Competitions for kids in Australia 2026
A free directory of 78 real Australian competitions for kids in 2026, pulled from all over the country into one spot - art competitions, writing competitions, photography and film competitions, STEM and maths competitions, performance and music competitions, and social good competitions. Filter by category, age (4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-16) and state (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, NT, ACT, national). Most are free to enter. Updated weekly by theINmag, Australia's magazine made by kids for kids.
real competitions. for real aussie kids. dive in.
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open to kids everywhere
artArtStart at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery For 25 years, teachers across Northern Tasmania have sent in student art. Selected pieces are hung, professionally presented, in a real museum gallery. live now artSave The Frogs! Art Contest Frog conservation through art. Open to all ages and free to enter, so Aussie kids are welcome. Quirky, niche and surprisingly popular. live now social goodNational Schools Poster Competition (NSPC) Run an investigation from question to final numbers and share it on an e-poster. Years 3 to 12, cash prizes per division. The organisers keep all entries. live now ours · get publishedtheINmag - publishing real creative kids Your drawing, story or comic on a real printed page, in the hands of thousands of kids across Australia. Send in anything you’ve made, any time. Send it IN. live now photography & filmFlickerfest FlickerUp (Australian National Youth Competition) The youth arm of Flickerfest, Australia’s Academy Award qualifying short film festival. Winning films screen at Bondi beside the international lineup. live now artChildren’s Week National Poster Competition Anyone under 18 in Australia makes original art on the year’s children’s rights theme. The winning piece becomes the 2027 national Children’s Week poster. live now artCelebrate Australia Primary School Art Competition In its 21st year. Gladstone region primary kids make art about the Australia they care about, and chosen pieces travel to sister city Saiki in Japan. live now artLive Well, Die Well Art Prize Kids make a painting, drawing, print or photo about saying goodbye, remembering someone, or the people who care for us. Two student awards of $500 each. live now artInternational Festival of Owls Kids’ Art Contest A small US festival comp that now draws entries from dozens of countries. A perfect home for kids who love owls. Original art only, posted to Minnesota. live now artAustralian Cartoonists Association Prize (in theINmag) Going since 1924. The ACA picks a winner from the cartoons kids send in to theINmag each issue. The winner gets a year of Inkspot, their own magazine. live now artCrayola Creative Acts of Color (Open Call) Crayola’s year-round open call. Less about winning, more about joining a global creative movement. Kids share what they make, tagged #StayCreative. live now writingState Premier’s Reading Challenges Not a competition, a challenge. Read books from your state’s list and earn a certificate signed by the Premier. A big motivator for reluctant readers. live now artSydney Royal Easter Show - Junior Arts & Crafts Australia’s biggest creativity showcase, running since 1869. Hundreds of junior classes, and winning entries hang in the Arts & Crafts Pavilion. closes Feb photography & filmVery Short Film Festival - Junior Category (VSFF) Australia’s coolest under-the-radar film festival. Selected films premiere in Hobart, then tour nationally. Phone footage is fine. opens Feb artHarmony Day Poster Competition Design your own A3 poster on the year’s Harmony Day theme, Foundation to Year 12. $150 for each year-group winner, $250 for the overall winner per section. closes Apr stemAustralian Mathematics Competition (AMC) Australia’s oldest and biggest maths comp, entered through schools since 1978. Every student gets an award, and the Olympiad pathway starts here. closes Jul stemAPSMO Maths Olympiad (Years 5 & 6 or Years 7 & 8) For high-achieving students who love a challenge! In-class problem solving competitions comprising 4 contests, 5 questions each and no calculators allowed. dates TBC artChildren’s Rights Queensland Art Competition Run by Children’s Rights Queensland with the Queensland Family and Child Commission. Age-group winners shared over $2,000 in prizes in 2025. dates TBC stemFIRST LEGO League (Australia) Where kids fall in love with engineering. Teams build a LEGO robot to solve missions, then compete from regional level all the way to international. dates TBC photography & filmSF3 Kids (SmartFone Flick Fest) Shoot a film on a phone or tablet, up to ten minutes, and the finalists screen at the Sydney Opera House. Kids and teens anywhere in the world can enter. dates TBC artSmiggle Christmas Card Competition Kids draw a Christmas card front cover and the winning design is printed on actual Smiggle Christmas cards. Prizes usually include vouchers and Smiggle gear. dates TBC social goodSustainable Steps Poster Competition ACT kids, preschool to Year 6, make a poster urging one sustainability action, like saving water. Winners by age group plus a supported artwork category. dates TBC performanceWakakirri National Story-Dance Festival 300,000+ students have told a story through dance, drama and music at Australia’s national story-dance festival, live in professional theatres or on video. dates TBC
already run this year (back next time)
writing Just Write - For Kids (SA Public Libraries) Run by Marion City Council’s library network. First prize up to $200, second up to $100. Word limits 300-750 (8-10s) or 500-1,000 (11-13s). Open theme. annual stem Oliphant Science Awards Build it, break it, fix it, enter it. Kids turn a wild idea into a real model, invention, game or app, and the best ones win up to $500. opens again ~Jan art Spencil Art Prize Your design could become a Spencil product, co-designed with the Aussie stationery brand. Winners get $100 cash and $200 of Spencil gear. Ages 13 and under. opens again ~Jan art Young Archie The little sibling of the Archibald. Kids paint or draw a portrait of someone who matters to them, and finalists hang in the Art Gallery of NSW. opens again ~Jan stem Think Science! Competition (ANSTO) Run by ANSTO, Australia’s nuclear science organisation. Free to enter, with generous prizes for winning schools. Particularly strong at primary level. opens again ~Feb writing Whitlam Institute What Matters? Writing Competition The Whitlam Institute asks kids one question, what matters? Answer however you want. Top prize is $1,500 and every entry is read by a real human. opens again ~Feb art Cossack Children’s Art Awards A regional WA gem. Kids get a 30x30cm canvas to paint, and finalists hang alongside the famous Cossack Art Awards. The overall winner takes home $300. opens again ~Mar writing Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards One of Australia’s longest-running kids’ poetry comps, named for the writer of My Country. Cash prizes, plus an annual anthology of the best poems. opens again ~Mar writing Furphy Junior and Youth Literary Award Goulburn Valley kids write a short story or a poem on any subject. First prize in each category is $300, judging is blind, and the author keeps copyright. opens again ~Mar writing NSW Premier’s Spelling Bee The classic spoken spelling bee for NSW Years 3 to 6. Kids progress from class to school to regionals, with State Finals held at Penrith. opens again ~Mar writing NSW WriteOn Competition Run by the NSW Department of Education with the State Library. Winning stories are published in the Best of WriteOn anthology, kids’ words in print. opens again ~Mar stem Science Talent Search (Victoria) Since 1952, Victorian kids have entered a picture book or an invention in this science comp. Prep to Year 12, tens of thousands in bursaries, all sections. opens again ~Mar writing The Golden Pen (Scribblers Festival) Run by Perth’s kids’ lit festival, Scribblers. The overall winner takes home an e-reader and book pack, and shortlisted writers get book subscriptions. annual writing CYA Conference Hatchlings Award Run by the CYA Conference for children’s and young adult writers. Cash prizes of $100, $60 and $40, with categories across different writing forms. annual writing Imagination Creation Writing Competition Victorian kids aged 5 to 18 can enter one story and one poem each. 14 winners share QBD Books vouchers and are celebrated at an awards night. opens again ~Apr photography & film Little Sydney Lives Photography Competition Ages 5 to 12. Photograph Sydney on any camera, even a phone. Up to 20 photos hang at Customs House for a year, and the top prize is a $2,199 camera pack. opens again ~Apr writing Poem Forest Prize Write a nature poem of 20 lines or fewer and a tree gets planted for it. Shortlisted and winning poems go into a digital library. opens again ~Apr writing Randolph Stow Young Writers Award Live or study in WA’s Midwest? Writers in Years 3 to 12 can win cash for prose and poetry, and a perpetual trophy goes on display at the winner’s school. opens again ~Apr art Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists Named after picture book legend Shaun Tan. Winning art hangs for a month at Subiaco Library, professionally framed, with the