AFL Commission

The Australian Football League Limited (AFL) is governed by a board of directors called the AFL commission. Its chairman, since 4 April 2017, is Richard Goyder.

In 1985, the AFL (then named Victorian Football League Limited) formed the commission as a body independent of its member clubs, to operate its competition. In 1993, the independent commissioners took over from the AFL's board of directors, who had been representatives of its then-15 member clubs.

In 1995, the AFL took over the operations of the Australian National Football Council which had published the Laws of Australian Football. The AFL's constitution self-proclaims it to be the "keeper of the code" responsible for the sport of Australian football. The AFL operates the All-Australian team, World (formerly All-international) team and Australian Football Hall of Fame.

The AFL operates its competitions and maintains a professional talent pathway for players through the AFL draft, AFL Draft Combine, AFL Academy and academies through its member clubs and affiliated bodies, Underage Men's and Underage Women's championships, the Australian Football (AFL) International Cup and through its worldwide affiliates, numerous regional representative tournaments.

The AFL operates the premier professional Australian Football competition in Australia and the State of Origin competition (1991-1999 and 2026-present). Since 1998, it has also overseen Australia's involvement in the International Rules Series.