2026 VAFA season

The 2026 VAFA season is the 125th season of the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), the largest senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season began on 17 April and is scheduled to conclude on 25 September.

In the men's competition, 55 teams will participate across six divisions under a promotion and relegation system. In the women's competition, 59 teams will participate across seven divisions, with a mid-season regrading scheduled to place after round 4.

Box Hill North, which was set to compete in Division 3 of the men's competition, went into recess five days before the start of the 2026 season. In a statement, the club said it had "clearly and consistently communicated" to the VAFA that it could not field a senior team and had requested a transfer to the Thirds competition.

The club denied that its withdrawal was related to its post-season celebrations, when one player wore full-body blackface and others dressed up in costumes related to the St Kilda schoolgirl scandal. All four players involved were suspended for up to three matches, while the club's leadership group was stood down until completing "appropriate education sessions".

After 34 years in the VAFA, St John's moved to the Southern Football Netball League (SFNL) following the conclusion of the 2025 season. The club said the move was motivated by its location and proximity to other SFNL teams. This meant only one team was relegated from Division 2 Men's, with Hawthorn going down and Aquinas staying up.

This was the first time a VAFA team had transferred to the SFNL since St Francis Xavier and South Mornington both moved at the end of the 2019 season.

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers (SBMT) withdrew its women's team because of insufficient player numbers. The side had finished fifth in Premier B Women's in 2025, where SBMT player Maddi Wilson had won the division's best and fairest award.

Three Division 3 Men's clubs – Chadstone, Eley Park and Swinburne University – chose to move into the Thirds competition.

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

The round 2 match between Monash Blues and Brunswick was abandoned after a Brunswick player suffered a broken leg during the second quarter. Brunswick was leading 5.4 (34) to 2.3 (15) at the time, but because the match was abandoned before half-time, it was treated as a draw and both teams received two premiership points each.

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

Home matches are indicated in bold.

Source: VAFA.com.au

• The season started on 19 April (two weeks earlier than the previous year) following feedback from club presidents that the length of the season was too long, with one of the two-week "double byes" removed as a result.
• Following the death of 17-year-old VAFA umpire Ben Austin in October 2025, the VAFA introduced the Ben Austin Umpire Rising Star Award. A minute's silence was also held before the start of every match in round 1.
• In December 2025, Melbourne University announced it was at risk of withdrawing from the VAFA women's competition. The club had been regraded from Premier Division to Premier B mid-season after losing its first three matches by a combined margin of 368 points, but still finished the 2025 season with a percentage of just 9.1%. It moved to Division 4 in 2026, five tiers lower than it had started the previous season.
• Because of redevelopment at Allard Park taking longer than expected, North Brunswick is playing its home matches at ATC Cook Reserve and Jackson Reserve, with some training taking place at Fleming Park.