such as the World Cup, World League and Champions Trophy. A women’s team becomes part of the broader Australian team for the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games under the direction of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) respectively.

Kookaburras (senior men's program)

The Kookaburras squad also comprising up to 27 athletes is the senior men’s program again representing Australia at international tournaments and milestone events. The men are predominantly based at the Hockey Australia High Performance Unit in Perth, with some athletes also based in their home state and overseas. Australian teams are developed and prepared at the HP Unit to represent Australia in international competitions such as the World Cup, World League and Champions Trophy. Like the women, they become part of the Australian team at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games under the direction of the AOC and ACGA.

National Development Squad / Australia ‘A’

Australia’s development squads comprises of athletes who play under the banner of Australia ‘A’. The national development program exists to offer athletes who are 1-3 years away from playing at senior level the opportunity to gain experience of the elite training environment and of international competition. National development athletes tend to play matches against visiting teams from overseas and occasionally tour as Australian Development Squads. These athletes are primarily based in the NTC network but have regular access to the HP Unit through the Visiting Athlete program.

2024 Men's National Development Squad
2024 Women's National Development Squad

Jillaroos (Junior U21 Women's Program)

The Jillaroos, Australia’s junior women’s program, represents the peak of age-group hockey and exists to provide junior athletes appropriate development opportunities as they progress through the player pathway. The Jillaroos represent Australia at the Junior World Cup, the pinnacle of international junior hockey, every four years. The junior women’s program operates a flexible selection model; in the year before and year of a Junior World Cup it contains athletes aged 21 and under. In the two years following a Junior World Cup the program includes athletes up to the age of 23. Athletes from the junior women’s program also represent Australia at the Youth Olympic Games and the Australian Youth Olympic Festival under the direction of the Australian Olympic Committee.

This program provides a critical pathway for athletes to transition into the development and senior programs.

Burras (Junior U21 Men's Program)

Similarly, the Burras, Australia’s junior men’s program, represents the peak of age-group hockey and exists to provide junior athletes development opportunities to progress through the player pathway. The Burras represent Australia at the Junior World Cup every four years. The junior men’s program also operates a flexible selection model; in the year before and year of a Junior World Cup it contains athletes aged 21 and under. In the two years following a Junior World Cup the program includes athletes up to the age of 23. Athletes from the junior men’s program also represent Australia at the Youth Olympic Games and the Australian Youth Olympic Festival under the direction of the Australian Olympic Committee.