WWF-Australia Nature Photography Competition 2026 – Terms
and Conditions
I. Introduction and Binding Agreement
Your participation in any capacity (either as an Entrant, Voter,
and/or Winner) in the WWF-Australia Photography for Nature
Competition (the “Competition”) constitutes your full
and unconditional agreement to these Terms and Conditions.
This document is a binding legal contract between you and World Wide
Fund for Nature Australia (ABN 57 001 594 074) of Level 3, 45
Clarence St, NSW, 2000 (“WWF-Australia”).
WWF-Australia reserves the right to amend or cancel the Competition
or these Terms and Conditions at any time where reasonably required
for operational, regulatory, or integrity reasons, subject to
applicable law. These Terms and Conditions were last revised on
4 September 2026.
The Competition is a game of skill. Winners are determined on the
merit of their Entries, first through public voting to shortlist
finalists and then by a judging panel that selects the final
winner(s). No element of chance is involved, and no winner is
determined by any random draw or lot at any stage.
II. Eligibility
All Entrants must:
- be an ordinarily resident in Australia;
-
be the photographer who personally took the submitted photograph,
and either owns the copyright in the submitted photograph, or has
the owner’s written permission to enter it and to grant the
licence in these Terms and Conditions;
-
be aged eighteen (18) or over at the time of entry, unless
entering through the Wild Youth Category in accordance with the
paragraph below; and
- comply with these Terms and Conditions.
Entrants under 18: Entrants who are under eighteen (18)
years of age may only be entered into the Wild Youth Category by a parent
or guardian. The parent or guardian must submit the Entry through their
own account and, in doing so, agrees to these Terms and Conditions on
behalf of the child. For the avoidance of doubt, the parent or guardian
is the contracting party for the Entry.
WWF-Australia Personnel and families:
WWF-Australia Personnel and their immediate family members may enter
the Competition, participate in public voting and donate to
WWF-Australia as other Entrants. However, their Entries will not be
eligible to progress to the judging stage or win the WWF-Australian
Photographer of the Year award or any other awards. For this
purpose:
- WWF-Australia Personnel means members of the WWF-Australia
Board, Governors, WWF-Australia employees, and service providers or
other parties (including their employees or agents) involved in administering
the Competition or have access to submitted photographs or Competition
data; and
- immediate family member means a spouse, de facto partner,
child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling
or stepsibling of a WWF-Australia Personnel.
III. Entry and Submission Requirements
Entry period
The entry period commences on 7 September 2026 and closes
on
30 September 2026.
Categories
The Competition has five (5) categories. The four Nature categories
are open to Entrants aged eighteen (18) or over. The Wild Youth
category is open to Entrants aged under eighteen (18):
- Wildlife: native or wild animals in their natural environment;
- Wild Places: natural scenery and landscapes;
- Wild Around You: nature captured in everyday or urban
settings, such as gardens, balconies and local parks;
- Wildly Funny: humorous or light-hearted images of animals
or nature.
- Wild Youth: photos of any of the above themes taken
by Entrants under 18 years old at the time of entry. Additional eligibility
requirements apply for Entrants based on the age (see clause II Eligibility
above).
Each Entrant may submit one (1) or more photos per category, as
permitted by the competition platform and specified in the
competition materials. Entry is free. It is the Entrant’s
responsibility to select the category that best fits their
photograph.
WWF-Australia may, acting reasonably, reallocate an Entry to a more
appropriate category or reject an Entry that does not fit any
category. This includes reallocating a child’s Entry to the
Wild Youth category, subject to the consent of the child’s
parent or guardian.
All dates, voting rounds, and progression thresholds are indicative
only and may be extended, shortened, suspended, or otherwise amended
by WWF-Australia in accordance with these Terms and Conditions where
reasonably required due to participation levels, technical
performance, or operational considerations.
Ethical Nature and Wildlife
-
Entries must depict animals and nature in a manner consistent with
WWF-Australia’s values. No animal may be baited, lured,
restrained, distressed, harmed or disturbed in a way that risks
its welfare in order to capture an image. Animals in photos must
appear free from real or perceived harm.
-
Images depicting animals affected by external or environmental
factors (including the impacts of habitat loss, extreme weather
events or human activity) may be accepted where they are submitted
for awareness or educational purposes and are not the result of
harm caused by the Entrant.
