Australian states agree to have law against match-fixing

Australia's states and territories decided to introduce nationwide laws against match-fixing with Sports Minister Mark Arbib saying that having tough penalties in place is the only way to deal with the "scourge".

The law against match-fixing would include a maximum prison term of 10 years and Arbib said it would "send the message to anyone seeking to corrupt sport that we are serious and we won't tolerate that behaviour."

"We want to make sure we do everything possible to send a message to those people who want to be involved in match-fixing that there will be jail time, and it won't be a light punishment," he added.

The move comes weeks after three Pakistani cricketers were jailed in Britain for fixing parts of a Test match against England last year.

"The decision to adopt consistent national match-fixing offences is an outstanding result for sport and fans of sport," Arbib said.

"The only way we can deal with this threat is by working together to ensure we have a national policy underpinned by legislation, codes of conduct and industry standards."