Entry and eligibility 

1. All entries must be submitted to the Medical Council of New South Wales (Council) via the online entry form on the Medical Council website by 11 pm Sunday 9 October 2022. 

2. Entrants must be currently enrolled in a medical degree in a New South Wales university at the time of submitting their entry. This includes undergraduate, postgraduate and part-time students.  

3. All personal information will be handled in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and NSW Health Privacy Management Plan. Any personal information gathered will be disposed securely once it is no longer required.  

4. Entrants must complete an entry form and comply with all terms and conditions for their entry to be eligible.  

5. Employees, contractors and consultants of the NSW Health Professional Councils Authority, NSW Health Care Complaints Commission are not eligible to enter.  

6. Photo identification will be required from winning entrants before the awarding of prizes. 

Essay guidelines 

7. Entries must be submitted in a Word formatted document with a cover page, title and author. Text should be in 12-point font size in Arial with 1.5 spacing. The pages should be numbered. 

8. The file name should only include the title of the essay and not the author’s name or other identifying details.  

9. Entries must be a single essay of up to 1200  words (excluding any references). Essays must be written in English and may include charts or diagrams, images if necessary. Charts and diagrams are included in the overall word count.  

10. The Harvard system of text citation and reference should be used. 

11. Entries must be original works written by one author. Entries must not infringe upon a third party’s copyright, registered trademarks or intellectual property. Essays deemed to contain plagiarism will be disqualified. Multiple entries by the same author are not permitted.  

12. Entries should not be on offer to other publications or prizes or anthologies for the duration of the competition. Entries deemed to be under contract to another publisher or broadcaster will be deemed ineligible.  

13. Previously published essays or essays submitted as part of a course of studies will not be accepted. 

14. Copyright in the essay remains with the entrant.  

Judging process 

15. Essays will be shortlisted by a delegated member of the Council or secretariat. 

16. The shortlisted essays will be assessed by a judging panel. The selection of the judging panel is a matter for the Council to determine. 

17. Essays will be judged on the following criteria:

    a. demonstrated knowledge of the topic having regard to contemporary regulatory or ethical issues  

           b. use of evidence to present compelling analysis 

           c. originality of ideas and strength of argument 

           d. quality and clarity of language and writing style 

           e. quality and depth of self-reflection in exploring the essay theme.  

18. The Council’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into about the outcome or the judging process. The Council reserves the right not to award any prizes.  

Winning entries 

19. The winner will receive $1,500.00 AUD. The runner-up will receive $500.00 AUD. Both the winner and runner up will be paid in the form of a gift card. 

20. The Council will announce the winners on the Council website in November. Following the announcement, the Council will contact the winners to organise the relevant payments. 

21. The winning essays (or parts thereof) and the names of winning entrants and their medical school will be published on the Council’s website and the Council’s social media accounts. The entrants grant the Council a perpetual worldwide licence in the copyright for this purpose.  

22. The Council may modify the format and content but not the substance of the winning essays for publication purposes.  

Liability 

23. To the extent permitted by law neither the Council or its employees, agents, contractors or subcontractors for a loss or damage including any consequential loss arising out of the entrant’s participation in the competition including but not limited to: 

1. late, lost or misdirected emails or mail 

2. provision of inaccurate or incorrect information 

3. the non-receipt of entries for any reason 

4. problems or technical failures of any kind 

5. unavailability or inaccessibility of any services 

6. electronic or human error 

7. any damage or loss suffered by any act or omission of the Council, its employees, agents or contractors about entering this competition or supply of a prize