-
WWF-Australia may, in its absolute discretion, refuse or
disqualify any Entry that raises animal welfare, legal, ethical,
cultural or reputational concerns.
Submission Consent
-
This is a nature photography competition. Entries should focus on
nature, wildlife and the environment rather than on people, and
people should not be the main subject of an image.
-
By submitting photo(s) to the Competition, the Entrant consents to
their Entry being used and stored by WWF-Australia for promotional
purposes. This consent is also collected on the entry form at the
time of submission.
-
Any person in the image must be depicted in a safe, respectful and
dignified manner. Where a photo includes a child (anyone under
eighteen (18) years of age), the Entrant confirms that they have
obtained the consent of that child’s parent or guardian.
WWF-Australia may decline or remove any image that does not meet
these requirements.
Photograph Requirements and Warranties
-
Each photograph must be a genuine, original photograph taken by
the Entrant. Images that are generated by or materially created or
altered using generative artificial intelligence are not
permitted. WWF-Australia may, in its absolute discretion and at
any stage, request verification, review an Entry using
image-analysis tools, and reject or disqualify any Entry it
reasonably believes has been generated or materially altered using
generative artificial intelligence.
-
Minor post-processing (such as cropping and exposure or colour
correction) is acceptable. Where minor post-processing has been
applied, WWF-Australia may require the Entrant to provide a copy
of the original, unedited image file (including metadata where
available) to verify the Compliance with these Terms and
Conditions.
-
The Entrant warrants that the Entry does not infringe any third
party’s rights, that they have obtained all necessary
consents, including the consent of any identifiable individual in
the photograph (or, for a child, their parent or guardian), and
any permission needed to photograph on a private property.
WWF-Australia’s rights
-
WWF-Australia may, in its absolute discretion, determine that an
Entry is non-compliant with these Terms and Conditions. Where
reasonably practicable, WWF-Australia may (but is not obliged to)
notify the Entrant and require the Entry to be amended, corrected,
or resubmitted within a specified timeframe.
-
If the Entrant fails to comply within that timeframe, or where the
non-compliance is not capable of remedy, WWF-Australia may reject,
suspend, or remove the Entry without further notice.
IV. Voting and Judging Process
The Competition will be conducted in a public voting stage and a
judging stage, as detailed below:
A. Public Voting Stage
- Period: Public voting will open from 1 October until
1 November 2026, conducted across three rounds set out below.
- Free votes: Voters may cast one (1) free vote per Entry
per 24-hour period, subject to authentication requirements.
- Support WWF‑Australia (thank‑you votes):
-
Anyone who supports WWF‑Australia’s conservation
and regeneration work with a voluntary donation during the
Public Voting Stage can receive additional
“Thank‑you” votes for their favourite
Entries. These votes are a discretionary acknowledgement only.
They are provided at no additional cost, have no cash value,
cannot be sold, transferred or exchanged, and give the donor
no advantage. Donors may use them or leave them unused.
-
Thank‑you votes are available only for the limited
period of the Public Voting Stage and may be varied or
withdrawn at any time. Further details are set out in the
competition materials as a guide only.
-
All donations are voluntary, final and non‑refundable,
and are applied to WWF‑Australia’s charitable
purposes. Once cast, a vote is final and cannot be amended,
reversed or reallocated.
- No self-directed thank-you votes: Entrants are welcome
to donate to WWF-Australia, including a donation in their own name (for
example, to help set a fundraising benchmark). The limit applies only
to votes: an Entrant must not direct any thank-you votes to their own
Entry, or arrange for someone else to do so. An Entrant’s single
free vote per 24-hour period is unaffected. WWF-Australia may use reasonable
technical measures to enforce this and may disqualify any vote or Entry
that breaches this rule.
The Public Voting Stage will be conducted in three (3) rounds, with
votes reset to zero at the start of each round. For operational
purposes, Entries in each category will be allocated to separate
groups by the competition platform for Rounds 1 and 2 on a random
basis. Progression in the first two rounds is based on an Entry's
ranking by eligible votes within its group, rather than across the
whole category. For clarity, group allocation does not determine any
winner, and final winners will be selected by the judging panel on
merit.
