Official match referees (match officials), consisting of the referee, two assistant referees and a fourth referee as appropriate, are appointed by the Association responsible for the organisation of the Match. Assistant Referees were previously known as "linesman".

Official Referees are not appointed for Mini games (U6, U7 and U8) as these are non-competitve games.

Due to availability of match officials, some games may receive no match officials, or only one or two of the normal complement. See the Club Referee and/or Club Assistant Referee FAQs for information on officiating games not covered by Official Referees.

The local Association may have its own Official Referee pool, or it may outsource provision of Official Referees to a sister Association. Both GHFA and NWSWF use the services of the Gladesville Hornsby Football Referees Association (GHFRA).

Depending on the competition and Association, Official Referees may require payment at the match. If this is required, team managers will be informed on the fee and procedure for payment. For GHFA and NWSWF competitions, the referee fee is included in the player registration fee and no payment is required at each match.

Matches where Official Referee game day payment may be required are trial games, State Cup, Sydney Cup and other tournaments.