Regular season

The regular season runs during the Australian summer, from January to April of each year. The competition consists of 28 rounds, with each team playing every other team twice. Each match sees the teams awarded points based on the following scale: ^[1]

• Win in Normal Time: four points
• Win in Penalty Shootout: three points
• No result (game cannot be conducted due to uncontrollable factors): two points each
• Loss in Penalty Shootout: one point
• Loss in Normal Time: zero points
• Disqualification/Forfeit: zero points

All games require a result, and as such it is impossible for a game to result in a draw.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the top six placed teams from each of the men's and women's divisions will progress to the finals series, with the position of each team determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the regular season. The remaining four teams are awarded final placings based on the number of points accumulated over the course of the regular season. If two or more teams are level on points, the team which won the game between those two teams will be determined as being higher ranked. If three or more teams are level on points, the following criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:^[1]

1. The points of the games among the tied teams;
2. The goal difference (excluding goals from a penalty shootout) among the tied teams;
3. Total goals scored among tied teams;
4. The games played between the tied teams;
5. The results against the highest placed team;
6. Toss of a coin.

Finals Series

The top six clubs at the conclusion of the regular season progress to the finals series. The finals series culminates to the Australian Water Polo League grand final, where the winner is crowned AWL champion. The club that wins each grand final is presented with the AWL Champions Trophy.^{[citation needed]}

The finals series consists of six teams who are placed by rank, as determined at the end of the regular season. The finals series runs over four days. In the first day of fixtures, the third-through-sixth ranked teams play a single-elimination match, with the two winners of those matches competing on day two to play off against the loser of the day two match between the first and second ranked teams on Day 3. The two winners of the those matches meet in the grand final on Day 4.^{[citation needed]}