1. Terms and Conditions – Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee 2024 (“Competition”)
a. The Promoter is Nationwide News Pty Ltd (ABN 98 008 438 828) of 2 Holt St, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010. Telephone number: 02 9288 3000.
b. Information on how to enter and prizes forms part of the terms of entry. Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions. If there is any inconsistency between these terms and conditions and anything else that refers to this Competition, these terms and conditions will prevail.
2. Who can enter?
a. Entry is open to all students studying in Years 3-8 (as of July 22, 2024) in registered Australian schools in Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia who are Australian residents. Entrants must:
i. attend a school that is officially enrolled to participate in the Competition or be home-schooled, provided the home school is registered in Australia and registered to participate in the Competition. Proof of home school registration will be required and must be sent prior to participation in the Competition to contactus@spelling-bee.com.au;
ii. be able to compete as an individual entrant without the assistance of another person;
iii. listen to the delivery of the Spelling Bee words via audio on their own; and
iv. type and submit responses on their own into the Competition website.
b. Directors, contractors and employees (and immediate families) of the Promoter and of companies, suppliers and agencies associated with the Competition are not eligible to win the Competition but can take part in the school level competition within the Competition (but their results will not be considered in determining persons eligible to participate in any of the finals).
c. Entrants must obtain prior permission of their parent or legal guardian to enter and this permission must be provided to the entrant’s school as and in the form required by the school. The permission must at least include the parent or legal guardian’s full name, address and telephone number. Failure to agree to the permission and provide these details will prevent the entrant from validly competing in the Competition.
d. The Promoter reserves the right at its sole discretion to request winners to provide proof of identity, proof of residency at the nominated prize delivery address and/or proof of entry validity or proof of registration ownership in order to claim a prize. If a winner cannot provide suitable proof, the winner will forfeit the prize in whole and no substitute will be offered.
3. Competition Rounds
a. The Competition will be conducted over a series of rounds, each a Competition Round, as set out below. There will be separate Competition Rounds conducted (but all at the same times as shown below) for each stage level (as described below being green, orange and red categories):
Registration Period
Opens: 9am AEST Monday, July 22, 2024
Closes: 5pm AEST Friday, August 23, 2024
School Competition Round
Opens: 9am AEST Monday, July 22, 2024
Closes: 5pm AEST Friday, August 23, 2024
State and Territory Finals Competition Round
Opens: 9am AEST Monday, September 2, 2024
Closes: 5pm AEST Friday, September 6, 2024
National Final Competition Round
Opens: 9am AEST Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Closes: 5pm AEST Friday, September 13, 2024
4. When to enter
a. Competition opens at 9am AEST on Monday, July 22, and closes at 5pm AEST on Friday, September 13, 2024 (Competition Period).
b. Registration to participate in the Competition must be received by the Promoter in the Registration Period.
c. Teachers must verify that the Entrant completed the Competition Round according under the competition terms and conditions. The Integrity Check process has changed since 2022. There is no longer an Integrity Check box that teachers need to click after a student has completed a round of the competition. Instead, by registering an account and adding students to their class, teachers agree that students will be supervised and will complete each round of the Competition in accordance with the Competition rules (See Rules and Regulations section).
d. All entries are deemed received at the time of receipt by the Promoter not at the time of transmission by the entrant.
e. Promoter accepts no responsibility for any late, delayed, ineligible, incomplete or corrupted entries.
5. How to enter
To enter, the following requirements must be met:
a. Registration for an eligible student to participate must be completed online by having their teacher log onto kidsnews.com.au/spelling-bee or spelling-bee.com.au and registering the entrant’s details within the Competition dashboard.
b. Teachers must use an education email address such as ed.au or ntschools.net or edumail.vic.gov.au to create their own Competition account which will allow them to register children in their class to participate in the Competition. If for some reason this is not possible, contact us at contactus@spelling-bee.com.au
c. All entrants must enter as individuals.
d. No payment to the Promoter is required to enter the Competition.
e. Entrants will only be able to participate in the Competition if the teacher or registered home-school parent confirms to the Promoter that they have received a signed consent form the parent/legal guardian of the entrant.
f. The entrant must not have reached the age of 15 on or before February 1, 2024.
g. Individual entrants must be entered into one of the following three categories:
Green: For Years 3-4
Orange: For Years 5-6
Red: For Years 7-8
h. Entrants are eligible to be entered into the category which matches their actual Year level or the category ABOVE their actual Year level (ie a Year 4 student can enter the Orange category for Years 5-6) but entrants cannot be entered into categories BELOW their actual Year level.