- Round 1 (1–15 October 2026): the top twenty (20)
Entries in each group, or the top fifty per cent (50%) of Entries in
that group (whichever is fewer), will progress to Round 2, and are expected
to be announced on 15 October 2026.
- Round 2 (16–23 October 2026): the top ten (10)
Entries in each group, or the top fifty per cent (50%) of Entries in
that group (whichever is fewer), will progress to Round 3, and are expected
to be announced on or around 24 October 2026.
- Round 3 (25 October–01 November 2026): groups
will not apply. The top three (3) Entries in each category, based on
eligible votes, will progress to the Judging Stage as finalists, and
are expected to be announced on or around 2 November 2026.
- Ties: If two or more Entries are tied for the final
shortlist position in a category, all tied Entries will progress. Where
progressing all tied Entries is not practicable, the tie will be resolved
by the earliest submission time (the Entry submitted first advances).
- Wildcard finalist: WWF Australia may, acting reasonably
and having regard to the published judging criteria, select up to one
(1) additional wildcard finalist in each category to progress to the
Judging Stage.
- Integrity: WWF-Australia may investigate and disqualify
votes, Entries and winners where fraud, manipulation, or misuse is suspected.
B. Judging Stage
The judging stage will run from 3–4 November 2026. A judging
panel appointed by WWF-Australia will assess the shortlisted
finalists against the published judging criteria and select:
-
the winner of each category (“Category Winner(s)”);
and
-
the overall winner (“WWF photographer of the year”).
The judging panel’s decisions are final.
C. Change of Rounds
All progression thresholds, round durations and dates are indicative
only and may be amended, extended, shortened, suspended or cancelled
by WWF-Australia where reasonably required. WWF-Australia will
communicate any material changes through the official Competition
platform.
D. Fundraising Milestones and Recognition
WWF-Australia may recognise Entrants who raise donations for
WWF-Australia and reach fundraising milestones during the
Competition with minor recognition items, such as digital badges.
These items are discretionary, have no cash value, cannot be sold,
transferred, redeemed or exchanged, and provide no additional votes,
influence or other advantage in the Competition. Recipients may
choose to share their recognition, including on social media. The
applicable milestones, recognition items and recognition period will
be set out in the Competition materials and may be varied or
withdrawn by WWF-Australia.
V. Prizes
The number, description and approximate retail value of each prize,
including any prizes donated by WWF-Australia’s partners, will
be published in the official Competition materials. Prizes are
non-transferable and non-exchangeable and cannot be redeemed for
cash. If a prize becomes unavailable, a prize of equal or greater
value may be substituted.
VI. Winner Notification and Prize Claim
A. Announcement
WWF Australia may announce Entries progressing through the Public
Voting Stage in accordance with the timetable in section IV(A). The
announcement will be made on the competition platform, its website
and other WWF Australia channels during the Competition.
Following the judging process, the five Category Winners and the
WWF-Australian Photographer of the Year are expected to be announced
by 6 November 2026 through the same channels. Winners will also be
notified via the provided contact details.
For Wild Youth entries/winner(s), notification will be sent to their
parent or guardian.
B. Publication
By entering, Entrants agree that, if they win, WWF-Australia may
publish their first name, State or Territory and winning Entry for a
reasonable period after the Competition. For a winner who is under
eighteen (18) years of age, WWF-Australia will publish first name,
age and State or Territory only, subject to prior consent of the
winner’s parent or guardian. WWF‑Australia is not
obliged to publish any Entry and may decide, in its editorial
discretion, whether and how to publish or promote any Entry.
C. Calendar Inclusion
WWF-Australia may seek to include the winning Entry in its 2027
calendar. To enable publication, the WWF-Australia Photographer of
the Year winner must provide any confirmation, image approval,
consent or other information reasonably requested by WWF-Australia
by 5.00 pm AEDT on 9 November 2026. WWF-Australia may select one of
the Category Winners or another eligible Entry if the winner cannot
be contacted, does not respond by the deadline, or if the winning
Entry is technically unsuitable for printing or does not comply with
these Terms and Conditions.
D. Claiming a Prize
A winner must confirm their details and claim their prize within
fourteen (14) days of being notified, in the manner set out in the
notification.
