AOC wants new anti-doping agency powers

Doubling bans for drug cheats is a game-changer that will leave all sports identities with nowhere to hide, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates says.

Coates on Friday will detail the AOC's backing for tougher penalties for sporting drug cheats at an Australian Senate inquiry in Canberra.

Coates will support a Bill proposing to strengthen the powers of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA).

He says federal parliament needs to pass the amendments to bring ASADA into line with the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), which will introduce tougher penalties next year.

WADA will double bans for athletes using performance enhancing drugs from two to four years.

Athletes will also be banned from dealing with coaches, trainers and sports scientists who have broken anti-doping laws and the period in which investigations can begin into past doping offences will be extended by two years, to 10 years.

"The new WADA code is a game changer," Coates said in a statement on Thursday.

"From January next year the people pulling the strings - the high performance experts, sports scientists, coaches and trainers - will be targeted. They will have nowhere to hide."

Amid ongoing fallout from ASADA's investigation into possible use of banned substances in the AFL and NRL, Coates said the proposed Bill changes didn't breach human rights.

"The Australian parliament needs to move on from the so-called blackest day in Australian sport," Coates said, referring to the Australian Crime Commission's report into organised crime and drugs in sport released last year.

"The issues here are aligning the legislation under which ASADA operates with the World Anti-Doping code and giving ASADA the means to get on with its work without interference from any of us involved in Australian sport.

"Only then will the integrity of ASADA and its work be ensured."