City picking up the tab. opens again ~Apr writing Whitsunday Voices Short Story Competition Open to students living in the Mackay, Whitsunday or Isaac regions, Grades 3 to 12. Any topic you like, and Grades 3 and 4 can upload a handwritten story. annual writing Boroondara Literary Awards (Young Writers) Run by Boroondara Library Service in Melbourne since 1999. The young writers categories share over $5,000 in prize money, huge for a council award. annual writing Laura Literary Awards (Prose & Poetry) A small-but-mighty comp from the Rocky River Writers Club in country SA, with prose and poetry streams. Note: entries must be posted, not emailed. annual art Reconciliation Day Poster Competition ACT school kids draw an A4 poster on the year’s Reconciliation Day theme. The winning school takes $1,000 and the poster can become a public mural. annual art Royal Adelaide Show - Junior Art, Craft & Design Australia’s largest junior art, craft and design display. Ages 2 to 20, over 250 classes from painting to photography, and entries go on show at the Show. opens again ~May writing South Perth Young Writers Award (SPYWA) Shortlisted writers score a one-on-one workshop with a published local author, and finalists are published in the SPYWA Anthology. Prizes up to $150. annual art Banabae - We Are All Artists Aussie kids’ clothing brand Banabae prints the winner’s art onto real clothes in their next collection. The winner also takes home a $500 voucher. opens again ~Jun writing CBCA WA’s Make Your Own Storybook Awards Make a real book, cover to cover: original story, original illustrations, hand-bound, solo or in a duo. Run by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (WA). annual photography & film Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition (Australia Zoo) Australia Zoo’s photo comp. Kids category winners get $1,000 cash plus two nights at Crocodile Hunter Lodge, worth over $1,800. Three age groups up to 17. opens again ~Jun stem Matific Maths Olympiad A five-day online maths comp where participation comes first. Top schools win up to $1,500 and every student gets a certificate. opens again ~Jun art Operation Art Entered through NSW schools. Fifty pieces of student art are gifted to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead every single year. annual art Royal Darwin Show - Junior Art and Junior Photography NT kids draw, paint, sculpt or shoot a photo for the Royal Darwin Show, which turned 75 in 2026. Champion Junior Art wins $50 and a rosette. annual art Wild At Art Run by the Australian Conservation Foundation. Kids make art about an Aussie threatened species, and judges look for heart over technical skill. opens again ~Jun stem Opti-MINDS Creative Sustainability Challenge Prep to Year 6 kids get a division all their own. Queensland teams across 13 regions take seven weeks on a big challenge with zero outside help. annual writing Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee A national spelling tradition for Years 3 to 8. Kids compete from school to a national final, and past winners have met the actual Prime Minister. opens again ~Jul performance Tournament of Minds Teams get six weeks on one big problem with zero adult help, then perform their solution to a live audience and face a surprise challenge on the day. annual stem Young ICT Explorers (YICTE) Founded by SAP and free to enter, with about $30,000 in cash prizes each year. Kids build real tech projects, from coding apps to building robots. annual writing Better Read Kids Writing Competition Run by Sydney bookstore Better Read Than Dead. Every entry is published in an anthology, so just by entering, kids become published writers. annual writing Young Territory Author Awards NT kids write and make a real book, cover to cover. The Young Territory Author of the Year takes $500, and entries join a Darwin library collection. annual performance ASME Young Composers Awards (state-based) A state-by-state comp for young composers, from solo instrument to rock, pop and EDM. Winning compositions are performed live at the awards ceremony. annual writing Book Links Short Story Writing Competition A nice low-key one for upper primary writers. $100 prize plus the winning story published on the Book Links website. Open theme. annual art Canberra Glassworks Kids’ Design Competition Draw a design on the theme Art in Bloom. Annette Blair blows the winning design in glass live at Floriade, and the finished piece goes home with the kid. annual art Catholic Earthcare School Art Competition Not just Catholic schools: open to every Australian school for art on caring for creation. Vouchers up to $300, plus a $300 People’s Choice by public vote. annual social good