Mercy Youth Awards

Entry Details

1. Introduction

The Mercy Foundation Youth Awards is a competition open to high school students across Australia from Years 7 – 12. The competition will encourage you to learn more about social justice issues. The focus social justice issue will be different.

2. Competition Details

Your challenge is to:

a) Use your creativity and originality to craft pieces that reflect your perspective on the nominated social justice issue.

You may submit artworks in the following mediums:

  • Painting (Acrylic, Watercolor, Oil, etc.)
  • Drawing (Pencil, Charcoal, Ink, etc.)
  • Mixed Media
  • Digital Art
  • Photography

Take a photo of your creation and upload it with your entry form on our website
PLEASE NOTE: no faces in the photo.

b) Each entry must include a written paragraph (no longer than 100 words) that explains your photo and how it explores the nominated social justice theme.

c) Fill out the quiz on the online entry form.

3. Important Notes:

  • Only one entry per person
  • An entrant is an individual student
  • Strictly no faces to feature in the image
  • No brand names or logos

4. Judging

A panel of judges will evaluate submissions based on:

  • Creativity & Originality – How uniquely the theme is represented.
  • Artistic Technique – Skill and execution in the chosen medium.
  • Emotional Impact – The ability to evoke emotion and inspire.
  • Relevance to Theme – How well the artwork conveys the message of the theme.
  • Short quiz.

5. Entries

  1. Entries must consist of a photograph uploaded with the online entry form. The online entry form is available on our website www.mercyfoundation.com.au
  2. Photographs should be a maximum of 2MB and in the format of a JPEG, GIF or PNG. JPEG is the preferred format. A PDF will also be accepted.
  3. Photos should be saved using student’s name, school and year group e.g. SmithH_SydneyHigh_Y7.jpeg
  4. If for any reason they are unable to use the online entry form, please contact us by email youthawards@mercyfoundation.com.au or call 02 9911 7390.
  5. By submitting an entry, the student acknowledges that they have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions for the Mercy Foundation Youth Awards 2026. The Terms and Conditions are available on our website www.mercyfoundation.com.au
  6. The photo and entry must be the student’s original work created for the competition.
  7. The Mercy Foundation will acknowledge all entries received. It is your responsibility to ensure that we have received your entry.
  8. Photographs may be exhibited at a public event later this year. More information will be provided closer to the event.
  9. The closing date for 2026 is to TBC.

For more information, contact the Mercy Foundation
Phone: 02 9911 7390 or
Email: youthawards@mercyfoundation.com.au
And follow us on Instagram

PRIZES

1st Prize: $1,000 to the winning entrant AND $1,000 to the winning school

2nd Prize: $500 to the winning entrant AND $500 to the winning school

3rd Prize: $250 to the winning entrant AND $250 to the winning school

AND
$100 vouchers will be awarded to 10 highly commended entries AND $250 will be awarded to the school that submits the most entries.

Schools are requested to spend their money on social justice resources and/or activities to promote social justice in your school and/or a charity addressing social justice issues in Australia.

Note that more than one winner may be awarded in each place. If this is the case, the prize money will be shared between the winning entrants and the winning schools.

6. Terms and Conditions
This document sets out the terms on which you participate (Terms and Conditions) in the Mercy Foundation Youth Awards 2026 (Competition).

GENERAL

  1. The Promoter of the Competition is The Mercy Foundation Ltd, (ABN 49 051 253 902). It is a not for profit organisation with Public Benevolent Institution status. The Mercy Foundation is a company limited by Guarantee. The Mercy Foundation is a Ministry of Mercy Partners. The Mercy Foundation’s registered office is 40 Rocklands Road, Wollstonecraft NSW 2065.
  2. All relevant instructions on the Mercy Foundation’s website mercyfoundation.com.au (Website) form part of these Terms and Conditions. The Terms and Conditions will prevail to the extent of any inconsistencies on the Website.

ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

  1. Each student entering the Competition (Entrant, or collectively Entrants) is bound by these Terms and Conditions.
  2. Participating in the Competition is free and is open to students in Australia who are in the academic years 7 to 12 at the time of entry and at the time the winners of the competition are announced.
  3. The Competition is not open to:
    1. any person who is an employee, officer, servant or contractor of the Promoter (Mercy Foundation);
    2. immediate family of employees of the Promoter or competition judges;
    3. any persons residing outside Australia; or
    4. any person who refuses to comply with or breaches any term of these Terms and Conditions.
  4. An Entrant is an individual student. Only one Entry per Entrant is permitted.
  5. Part one of the Entry into the Competition must be one original photo that conveys expresses their perspectives of the theme. The Entrant may also submit a photograph of an artwork, cartoon, collage or other visual representation that conveys the theme. The photo should be accompanied by the online Entry Form that includes a paragraph that is less than 100 words that describes how their entry represents the theme.
  6. Part two of the Entry into the Competition requires the Entrant to answer the quiz.  (Entry).
  7. The photo competition opens on 2026 date TBC and closes on 2026 date TBC at 11.59PM AEST.
  8. An Entry consists of a completed online Entry Form and photograph. The online Entry Form and photograph should be submitted from the Youth Awards section of our website mercyfoundation.com.au
    1. When submitting an Entry, Entrants must fill out the online entry form in full. A confirmation message will be displayed on screen when the entry is successfully submitted. It is the responsibility of the Entrants to ensure that the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) has received their Entry. Any Entry received after the expiry of the submission date will not be accepted. The Promoter (Mercy Foundation) does not accept any responsibility for Entries that are late, lost, delayed or misdirected.
    2. Entries are submitted from our website with photos uploaded using a JPEG, PNG or GIF format up to 2MB. Any queries should be addressed to youthawards@mercyfoundation.com.au.
    3. The photo filename should consist of the Entrants last name, first initial, school and year group. eg.:SmithH_SydneyHigh_Y7. jpeg
    4. If the entrant is unable to submit their entry on our website, please contact the Mercy Foundation on 02 9911 7390 or email youthawards@mercyfoundation.com.au.
  9. Entries must not contain inappropriate language, gratuitous violence, sexual references or statements that, in the Promoter’s (Mercy Foundation) reasonable opinion, promote hatred towards an individual, race, or community.
  10. Photos must not include any person’s face including that of the entrant.
  11. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are students to enter, trespass or photograph private premises that they are not authorised to enter or commercial establishments.
  12. By submitting an Entry, the makers of the Entry grant the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) and its related entities as defined under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) a royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, sublicensable, worldwide licence to use, publish, reproduce, transmit, distribute, modify, edit, translate, or otherwise deal with the entry in any way, including sublicensing those rights to any third party. The Entrants consent to any act or omission in respect of an Entry, unconditionally and irrevocably, that would otherwise infringe the moral rights of the Entrants.
  13. Each Entrant warrants that they have their parent or guardian’s permission to enter the competition and:
    1. all details provided with their Entry and entry form are true and accurate;
    2. they have all necessary intellectual property rights and licenses to grant the rights set out in these Terms and Conditions;
    3. the Entry is wholly comprised of original work, created and owned by them, and has not been previously communicated to the public;
    4. the Entry and photograph does not infringe the copyright, intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person or organisation;
    5. the Entry does not contain any identifiable product or product logo other than the Entrant’s school’s crest; and
    6. the exercise of any of the rights granted to the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) in these Terms and Conditions will not infringe the rights of any third parties.

 WINNERS AND PRIZES

  1. The Judging Panel will select winners in first place, second place and third place. Another 10 Highly Commended entries will be selected. The Judging Panel shall base their decision on the Entry which, in their opinion, best satisfies the following judging criteria:
    1. Creativity & Originality – How uniquely the theme is represented.
    2. Artistic Technique – Skill and execution in the chosen medium.
    3. Emotional Impact – The ability to evoke emotion and inspire.
    4. Relevance to Theme – How well the artwork conveys the message of the theme.
    5. Short quiz.
  2. Chance plays no part in determining the winning entries.
  3. The prizes for the winning entries and their schools will be as follows:
First Place1. $1,000 AUD will be awarded to the winning Entrant; and 2. the Entrant’s school will receive $1,000 AUD with a request that the amount be spent on social justice resources and/or activities to promote social justice in the school and/or donated to a charity addressing social justice issues in Australia.
Second Place1. $500 AUD will be awarded to the winning Entrant; and 2.the Entrants’ school will receive $500 AUD with a request that the amount be spent on social justice resources and/or activities to promote social justice in the school and/or donated to a charity addressing social justice issues in Australia.
Third Place1. $250 AUD will be awarded to the winning Entrant; and 2. the Entrants’ school will receive $250 AUD with a request that the amount be spent on social justice resources and/or activities to promote social justice in the school and/or donated to a charity addressing social justice issues in Australia.

