AFL Victoria boss Steven Reaper yesterday confirmed the state body had plans to introduce a payment cap in all leagues by 2016.

The cap is part of a three-pronged approach AFL Victoria hopes will be an effective solution to an issue plaguing football across the state.

The other elements are “equalisation provisions” — possibly a player points system — to support a cap and an “enforcement policy”.

Reaper announced the approach, devised by an 11-member working party, at AFL Victoria’s community leagues conference at Healesville.

He stressed the three elements were still in development and would vary from league to league.

League officials are now tasked with considering how the approach would work in their respective competitions and providing feedback.

AFL Victoria will then finalise its solution in time to be trialled in a selection of leagues in 2015, without enforcement.

“It was made very clear at the corresponding conference at the end of last year that the industry had an appetite to tackle this issue,” Reaper said.

“AFL Victoria, through this working party, has examined a range of possible solutions in order to develop a robust and flexible set of guidelines which will seek to halt the escalating cost of player payments and bridge the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ at community level.

“While we understand the concern across all levels of football regarding these issues and the demand for a quick solution, we are committed to developing a considered set of guidelines. 

“The feedback from league CEOs (chief executive officers) and RGMs (region general managers) is vital to this approach.”

Reaper said the working party devised the approach using the responses to a player payments survey, completed by 369 clubs across Victoria. Eighty-three per cent supported an AFL Victoria-led solution, while more than half called for a statewide salary cap, despite its enforcement challenges.

Reaper said the final solution would not be a case of one size fits all. 

Demographic and geographic challenges would factor in any salary cap.

“(The working party) also understands a salary cap needs to be supported by other measures, such as a player points system or an alternative equalisation provision, to have the desired impact on escalating player payments, and must also be enforceable.”

Reaper said AFL Victoria had also proposed changes to the national transfer window, which operates from February 1 to June 30.

The change, which was not detailed yesterday, would allow quicker movement of players once they had signed with a club in the off-season.

But any change requires the support of football bodies in other states because the clearance window covers leagues across Australia.