West Coast Fever have been given a $300,000 fine and will be stripped of 12 competition points for the 2021 season after being found to have breached the salary cap in 2018 and 2019.

The Suncorp Super Netball team’s sanctions are the biggest to have been handed to any club in Australian netball history.

In 2018 the club breached the Total Player Payment cap rule by $127,954 (19.7 per cent) and $168,659 (25.3 per cent) in 2019.

The Super Netball commission were made aware of the salary cap breaches after the club were investigated for a number of minor breaches in June.

No evidence was found that any of the Fever players and coaching staff, including head coach Stacey Marinkovich, knew about the breaches. 

Half of the $300,000 fine will be suspended and will be paid if Fever breaches the salary cap in the next three years.

In the 2020/21 financial year $75,000 will be paid and the same again will be paid in the 2021/22 financial year.

In a statement, Fever wrote: "As a Club, we take full responsibility for this outcome. We have always been united in our wins and our losses, and today is no different.

"Our purpose as a Club is to inspire and make you proud. Today, we have failed to deliver on that promise. We have let down our members, staff, players, partners and fans, and we understand and share their deep disappointment at this news.

“It’s important to know that we are deeply committed to ensuring this never happens within our Club again.”

The club won their first grand final two years ago and were in the final again during the 2020 season when they lost to Melbourne Vixens.

Fever will start the 2021 season with negative points. 

Super Netball Commission chair Marina Go said: "There is no room for this behaviour within our sport and the Commission is disappointed to have to hand down these sanctions.

“We obviously hope it never happens again...this is a very disappointing day for the league.”