The National NAIDOC Committee invites Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to share their creativity and cultural expression in the 2026 National NAIDOC Poster Competition. Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully. By entering, you agree to comply with these Terms and Conditions.
1. Theme
1.1. The artwork must reflect the official 2026 National NAIDOC Week theme: 50 Years of Deadly.
2. Submission Deadline
2.1. All entries must be received by Sunday 1 March 2026 at 11:59pm (AEDT).
3. Eligibility
3.1. The artist must accept these Terms and Conditions in order to enter the Competition.
3.2. All participating artists must be individuals aged 18 years or older at the time of submitting the Entry Form.
3.3. Group entries are permitted, provided each artist in the group:
3.3.a. submits a separate Entry Form
3.3.b. is aged 18 years or older at the time of submission.
3.4. All participating artists must:
3.4.a. be of Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander descent;
3.4.b. identify as Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander; and
3.4.c. be accepted as an Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander by an Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander community.
4. Entry Limit
4.1. Each artist may submit one artwork only.
5. Artwork Specifications and Permissions
5.1. Artwork must be in portrait orientation (not landscape).
5.2. Artwork must not be framed or mounted behind glass.
5.3. Artwork cannot consist solely of a photograph; photographic elements may be included but must not form the entire work.
5.4. The artist must obtain permissions to reproduce graphics or images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people prior to submission.
6. Originality and Warranties
6.1. By entering, you confirm that:
6.1.a. You are aged 18 years or older.
6.1.b. The artwork is an original work.
6.1.c. The artwork has not previously won a NAIDOC or other major prize,
6.1.d. The artwork is not licensed or encumbered in any way that conflicts with these Terms and Conditions.
6.2. If your artwork includes any third-party material or substantially reproduces any material that is subject to third party rights, you must provide evidence of consent to use that third party’s intellectual property.
7. Judging and Selection
7.1. All entries will be assessed by the National NAIDOC Committee.
7.2. This is a competition of skill; chance plays no part in determining the winner.
7.3. The judges’ decision is final and binding, and no correspondence about the judges’ decision will be entered into.
7.4. Final selection may be subject to the provision of additional information, in accordance with clause 19.1.
7.5. The artist acknowledges and agrees that their artwork may be copied or reproduced for the purposes of judging the Competition.
8. Intellectual Property
8.1. Intellectual property rights in all submissions remain with the artist, except as provided by these Terms and Conditions.
8.2. By submitting an artwork and Entry Form, and accepting the prize offer, the winning artist of the Competition:
8.2.a. grants the Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, a permanent, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, ongoing, exclusive licence (including a right of sub-licence) to use, reproduce, communicate, broadcast, publish, distribute, adapt, modify and exploit the winning artwork in all media of expression now known or later developed and in all languages, for any purpose specified in these Terms and Conditions. This licence extends to commercial use of the winning artwork;
8.2.b. consents to any of the following types of acts or omissions by the Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency:
8.2.b.1.1. use of all or part of the artwork in accordance with the licence granted in paragraph 8.2.a with or without attribution of authorship to the artist (but the Commonwealth will not falsely attribute authorship of the entry);
8.2.b.1.2. adaptation or contextual changes to the artwork in a different context to that originally envisaged;
8.2.b.1.3. supplementing the artwork with any other material;
8.2.b.1.4. publication of personal details such as name, age, community, and state/territory of residence in connection with the artwork.
8.2.c. may be required to sign a formal licence and consent agreement, prior to the Competition being finalised. Failure to sign the licence will entitle the Commonwealth to remove the artist’s artwork from the Competition
8.2.d. agrees that the Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, may publish on the National NAIDOC Poster, and in any other material in which the artwork is reproduced, any personal or sensitive information provided by the winning artist in connection with their entry, including, but not limited to, the winning artist’s name, age, community and State / Territory of residence.
9. Privacy
9.1. By entering, you consent to the Commonwealth collecting, using, and disclosing your personal and sensitive information for the purposes of administering the competition and announcing the winner, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.