The next top 10 entrants will be awarded a $100 voucher. The judging panel may, at their discretion, award Certificates of Merit or additional prizes.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS

  1. The winners of each category will be announced on the website mercyfoundation.com.au. The Entrant and his/her nominated contact teacher will be notified by an email to the email addresses provided when registering for the Competition. It is the responsibility of the Entrants to ensure their registered details are correct, and the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) will not be liable for any Entrant’s failure to receive the email notification.
  2. Decisions of the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) and its panel of judges are final and will be binding on each Entrant and no correspondence regarding the result will be entered into. The first name of the finalists and the school he/she attends will be published in the media chosen by the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) including but not limited to the Mercy Youth Award website, the Mercy Foundation website, Mercy Foundation Australia Facebook and Instagram page, the Mercy Foundation newsletter and e-newsletter. This information may also be publicised if the Entrant’s photo is displayed in an exhibition space at a public venue. Each Entrant consents to the use of her or his first name, and the name of her or his school as above.
  3. The Promoter (Mercy Foundation) may, at its absolute discretion:
    1. cancel the Competition and recommence it at another time under the same terms and conditions; or
    2. refuse to award any prize to any entrant who fails to comply with these Terms and Conditions, any applicable law, or whose involvement with the Competition may otherwise cause adverse publicity to the Promoter (Mercy Foundation).

LEGAL

Entrants assume and accept all legal and financial responsibility for any infringement on the privacy rights or copyright of others, caused by creating or presenting their work in public.

You must not in any way use the Promoter’s (Mercy Foundation) name, the name of any related entities of the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) or the Sisters of Mercy or Mercy Partners, in relation to an Entry, or represent expressly or impliedly that the Promoter (Mercy Foundation), its related entities are in any way associated with, or endorse, an Entry without the prior written consent of the Promoter (Mercy Foundation).

Entrants agree that the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) shall not be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by Entrants by participating in the Competition, including the costs or expenses in making an Entry, submitting an Entry or any additional costs associated with the prize.

The Entrant acknowledges that the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) is not equipped with mechanisms to prevent unauthorised use of the Entry, and the Entrant accepts that, to the fullest extent allowable under the law, the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) is not liable for any unauthorised use of an Entry by any third party.

The Promoters (Mercy Foundation) are under no obligation to exercise any of the rights granted to it by these Terms and Conditions and providing downloads and any communication of the Entries to the public is at the complete discretion of the Promoter (Mercy Foundation).

Entrants agree that the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) may use Entries and school details provided to the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) for any promotional, marketing and publicity purposes of the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) in any media without notice and without any fee being paid.

The Promoter (Mercy Foundation) is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, or for any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in this Competition, or for any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition. The Promoter (Mercy Foundation) assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of entries.

To the full extent permitted by the law, the Promoter (Mercy Foundation) will not be liable for any injury, damages, expenses, or loss whatsoever (whether direct or consequential) to persons or property as a result of any person entering into the Competition or accepting or using any prize, including without limitation non-receipt of any prize or damage to any prize in transit.

The Promoter (Mercy Foundation) takes its privacy and data security obligations seriously. You can find the Promoter’s (Mercy Foundation) Privacy Policy at https://www.mercyfoundation.com.au/privacy-policy/

The governing law of these Terms and Conditions is the law of New South Wales and parties will submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales in the event of any dispute.

The Promoter may exhibit a selection of entries for public viewing. By entering this competition,

The Entrant grants The Mercy Foundation Ltd non-exclusive right to use and reproduce submitted photographs (with the name of the photographer and the title of the work indicated) for exhibition purposes.

No royalties or compensation will be paid for these purposes.

All copyrights and ownership of the works are retained by the photographer.