Tell us a story 2024

Media kit resources

- Tell us a story competition social tile

Story Competition Posters - translated versions

- Tell us a story competition poster (Arabic)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Burmese)

- Tell us a story competition poster (English)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Korean)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Nepali)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Punjabi)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Spanish)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Urdu)

- Tell us a story competition poster (Vietnamese)

Entry

1. The Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (‘ACYP’) whose head office is registered at 219-241 Cleveland Street, Redfern NSW 2012 is the promoter of the ‘Youth Week Short Film Competition’ (‘Competition’).
2. By submitting your entry, you or your parent/guardian accept to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
3. To enter the Competition, you must complete the registration form: available here. The registration form includes a link to Google Forms, where Competition entries must be uploaded. All entrants must complete the registration and upload their Competition entries through Google Forms by 25 June 2024. This account is ccypmedia@gmail.com and registered to ACYP. Please refer to the guidelines and tips available in the separate tab below. Any entries sent or delivered to ACYP’s office will not be accepted.
4. When submitting your registration form you must provide your full name, age, postal address, email, phone number, the theme you are entering (Fiction/Made up or Non-fiction/In real life) and consent for:
   
   1. your first name, age and suburb to be published in ACYP’s newsletter, displayed on ACYP’s website at https://www.acyp.nsw.gov.au (‘Website’) and announced on ACYP’s social media pages (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acypNSW/ and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acypnsw/?hl=en ) (‘Social Media’); and
   2. your short film, if shortlisted, to be promoted on ACYP’s website, social media and at ACYP events.
   3. your short film, if you are a winner or runner up, to be published in ACYP’s newsletter on ACYP’s web page, social media and at ACYP events.
5. If you are between the ages of 13 and 17 years old:
   
   1. You must provide your parent, guardian or carer’s phone number and email address so that ACYP may verify consent to enter the Competition.
   2. ACYP will contact your parent, guardian, or carer in relation to your entry.
   3. ACYP must receive parent, guardian or carer consent for your Competition entry to be valid.
   4. Your parent, guardian or carer will need to provide consent for:
      1. your first name, age and suburb to be published in ACYP’s newsletter, displayed on ACYP’s website and announced on social media
      2. your short film, if shortlisted, to be promoted on ACYP’s website, social media and at ACYP events
      3. your short film, if you are a winner or runner up, to be published in ACYP’s newsletter, on ACYP’s web page, social media and at ACYP events.
6. ACYP will accept one Competition entry per person only. If more than one entry is submitted, the first entry will be accepted, unless the first entry’s file has been corrupted and then in that case, the second entry will be accepted.
7. You must also abide by Google Forms’ Terms of Services, available here: https://policies.google.com/terms . In accordance with Google’s Terms of Services. Competition entries will not be accepted by anyone under the age of 13 years.
8. In consideration of your chance to win a prize as part of the Competition, you, as the owner of the copyright, grant to ACYP a free, non-exclusive licence, for the full term of the copyright, in respect of all and any copyright in all the world in or arising out of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or in any cinematographic film or sound recording or any other work capable of being the subject of copyright submitted as an entry into the Competition (the ‘copyright work’). You authorise ACYP to use the copyright work in all any ways contemplated by ACYP, including but not limited to on ACYP’s website, social media sites and at ACYP events. ACYP will make all reasonable endeavours to attribute you by your first name when ACYP exercise its licenced rights.
9. The personal information (‘PI’) collected by ACYP is to be used for the purposes of the CompetitionYour PI will be added to ACYP’s information database stored on a shared drive and hubspot and used to report on your views on ACYP’s work and disseminate other ACYP communications. If you are under the age of 18 and your parent, guardian or carer does not consent for you to participate in this competition, your PI will be de-identified including age, postcode and gender and stored by ACYP. If, before the closing date of the competition, you or your parent, guardian or carer withdraws consent for you to participate in the Competition, you will be contacted by ACYP to confirm your entry is void and PI de-identified. If ACYP have confirmed you or your parent, guardian or carer do not want you to participate in the Competition, de-identified PI may be used to report on your views on ACYP’s work but will not be used to identify or contact you further. ACYP is bound by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW). You have a right to access and correct the PI that ACYP holds about you. If you would like to access or update your PI, please contact us by emailing acyp@acyp.nsw.gov.au. 
10. ACYP will not disclose any of your personal information to a third party without consent. However, if you are under the age of 18 years old, ACYP may contact your parent, guardian or carer in relation to the Competition without your consent.
11. No responsibility is accepted for Competition entries that contain corrupt files or entries that are not received by ACYP and/or incorrectly completed by the closing date. ACYP’s decision as to when an entry is received or whether the entry is incorrectly completed is final.
12. ACYP is not responsible for incorrect information submitted such as phone number, email or mailing address.
13. ACYP’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the Competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the Competition.