9.2 The Commonwealth will utilise the Award Force platform, which can be found at: https://awardforce.com/, for the collection, management and judging of nominations for the 2026 National NAIDOC Poster Competition. Any personal information provided as part of the nomination process will be stored within the Award Force system. Please note that Award Force may store information on servers located outside Australia, and by submitting a nomination, you agree to this disclosure of your personal information. Further information regarding the handling of personal information by Award Force is available in its Privacy Policy which can be found at https://creativeforce.team/privacy-policy/
10. Indemnity
10.1. Entrants indemnify the Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, against any claims, losses, or damages arising from a breach of these warranties or obligations given by entrants under these Terms and Conditions.
11. Prize
11.1. The total prize is $10,000 (excluding GST), payable to the winning artist or group.
11.2. The prize is not transferable or exchangeable.
12. Additional Conditions
12.1. The artist warrants that at the time of accepting the prize offer, there is no cultural or religious reason, or any other impediment that prevents the winning artwork from exhibited, published or reproduced.
13. Commonwealth’s Purpose for Use
13.1. The Commonwealth’s purpose in using, or sublicensing the use of, the winning artwork is limited to the following purposes, and anything incidental to such purposes:
13.1.a. being used as part of images in NAIDOC’s social media (e.g. Facebook);
13.1.b. being used in the National NAIDOC Award Ceremony Program;
13.1.c. being used in the National NAIDOC Award Ceremony room theming
(e.g. projection, screens, staging etc.);
13.1.d. being used in the National NAIDOC Poster;
13.1.e. being broadcast on television to promote NAIDOC Week, the NAIDOC Committee, the National NAIDOC Award Ceremony Program or any related matter;
13.1.f. being displayed in a public place to promote NAIDOC Week, the NAIDOC Committee, the National NAIDOC Award Ceremony Program or any related matter.
14. Use of National NAIDOC Poster
14.1. The National NAIDOC Poster may be used by the Commonwealth (or other party sublicensed by the Commonwealth) in the following manner (including but not limited to):
14.1.a. public display (e.g., offices, libraries, schools, public transport, shopping centres, airports etc.);
14.1.b. incorporated into local NAIDOC event flyers;
14.1.c. social media pages and websites, and television broadcasts;
14.1.d. displayed in sequence with previous National NAIDOC Posters and licensed to members of the public under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0);
14.1.e. providing black-and-white templates (for colouring in) to educational institutions to promote a positive awareness of NAIDOC and NAIDOC activities;
14.1.f. any other purpose the Commonwealth deems necessary in promoting NAIDOC Week.
15. Artist Acknowledgement
15.1. The Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, will identify the winning artist on the National NAIDOC Poster.
15.2. The Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, will make reasonable efforts to acknowledge the artist when the artwork is used for purposes other than the National NAIDOC Poster.
16. Alterations
16.1. The Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, will make reasonable efforts to notify the artist before altering the artwork for purpose listed in these Terms and Conditions.
16.2. The Commonwealth, as represented by the National Indigenous Australians Agency, will reasonably endeavour to obtain consent of the artist before altering the winning artwork, where such alteration is for a purpose outside the scope of these Terms and Conditions, and such consent must not be unreasonably withheld.
17. Reproduction Requests
17.1. Requests to reproduce the National NAIDOC Poster must be directed to:
National NAIDOC Secretariat
Culture and Empowerment Branch
via
National Indigenous Australians Agency
GPO Box 2191
Canberra ACT 2601
or via
Email: NAIDOC-Secretariat@niaa.gov.au
17.2. Any reproduction must:
17.2.a. acknowledge the original artist of the winning artwork and the National NAIDOC Committee
17.2.b. be in full (partial reproductions will not be permitted).
17.3. Permission for partial reproductions of the winning artwork will not be granted.
18. Amendments and Cancellation
18.1. The National Indigenous Australians Agency may amend these Terms and Conditions if necessary. Amendments will be binding on all entrants.
18.2. If, for any reason, the Competition is not able to be run as planned, the National Indigenous Australians Agency may cancel the Competition without liability to the Commonwealth, any entrant, or any other person.
19. Verification
19.1. The National Indigenous Australians Agency reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of participating artist, artwork and Entry Form (including participating artist’s identity, age and place of residence) and to disqualify any participating artist who submits an Entry Form that is not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
20. Promoter
20.1. The National Indigenous Australians Agency is the promoter of this Competition.