The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) is proud to host the Anzac Day Schools' Awards. This national competition recognises the work of students and teachers in schools and other educational settings. The purpose of the competition is for students to actively engage with veterans or current serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and to research a theme in Australia's wartime history.
Annual theme
The theme for our 2026 competition was 'Women in service', and entries closed on 28 May 2026.
We'll announce the 2026 winners and the 2027 theme before school breaks up for the year.
How to enter
Your entry will consist of 4 parts:
- engagement with veterans or current ADF members and your school group
- a project
- a bibliography
- a student group reflection.
Part A: Engagement with veterans or current ADF members
As part of the competition, schools should take the opportunity to connect with veterans or current ADF members.
This can be accomplished in several ways that are suited to your local school, such as:
- a school visit
- an online meeting
- written correspondence.
The purpose of this engagement is to build community and provide students with insight into the roles and contributions of past or current ADF members.
Your school will be required to demonstrate the valuable learning that the students have gained from their engagement with veterans or current ADF members in the student group reflection in Part D.
While you are encouraged to involve veterans or current ADF members in the annual theme, this is not mandatory if a veteran does not wish to discuss it. Schools are advised to prepare appropriate questions and be respectful and sensitive when engaging with veterans or current ADF members. Use Reflections: Capturing Veterans' Stories as a guide.
Part B: Project
Your school must submit a project that engages with the annual theme.
You will be required to research the theme and showcase your learning journey in one of the following formats.
Format | Requirements |
|---|---|
PowerPoint presentation or similar | Up to 15 slides, including one embedded video of up to 3 minutes. |
Video or podcast | Up to 3 minutes in an acceptable file format. |
Website | Up to 10 webpages, including images and one embedded video of up to 3 minutes. |
Artwork, mural, garden or memorial | Up to 10 text pages or webpages, including images and one embedded video of up to 3 minutes. |
Museum exhibition, gallery walk or virtual tour | Up to 10 text pages or webpages, including images and one embedded video of up to 3 minutes. |
Music, dance or drama | Up to 10 text pages or webpages, including images and one embedded video of up to 3 minutes. |
Your own creative and innovative idea | Up to 10 text pages or webpages, including images and one embedded video of up to 3 minutes. |
Make sure that your project:
- is in one of the following file formats: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, pdf, doc, docx, mov, mp3, mp4, ppt, pptx, zip (or a public URL)
- does not exceed 150 MB in file size.
Read Vimeo's advice on how to compress a video file.
We cannot accept entries in Apple Keynote, Google Docs, Google Slides or on a USB drive due to accessibility issues for judges. Export these file types to either docx, pdf or pptx before submission.
Part C: Bibliography
You must submit a bibliography with:
- at least 5 credible sources for a primary school entry
- at least 10 credible sources for a secondary school entry.
You can embed the bibliography in the project or attach it as a separate file when submitting online.
The Anzac Portal is an excellent place to start your research. Other helpful websites include:
- Australian War Memorial
- Australians at War Film Archive
- National Archives of Australia
- National Sound and Film Archive
- National Library of Australia and state libraries
- Trove
- Virtual War Memorial Australia.
Part D: Student group reflection
You must submit a student group reflection that addresses the following questions:
- What new knowledge and understanding have you gained from completing the project?
- What new knowledge and understanding have you gained from engaging with veterans or current ADF members and their personal experiences?
Nominate 2 to 3 students to write the reflection on behalf of the group of students who participated in the competition.
The student reflection can be either:
- written (up to 125 words per question with images of veteran or ADF member engagement)
- filmed (up to 30 seconds with footage or images of veteran or ADF member engagement).
You can embed the student reflection in the project or attach it as a separate file when submitting online.
Competition requirements
Read these requirements carefully early in your preparation to avoid any issues with your entry.
- The entry must be a collaboration of student work ranging from a club or activity group to a whole class, year level or whole school cohort.
- Each school is limited to one entry.
- If a school submits multiple entries, the judging panel will assess only the school's most recent entry; earlier entries will be deleted.
- Your entry should be coordinated by a teacher or school leader.
- Your entry should be created during the competition's opening and closing dates.
- Your entry should be original work.
- Your entry must consist of 4 parts.
Allow plenty of time to prepare, finalise and submit your online entry by the due date.
Look at a sample of previous entries on the theme 'Remembering Gallipoli 110 Years'.
Judging criteria
Entries are judged on the following criteria.
Entry component | Criteria |
|---|---|
Part A: Engagement with veterans or current ADF members | This part is considered with Part D. |
Part B: Project |
|
Part C: Bibliography |
|
Part D: Reflection |
|
While all aspects of your entry will be judged by the panel, the focus of your efforts should be on Parts B and D.
Tips and hints
Promote the competition at your school by printing the ADSA 2026 poster [PDF 3.3MB].
To prepare your entry for the competition, print our handy checklist [PDF 320KB].
Entry form
When the competition opens, we'll publish a link to the online entry form.
Make sure you complete your entry form and submit all the attachments before the specified closing date and time.
If you have any questions or experience technical difficulties during submission, email education@dva.gov.au.
Prizes
- National School Award ($5,000)
- State and Territory School Awards ($3,000 each)
- Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO Award for Veteran Involvement ($2,000)
- Innovative Idea Award ($2,000)
- Diversity in Service Award ($2,000)
- Remote Schools Award ($2,000)
- Specialist Educational Settings Award ($2,000)
Winning entries are showcased on the Anzac Portal, including photos and a submission description.
Special category awards
Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO Award for Veteran Involvement
An entry that includes significant and relevant involvement by veterans or current-serving members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Innovative Idea Award
Original and creative learning activities showcased in the project.
Diversity in Service Award
The strongest entry that recognises diversity in the Australian veteran community or current-serving ADF personnel.
Remote Schools Award
The strongest entry from a remote or very remote school, including the School of the Air or similar institutions.
Specialist Educational Settings Award
The strongest entry from a school or other educational setting that provides specialist learning for young people. This could include Distance Education, Hospital schools, Scouts, Cadets, or specialist schools.
Certificates of Excellence
We award a Certificate of Excellence to entries that meet one or more criteria to a high standard but do not receive a major prize.
Your school's Anzac Day service
Some schools incorporate the competition's annual theme into their Anzac Day service. This is one way to share students' learning about Australian veterans and current serving members.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the awards, please email education@dva.gov.au.