6. Competition Rules
a. Individual entrants who are unable to participate in and complete the relevant Competition Round during the nominated competition timeframes will be ineligible. If an entrant has started but not finished a Competition Round by the nominated closing time, their score will be determined by how many words are completed by the cut-off time for that Competition Round.
b. Individual entrants are not permitted to use additional aids or resources including physical or online dictionaries, Google or other search engine tools, spelling or grammar plug-ins, word lists, mobile phones, tablets, or any other device or object that could be construed as having potential to give spelling advice.
c. Entrants must not have any inked or printed writing on the palms of their hands or visible part of their body that could be construed as having the potential to provide spelling advice when they participate.
d. Entrants must not have help from other students or teachers during any part of the Competition.
e. Failure to comply may result in teachers and judges taking action to disqualify the entrant.
f. Teachers must verify the entrant completed the Competition Round under the competition terms and conditions. The Integrity Check process has changed since 2022. There is no longer an Integrity Check box that teachers need to click after a student has completed a round of the competition. Instead, by registering an account and adding students to their class, teachers agree that students will be supervised and will complete each round of the Competition in accordance with the Competition rules (See Rules and Regulations section).
g. The Promoter may disqualify, at any time including prior to or during the Competition, any entrant whose entry or participation in the Competition is not in compliance with any of these terms and conditions and it may, at any time up to and including December 31, 2024, require any entrant whose entry or participation is found to have not been in compliance with any of these terms or conditions to forfeit any prizes and other benefits accorded to the entrant as a result of participation in the Competition.
7. How to Play
a. The Competition is only conducted online and entrants must therefore participate in the Competition online. The Promoter recommends using particular browsers for optimate performance of the Competition Rounds which are set out in the How it Works section on the homepage of the Spelling Bee dashboard or at kidsnews.com.au/spelling-bee.
b. Entrants will be given an individualised code by their teacher to input upon sign-in to start the Competition. When an entrant is ready to compete in the Competition Round, each entrant must input their code, verify their details (abbreviated name, school and competition level such as Green). The entrant hits the Start button.
c. Each entrant is required to answer 30 randomly served spelling words within a 25-second time allowance per word after the audio to each key word finishes. A countdown timer will appear on the screen for each word.
d. Each entrant will need to click the “Listen Now” button and this will start the audio for the word to be spelled (Key Word). The Key Word is given to the student by audio with the word spoken first, the word then used in a spoken sentence and the word repeated. Each entrant will need to type the Key Word into the text box which appears on the screen but will be unable to type anything in to the text box until the audio has completed – once the audio is complete the text box will become active and the 25-second countdown will begin and cannot be stopped.
e. Once the audio has completed the “Hint” button will also become active to reveal the word definition, origin of the word, type of speech and whether the word is a homophone. Accessing the hint will not interrupt the 25 second countdown. Each entrant must click the “Next Word” button or hit the “Enter” button on the keyboard once they have typed the word to proceed and must do so within 25 seconds after the audio has completed the first time.
f. Entrants may listen to the audio as many times as they like during the 25 seconds by clicking the “Listen Again” button but the 25 second time allowance commences when the audio completes the first time.
g. If the 25 seconds runs out before the entrant has finished typing the word they will automatically proceed to the next word and they will not have submitted a spelling for that Key Word.
h. If an entrant does not attempt the word and clicks next they will be penalised for the total 25-second time that is, they will be deemed to have taken 25 seconds to spell that word.
i. After the 30 words are completed, the student is shown a screen with how many answers they answered correctly. Their time is not shown on this screen but is registered in the dashboard for their teacher.
j. After a participating student completes a round of the Competition, teachers must verify the entrant completed the Competition Round under the competition terms and conditions. The Integrity Check process has changed since 2022. There is no longer an Integrity Check box that teachers need to click after a student has completed a round of the competition. Instead, by registering an account and adding students to their class, teachers agree that students will be supervised and will complete each round of the Competition in accordance with the Competition rules (See Rules and Regulations section).
k. If a participating student is unable to complete any Competition Round due to circumstances beyond their control such as telecommunications outages or interruptions, power outages or the ringing of a fire alarm, then teachers may contact the Promoter via email at contactus@spelling-bee.com.au to generate a new access code for that student. This request must be made within 60 minutes after the interruption occurred (unless there are extenuating circumstances that justify the delay, as determined by the Promoter acting reasonably). This new access code will allow the student to continue the Competition Round from after the last word they had seen (ie that word will not be repeated even if they did not enter an answer for the last word they had seen). The Promoter may ask for evidence of the relevant circumstances. If the Promoter, at any time, reasonably believes that the student ought not to have been able to recommence the Competition Round, the student may be eliminated from the Competition.