National Water Week Poster Competition Run by Victorian water corporations. Kids design a poster on the year’s water theme, and category winners progress to state finals in National Water Week. annual art Nunga Kids Art Competition For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids across South Australia, preschool to Year 12. Art on the year’s NAIDOC theme is exhibited at the SA Museum. annual art Royal Hobart Show - Youth Art and Student Photography Tasmanian kids aged 8 to 19 enter art, sculpture or photos for the Royal Hobart Show youth exhibition at Hobart City Hall. Placegetters win up to $50. annual stem Tasmanian Science Talent Search Tasmanian kids, Kinder to Year 12, tackle the theme Seeds of Science as a picture book, photo essay, video or invention. Own division for Kinder to Year 2. annual stem Territory Young Scientists Awards NT kids build a bug from pre-used materials and explain where it lives, or make a Crocwise poster. Top 3 in every category at every year level win cash. annual performance ACMF National Songwriting Competition Nearly $20,000 in prizes, all paid towards musical equipment or tuition. A breakthrough comp for any kid who writes songs in their bedroom. annual art Futuremakers Art Exhibition: Tinted Glass Every entrant gets feedback and selected pieces hang in a real Footscray exhibition. Victorian kids 8 to 16 can enter art on paper, canvas or sculpture. annual writing Poetry In Action Poetry Competition One original poem, any Australian school kid. Winner takes $1,000 and their poem joins performances seen by over 100,000 students. Poet keeps copyright. annual art Ekka Education on Show Queensland kids from Prep to Year 6 make art, sculpture and poems for set classes, and entries are prepared for display at the Ekka in August. opens again ~Nov photography & film Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year - Junior Category The comp Robert Irwin won as a kid. Run by the SA Museum with Australian Geographic. Junior winners take home $500 and every finalist gets exhibited. opens again ~Dec art Eckersley’s Kids Colouring Competition Grab a free colouring sheet at any Eckersley’s store or online, colour it in however you like, and winners take home $50 Eckersley’s gift cards. not running right now art Faber-Castell Create Your Mark Faber-Castell and Cool Australia set a classroom brief each year. The school behind the most inspiring entries scores $1,500 of Faber-Castell products. not running right now art Micador Brand Giveaways Aussie-owned art supplies brand Micador runs regular giveaways like Win a Year of Micador, with ranges for toddlers right through to tweens. not running right now
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checked weekly. last reviewed 26 October 2026.
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got a question about kids' competitions?
What kids competitions are running in Australia right now?
This page lists every real Australian kids' competition we have verified for 2026, pulled from all over the country into one spot: art, writing, photography, film, STEM, maths, performance, music and social good. Pick a category, filter by age and state, and click through to the official entry page. New comps are added most weeks.
Are kids competitions in Australia free to enter?
Most are free. Some charge a small entry fee (often $5 to $20), and a few are paid-optional, where there is a free option alongside a paid stream with bigger prizes. Every tile on the board shows the cost before you click through.
Can my child enter competitions from any state in Australia?
Many are national, open to kids anywhere in Australia. Some are state-specific (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, NT, ACT), usually run by a state government, library network, regional council or local arts organisation. Use the state filter to see your state's own comps first, with the national ones underneath.
What kinds of kids competitions are listed here?
Art (painting, drawing, photography, film, dance, music), writing (short stories, poetry, picture books), STEM (maths, coding, science, engineering), spelling and reading challenges, plus competitions tied to social good causes like the environment, water and First Nations culture. theINmag's own open call is on the list too: send in a drawing, story or comic and it could be printed in the next issue. See what other kids have had published in the gallery.
How often is this list of competitions updated?
Weekly. Closing dates, new competitions and entry pages are checked on a regular sweep, and the last-reviewed date sits at the foot of the board. Spotted one we missed? Use the suggest-a-comp button at the top of the board.