    Submission

14. The theme of the Competition is “Tell us a story” and intends to be a celebration of our refugee and migrant communities in New South Wales.
15. You must submit your Competition entry in one of the following categories:
    1. 13-18 years (Fiction/Made up) or
    2. 13-18 years (Non-fiction/In Real life) or
    3. 19-24 years (Fiction/Made up) or
    4. 19-24 years (Non-fiction/In Real life).
16. Competition entries must be strictly under two minutes. ACYP will not view any Competition entries that extend beyond the two- minute mark.
17. Google forms has a 10GB limit for the file size. While this will be achievable on most devices, some files may be larger if using a high-quality resolution. If this is the case, please store your original file and submit a version that is less than 10 GB. ACYP will contact you to receive the original file if you have been shortlisted.
18. Competition entries must not show identifying features that could be used to identify your location, for example, logos, business signage and identifiable buildings of private spaces such as schools, your home and local community. If you are seeking to include any identifying features, you must provide written consent of the organisation who owns this property. If ACYP determines your Competition entry to contain identifying features and consent has not been provided, your Competition entry will not be accepted.
19. Competition entries containing identifiable images of persons, whether still, moving, speaking or silent (even in the background) will not be accepted without that person’s written consent. You must provide written consents with your Competition entry. If ACYP determines your Competition entry contains identifiable images of persons and consent has not been provided, your Competition entry will not be accepted.
20. Your entry must be original and must not include any third-party copyright material such as music. However, CC0 or CC-BY Creative Commons licensed music is acceptable, provided you attribute the creator. Please refer to instructions and tips available in the separate tab below.
21. Competition entries containing illegal, inappropriate or risk-taking behaviour will not be accepted by ACYP. It is entirely at the discretion of ACYP to determine what constitutes inappropriate or risk-taking behaviour.
22. Competition entries may be presented in English or your traditional language. To ensure accessibility to all audiences (including hearing impaired), Competition entries must contain English subtitles. Competition entries that do not include English subtitles will not be accepted by ACYP.
23. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is not permitted in this Competition.
24. Your registration form should also include a question for the Minister.

    Eligibility

25. ACYP will only consider entries from children and young people between the ages of 13 to 24 years old who have arrived in NSW in the last 10 years as a refugee or migrant and are living in NSW with a NSW mailing address.
26. Your age for eligibility assessment purposes will be your age as at the date your Competition entry is received by ACYP.
27. Employees of ACYP and their close relatives and anyone connected with ACYP are not eligible to enter the Competition.

    Shortlisting

28. Two teams, each consisting of two (2) ACYP staff members and one (1) NSW Youth Advisory Council member will review Competition entries (‘Review Team’). One Review Team will review Competition entries from the age category of 13-18 years and the other Review Team will review Competition entries from the age category of 19-24 years. Each Review Team will rate entries based on the following criteria:
    
    1. Creativity
    2. Originality
    3. Storytelling
    4. Quality.
29. Review Teams will then select three (3) Competition entries from each of the categories below to be shortlisted for a chance to win the Competition (that is, 12 shortlisted candidates in total) (‘Shortlist Candidates’). Three (3) Shortlisted Candidates will be chosen from each of the following categories:
    
    1. 13-18 years (Fiction/Made up)
    2. 13-18 years (Non-fiction/In Real life)
    3. 19-24 years (Fiction/Made up)
    4. 19-24 years (Non-fiction/In Real life).
30. Shortlisted Candidates will be notified via phone. If the Shortlisted Candidate cannot be contacted by phone, an ACYP representative will leave a voice message and send an email to them thereafter, if an email address has been provided.
31. The Shortlisted Candidate must respond within 5 days of notification by email and/or phone call.
32. If the Shortlisted Candidate cannot be contacted or does not respond within 5 days, ACYP reserve the right to choose another Shortlisted Candidate (‘Second Candidate’). The same process will be repeated if the Second Candidate also cannot be contacted or fails to respond within 5 days.
33. Once all 12 Shortlisted Candidates have been confirmed, these 12 Shortlisted Candidates will be the Competition finalists (‘Finalists’).