E. If a Prize is Not Claimed
If a winner cannot be contacted, does not respond, does not claim
their prize within that period, or is found to be ineligible,
WWF-Australia may (acting reasonably and on merit) award the prize
to the next-highest-ranked eligible finalist, as determined by the
judging panel. The replacement winner will also have 14 days from
notification to provide their details and claim their prize. Any
prize that remains unclaimed will be dealt with in accordance with
applicable law.
VII. Communications, Privacy, and Data Use
A. Communications
By participating, Entrants and Voters consent to receiving
transactional and operational communications necessary for
administration of the Competition.
Entrants and Voters who provide consent at entry will also receive
promotional communications from WWF-Australia about its regeneration
and conservation initiatives, campaigns and fundraising activities.
Each communication will identify WWF-Australia as the sender and can
be opted out of at any time using the unsubscribe facility included
in each communication.
B. Privacy and Data Protection
- Collection and use: By entering this Competition, you
acknowledge and agree that WWF-Australia may collect your Entry (including
images), any associated intellectual property, and personal information
such as your name and contact details, and will handle it in accordance
with WWF-Australia Privacy Policy:
wwf.org.au/about-us/privacy-policy.
- Storage and retention: Entries and associated data
are held securely using WWF-Australia’s own platform and its third-party
service providers. WWF-Australia will keep this information only for
as long as reasonably necessary for purposes including administration,
promotion, reporting and legal requirements, expected to be at least
12 months after the Competition. It will then take reasonable steps
to destroy or de-identify it, unless the law requires otherwise.
- Overseas handling: Where a service provider stores
or accesses the information outside Australia, WWF-Australia will take
reasonable steps to ensure it is handled consistently with the Australian
Privacy Principles.
VIII. Intellectual Property and Publicity
By submitting an Entry, the Entrant grants WWF-Australia a
perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce,
publish, and adapt the Entry’s information and images for
promotional, fundraising, and awareness purposes. This includes the
right for WWF-Australia to sublicense its partners and service
providers to use and display winning and finalist Entries for those
purposes, subject to WWF-Australia’s approval. For an Entrant
under eighteen (18) years of age, this licence is granted by their
parent or guardian on their behalf.
IX. Prohibited Conduct
You agree not to engage in any activity that compromises the
integrity, fairness, or proper operation of the Competition.
WWF-Australia reserves the right, in its sole and absolute
discretion, to determine violations of these rules.
The following conduct is strictly prohibited:
- Automated Participation: The use of any automated system,
script, bot, macro, or any other device to automate the process of submitting
Entries or casting votes is forbidden.
- Data Extraction: The use of any automated tool or software
to harvest, copy, or extract any data or content from the Competition
website is strictly prohibited.
- Malicious Interference: Any attempt to disrupt, damage,
tamper with, or place an undue burden on the technical infrastructure
of the Competition, including its website, servers, and networks, is
forbidden.
- Fraudulent Activity: Any form of fraudulent participation
is prohibited, including but not limited to, the use of fraudulent accounts,
trading outside of the official donation mechanism, or any other deceptive
practices intended to unfairly manipulate the Competition.
- Consequences of Violation: Any violation of this section
may result in immediate action by WWF-Australia, including, but are
not limited to:
-
voiding of all votes associated with the prohibited conduct.
-
disqualification of the associated Entrant from the
Competition.
-
permanent banning of the responsible individual(s) from any
future competitions.
-
pursuit of all available legal remedies, including reporting
such activity to law enforcement.
X. Limitation of Liability
To the extent permitted by law, WWF-Australia excludes all liability
for loss, damage, or injury arising from participation in the
Competition. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes,
restricts or modifies any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be
excluded, including under the Australian Consumer Law.
XI. Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of New South
Wales, and the Commonwealth of Australia. The courts of New South
Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
XII. Severability
If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be
invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in
full force and effect.
Important Fundraising Information
The Competition is a fundraising initiative conducted by
WWF-Australia. Entry and one free vote per 24 hours are free.
Donations to WWF-Australia are voluntary and used for
WWF-Australia’s charitable purposes. Donations to
WWF-Australia are tax deductible to the extent permitted by
applicable law and the donor’s individual circumstances.