l. Entrants must not:
i. tamper with the entry process;
ii. engage in any unlawful or other improper misconduct calculated to jeopardise the fair and proper conduct of the Competition; or
iii. submit an entry that is not in accordance with these terms and conditions.
m. If an entrant is found to have breached these terms and conditions including this clause, the entrant will be disqualified so that they will have all their entries invalidated, any claim to any prize will be invalidated and where such an entrant has already been awarded a prize before being found to have breached these terms and conditions, the entrant must immediately return any awarded prize to the Promoter. The Promoter has sole discretion to determine if these terms and conditions have been breached by any entrant. The Promoter reserves the right to request whatever documentation it deems necessary to confirm or deny its suspicions in this regard and any failure to provide such requested documentation to the Promoter on request gives the Promoter the right to disqualify the entrant. The Promoter’s legal rights to recover damages or other compensation from any offender are reserved.
8. Number of Entries permitted
Each entrant can enter and complete a Competition Round only once. Maximum of one prize will be awarded per winner.
9. Results and Determination of winners
a. The entrants’ results will be ranked, for each of the green, orange and red categories, on:
i. Accuracy: How many spelling words are correctly submitted out of 30.
ii. Time: the time it takes for the entrant to spell and submit each word will be recorded. The entrant’s cumulative time to complete all 30 words will be recorded down to the millisecond.
iii. Final ranking: The entrants with a particular accuracy score will be ranked according to their time to complete the Competition Round. That means that all entrants who achieved an accuracy of 30 out of 30 will be ranked in descending order of fastest to slowest and then those who achieved an accuracy of 29 out of 30 will be ranked in descending order of fastest to slowest and so on.
b. State and Territory Finals: Top 200 students from each state or territory in each category
The top 200 ranked entrants from the School Competition Round in each state and territory will be invited to participate in the State and Territory Finals Competition Round. If the 200th student in any state or territory has a time and accuracy which is equal to others in that same state or territory, then all those students in that same state or territory with that same time and accuracy as the 200th student will be eligible to participate in the State and Territory Finals Competition Round. Teachers will be notified of this invitation on August 26 and the entrant’s details will automatically be placed in to the State or Territory final level in the Competition dashboard.
c. National Final: Top 3 entrants from each state or territory in each category
The top 3 ranked entrants from the State and Territory Finals Competition Round in each state and territory will be eligible for the National Final. If the 3rd student in any state or territory has a time and accuracy which is equal to others in that same state or territory, then all those students in that same state or territory with that same time and accuracy as the 3rd student will be eligible to participate in the National Final Competition Round.
d. If any invited entrant is unable to compete in the National Final Competition Round, the next ranking entrant(s) will be contacted to ensure at least three competitors from that state or territory participate in the National Final Competition Round.
e. Teachers will be notified by email of their students’ successful path into the National Final Competition Round.
f. Teachers must confirm the entrant will participate in the National Final Competition Round within the Competition dashboard by 2pm AEST Tuesday, September 10, 2023, or the entrant will be deemed ineligible.
g. If there is a tie for the final winner of the National Final Competition Round, a tiebreak round will be conducted one hour after the completion of the National Final Competition Round to determine the final winner. Teachers will be contacted by email and phone to alert them to the entrant’s tiebreak status. If any of these participants are unable to compete in the tiebreak they forfeit their ability to win the national prize but are still considered a competitor in the National Finals Competition Round.
h. Teachers will be notified by email of the final positioning of their registered students in the National Final and any relevant prizes to be awarded.
i. This Competition is a game of skill. Chance plays no part in determining the winners.
j. The Promoter’s decision is final, and the Promoter will not enter into correspondence regarding the competition result or any other decisions the Promoter makes in connection with the Promotion.
k. The winner/s will be notified by telephone or email within five days of the final results. Winner/s of prizes will be published using their first name, surname initial and suburb on the kidsnews.com.au website approximately five days after the National Final and will remain on the website for a minimum of 30 days.
l. Prizes will be awarded to the person named as the winner and sent to the entrant’s registered school address.
m. If an entrant’s contact details change during the Promotion Period, entrant must notify the Promoter. A request to access or modify any information provided in an entry should be sent to the Promoter.
n. The Collins English Dictionary (13th Edition) is the final authority and sole source for the spelling of words; the primary source used to craft the definitions and language origins for the Competition; and the only authority consulted by officials, as well as the sole source used during the Competition to verify the information in the Competition’s prepared lists. Collins School Dictionary (6th Edition) –https://schools.collinsdictionary.com/ – has also been used as a source of age-appropriate definitions and examples of many of the words used in the Competition.
