Netball Australia is in political turmoil, with board chair Anne-Marie Corboy standing down after less than a year in the post and then ousted as a director at a special general meeting called by the member organisations last week.

The annual general meeting will be held on Friday, at which three board vacancies - including, now Corboy's - will be filled from among five candidates. Netball Queensland and Netball New South Wales are believed to be leading the push for more power to be returned to the state associations.

But others hold grave concerns about the potential loss of board independence and business acumen, fearing the decision-making process will be hijacked by more parochial interests. "Basically, the sport will go back 30 years," said one senior figure.

It is believed the Australian Sports Commission is closely monitoring the situation from a governance standpoint, while the Netball Players' Association is also concerned at the possible ramifications and was conducting a conference call to discuss the latest developments.

Unrest has festered since last year's decision to launch a new eight-team Super Netball league in 2017 to replace the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The process was delayed while commercial agreements were finalised with the likes of major sponsor Suncorp and broadcast partners Channel Nine and Telstra.

Highly contentious, too, was the decision to grant the three new licences to football-aligned clubs Collingwood, Sunshine Coast Lightning (Melbourne Storm) and the Giants, owned by NNSW but aligned with GWS. Having raided the talent of the five existing teams, run by the member associations, all three new franchises are in the top four with six rounds remaining in the inaugural Super Netball season.

Former Australian captain Kathryn Harby-Williams and another former player, Cheryl McCormack, are the two current directors up for re-election, with Marcia Ella, Susan Comerford and Jan Magaccis the challengers.

Corboy, who succeeded Noeleen Dix last year, was unavailable for comment, but it is believed the member associations were critical of her communication skills and leadership style. Several attempts at mediation by Netball Australia were apparently rebuffed by the member organisations.

Netball Victoria said in a statement to Fairfax Media that it was "the strong desire" of the state bodies to work in the sport's best interests, and that a collective view had been formed that it would be beneficial to change in the make-up of the Netball Australia board.

"Creating change such this is challenging when there are divergent views – naturally this has been difficult for all parties," it said. "As a result of this view, Anne-Marie Corboy is no longer a member of the NA board.

"NA board members are voted on and off the board dependant on the skills needed to deliver on the strategic agenda for whole of sport
There are a number of high calibre candidates standing for election or re-election at the NA AGM including current directors. We are committed to working collectively with Netball Australia to achieve our strategic agendas and look forward to working constructively together into the future.

"The whole of sport focus for the future, now that Suncorp Super Netball is established, is to ensure that we continue to grow and the development within community netball."