The AFL Commission has approved a change which now allows Clubs the ability to use future draft selections as part of their trading options during the annual AFL Exchange Period.

The change will come into effect in 2015 for this year’s Exchange Period in October.

AFL Club Chief Executives were briefed on Thursday regarding the rule change during a meeting in Melbourne.

After considering recommendations from all Clubs, the Commission found that trading for future picks may assist competitive balance by providing flexibility for Clubs, permitting them to optimise their list decisions, while also limiting the risks to the competition now that clubs also had more scope to make poor decisions.

Specifically, the model states:

Clubs can only trade one year in the future only;

Clubs must make at least two first-round selections in each four-year period or will otherwise face restrictions from trading any further first round draft picks;

Should a Club trade its future first round selection, it may not trade any other future selection for that same draft. Alternatively, a club may elect to keep its future first round selection but chose to trade any of its future selections from other rounds.