10. Prizes on offer
a. National winners (3 in total, one in each category) will win:
• A return flight to Canberra (from the winners’ nearest capital city) to meet the Prime Minister for each category winner (and a parent/guardian) on a date to be determined by Nationwide News Pty Ltd
• One night’s accommodation in Canberra for each category winner (and a parent/guardian) on a date to be determined by Nationwide News Pty Ltd. Accommodation is twin share at a minimum three-star hotel. Winners from the ACT will have the option to stay at the provided accommodation
• 1 x iPad Air 256GB ($1259 including GST)
• 1 x $250 HarperCollins book pack
• 1 x national winner certificate
b. School prizes (3 in total, one in each category):
• The school of each national winner will win 1 x $1000 voucher to spend on books, technology or other equipment and supplies
c. National runners-up (6 in total, two in each category) will win:
• 1 x $50 HarperCollins book pack
• 1 x National runners-up certificate
d. National finalists will receive:
• 1 x National finalist certificate
e. State finalists:
• 1 x State finalist certificate
f. School entrants:
• 1 x School champion certificate for each school winner
• 1 x Class champion certificate for each class winner
• 1 x participation certificate for all entrants
g. Unless otherwise expressly stated, prize values are based on the recommended retail prices at the time of first publication of these terms and conditions (inclusive of GST). The Promoter accepts no responsibility for change in prize value between now and the ultimate prize redemption date.
h. Prizes will be awarded to the identified winners of the competition and winners may not nominate other persons to be provided with the prizes. Prizes cannot be exchanged or redeemed for cash.
i. It is a condition of accepting the prize that the winner may be required to sign a legal release in a form determined by the Promoter in its absolute discretion.
11. Further Terms and Conditions
a. If for any reason this Promotion is not capable of running or continuing as planned, including (without limitation) due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures, pandemic or epidemic, or any causes beyond the control of the Promoter, including but not limited to vandalism, power failures, tempests, natural disasters, acts of God, civil unrest, strike, war, act of terrorism, the Promoter reserves the right in its sole discretion to take any action that may be available, and (without limitation) to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition, subject to any direction given under State Regulation.
b. If the prize is unavailable, for whatever reason, the Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize for a prize of equal or greater value, subject to State and Territory legislation. Each prize must be taken as stated and no compensation will be payable if a winner is unable to use the prize as stated.
c. The Promoter will make reasonable efforts to deliver prizes to the addresses provided by competition entrants. If a prize is returned to the Promoter because it could not be delivered to the address provided, the Promoter cannot guarantee that it will be able to resend the prize to the prize winner. The Promoter and its associated agencies and companies will not be liable for any damage to or delay in transit of prizes.
12. Limitation of Liability
a. The Promoter does not exclude any rights and remedies in respect of goods or services under the Australian Consumer Law in the Competition and Consumer Act (2010) (Australian Consumer Law) which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified. However, the remainder of this clause will apply to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Promoter shall not be liable for any:
i. loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) or for any personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with any prize/s except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law; or
ii. incorrect or inaccurate information, either caused by entrant or for any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in this competition, or for any technical error, or any combination thereof that may occur in the course of the administration of this competition including any omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line or telephone, mobile or satellite network failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of entries.
13. Entry details and privacy
a. The Promoter is collecting the entrant’s personal information for the purpose of conducting this Competition (including but not limited to determining the winner). If you are not willing for this to occur, you cannot participate in the promotion.
b. The Promoter collects information about teachers registering in relation to this Competition and will send them information about the goods and services of Kids News which may be of interest. The Promoter will collect and use the information provided by those teachers to provide those teachers with the Promoter’s goods and services, to promote and improve the Promoter’s goods and services, for the purposes described in our Privacy Policy and to run this Competition and award prizes. The Promoter collects information about students who enter this competition as provided by the registering teacher and as collected in the course of their participation in the Competition and in awarding or taking any prize and such information is used in relation to the running of this Competition (including the awarding of any prize and subject to any release provided in relation to same) and not otherwise to communicate directly with those students. The Promoter may disclose any collected information to its related companies, including those located outside Australia. Any of those companies may contact the teachers for those purposes (including by email and SMS) at any time. The Promoter may also disclose the collected information to its service and content providers, including those located outside Australia. If a teacher does not provide us with requested information, their registration may not proceed and they may not be able to register their students in the Competition. The Promoter may disclose collected information of any prize winner as per these terms and conditions or otherwise as required by law. Further information about how the Promoter handles personal information, how a person can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles, how the Promoter will deal with a complaint of that nature, how a person can access or seek correction of their personal information and the Promoter’s contact details can be found in the Promoter’s Privacy Policy at: https://www.kidsnews.com.au/Privacy-policy
