The information in this section is provided to assist competition organisers adopt professional and fair competition terms. After consultation with a variety associations and organisations, a working party has established competition and sponsorship guidelines appropriate for use in New Zealand.
Adherence to these guidelines by both entrants and organisers will help ensure that our obligations under New Zealand laws, including the Copyright Act 1994 the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Privacy Act 1993 are met.
The guidelines will also ensure adherence to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, of which New Zealand is a signatory.
The intention of these guidelines is to respect and fairly protect creative and intellectual property rights for all, without inhibiting the potential effectiveness of competitive events as a promotional vehicle for the organisers and sponsors.
Important Notes
These guidelines are intended for use among a wide range of the visual arts; painting, graphic design, motion graphics, photography and mixed media.
They are also intended to be used in a broad range of situations such as in organising competitions, awards, exhibitions and promotional events to which professional practitioners and members of the public are invited to submit original visual material.
Organisers of such events might be community based, corporate, educational, promotional, charitable or not-for-profit.
The final terms and conditions of entry to an event will be shaped by the organisers’ purpose in arranging the event and may be further influenced by major sponsors. Care should be taken to prevent exploitation of entrants. Clarifying the primary purpose of the event assists in this process.
The sample terms and conditions offered here are widely supported in the creative industries and therefore represent an acceptable standard for those who are considering organising or entering, exhibitions, competitions or awards.
Terms and conditions of entry should accompany the entry form. The entry form itself should be informative and may also include rules for entry. Terms and conditions are a contractual declaration between the entrant and the organisers.
The entry form should clearly indicate:
- Who is eligible to enter the event (e.g. professionals, amateurs, residents, etc.)
- Persons not eligible (e.g. employees, associates of the organisers, etc.)
- Entrant’s name and contact details (and age where relevant)
- Entry requirement details including: subject or theme of competition/event
- Medium, format, dimensions, presentation of entries
- Categories of entry, definitions and explanations
- Number of entries per category/ per entrant
- Time frame within which the work must have been created/completed
- Identification of work
Other entry requirements could include:
- Ineligible entries (e.g. published work, prize-winning work from other events, etc.)
- Entry fees/payment details/issue of GST receipts
- Delivery address for entries and deadline for entries
- Signature of entrant agreeing to terms and conditions
- Organisers’ contact details
- Judging date and composition of judging panel
- Display of work, date prizes offered and means of notification of winners
- Insurance liability/replacement values/sale prices/commission on sold work/disclaimer
- Retrieval/return of work
Notes for Competition Organisers