Annual theme

The theme for 2026 is 'Women in service'.

Entries close 5 pm AEST Thursday 28 May 2026.

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 a several ways that are suited to your local school. For example:

• a school visit
• an online meeting
• written correspondence.

The purpose of this engagement is to build community and for students to gain an insight into the role 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 the veterans or current ADF members in the theme, 'Women in service', this is not mandatory if the veteran does not wish to discuss. Schools are advised to prepare appropriate questions, 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 this year's theme, 'Women in service'.

You will be required to research the theme and showcase your learning journey in one of the following formats.

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 or Google Slides or on a USB drive because of accessibility issues for judges. Export these file types to either docx, pdf or pptx before submission.

Part C: Bibliography

You are required to submit a bibliography. The bibliography may be embedded in the project if appropriate or it may be attached as a separate file during the submission process.

For primary schools, this list must contain a minimum of 5 credible sources.

For secondary schools, this list must contain a minimum of 10 credible sources.

The Anzac Portal is an excellent place to start your research. These webpages may help your students:

• Australian Women in War: Service, Courage and Care
• Devotion: Stories of Australia's wartime nurses
• Roles of Australian Women in World War One
• Women in the Second World War: In Their Own Words
• Women's land army played an important role during World War II
• Women's Land Army
• Women answered the call during the war

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:

1. What new knowledge and understanding have you gained from completing the project?
2. 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).

The student reflection may be embedded in the project if appropriate or it may be attached as a separate file during the submission process.

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 only assess the school's last submitted entry; earlier entries will be deleted.
• Your entry should be coordinated by a teacher or school leader.
• Your entry should be created during the dates of the competition opening and closing.
• 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 last year's entries on the theme 'Remembering Gallipoli 110 Years'.

Entries close at 5 pm AEST Thursday 28 May 2026.

Judging criteria

Entries are judged on the following criteria.

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

To prepare your entry for the competition, print our handy checklist [PDF 320KB].

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 of sharing the students' learning about 'Women in service'.

This Anzac Day, you could honour the extraordinary women who have served our nation in all wars and peace operations. Use this Anzac Day service template [DOCX 208KB] as an example of how the theme 'Women in service' could be adopted.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the awards, please email education@dva.gov.au.