    Winners and Prizes

34. Finalists and other members of the public will be invited to a screening of the Finalists’ films at Riverside Theatre in Parramatta on Wednesday 14 August from 6.00 – 7.30pm. (‘Screening’)
35. After the Screening, audience members will select the winners and runners up by voting via the Slido platform.
36. One (1) winner with the most votes will be selected from each age category, that is one (1) winner aged 13-18 years and one (1) winner aged 19-24 years (two (2) winners in total) (‘Winners’).
37. One (1) runner up will be selected from each age category, that is one (1) runner up aged 13-18 years and one (1) runner up aged 19-24 years (two (2) runners up in total) (‘Runners Up’).
38. The Winners and Runners Up will be announced by the Advocate for Children and Young People and members of our Youth Advisory Council at the Screening.
39. Winners will have their short film showcased during the Youth Week ‘Short Film’ launch event held at Riverside Theatre, Parramatta on Wednesday 14 August 2024.
40. Winners and Runners Up will select a gift card from a list of age-appropriate items to be determined by ACYP, in consultation with the Youth Advisory Council. The value of the Winners gift card is approximately $500, with the Runners Up receiving a gift card to the value of approximately $250.
41. Prizes are non-exchangeable, non-transferable and are not redeemable for cash or any other prizes.
42. ACYP accepts no responsibility for any cost associated with the prize that may be incurred by you.
43. ACYP accepts no responsibility for any personal cost associated with the NSW Youth Week ‘Short Film’ launch event held on Wednesday 14 August at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta.
44. Winners and Runners Up will receive a certificate on the night, and gift cards will be provided electronically to the Winners and Runners Up via email.
45. The Winners and Runners Up first name, age and suburb and short film may be published in ACYP’s newsletter to stakeholders, schools and children and young people, on ACYP’s web page, social media and at ACYP events.

    General Terms

46. ACYP will not be responsible for any prize not received due to any error or omission in the address (including email address) nominated by the Winners or Runners Up, or for any late, lost or misdirected deliveries or mail (including email). ACYP reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue the Competition, temporarily or permanently, including the right to accept (or refuse to accept) Competition entries, with or without prior notice, due to reasons outside its control (including, without limitation, in the case of anticipated, suspected or actual fraud). The decision of ACYP in all matters under its control is final and binding.
47. ACYP reserves the right to change the opening and closing dates/times or to accept late entries, at their sole discretion. ACYP’s decision will be final.
48. ACYP shall not be liable for any failure to comply with its obligations where the failure is caused by something outside its reasonable control. Such circumstances shall include, but not limited to, weather conditions, fire, flood, hurricane, strike, industrial dispute, war, hostilities, political unrest, riots, civil commotion, inevitable accidents, supervening legislation or any other circumstances amounting to force majeure.
49. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of New South Wales. ACYP and you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that State.

Please call us on 02 9248 0970 or email us at Participation@acyp.nsw.gov.au for further information.

Do

• Check the competition terms and conditions carefully for any specific requirements or limitations.
• Keep it age-appropriate and safe which means it should not include any offensive material and risk-taking behaviour.
• Plan your video: Brainstorm ideas, write a script (even basic dot points you can follow), and create a shot list to guide your filming. This saves time and ensures you capture everything you need.
• Find good lighting: Natural light is best. Avoid harsh shadows and backlighting. If indoors, use lamps to create flattering light.
• Shoot in landscape mode: It's wider, looks more professional, and fits better on most screens.
• Hold your phone or camera steady: Use two hands, or a tripod for smooth footage. Remember, shaky videos can be hard to watch.
• Get closer than you think: Instead of zooming, physically move closer to your subject for better quality and video resolution.
• Pay attention to sound: Shoot in quiet spaces, use an external microphone like your headphones, or add music/sound later.
• Experiment with different angles and shots: Mix it up! Close-ups, wide shots, overhead shots, different perspectives add visual interest.
• Take inspiration but find your own style and express yourself uniquely.
• Check your final video format, ensure it is in a supported format for upload.

Do not

• Film anyone without asking or in places you should not be. Obtain written/recorded consent if filming others or on private property including schools and businesses. Filming in certain properties require you to obtain a location release.
• Be rude or hateful to others: Your video should be kind and respectful to everyone.
• Use music that we cannot share: Make sure that if you do add music, it does not infringe copyright laws and is either your own or royalty free music.
• Shoot against bright backgrounds: Your subject will be silhouetted or washed out.
• Rely solely on digital zoom: Get closer physically for clear shots and avoid pixelation.
• Neglect the audio: Poor sound can ruin a good video. Find a quiet space or use an external microphone.
• Talk too fast or mumble: Speak clearly and at a moderate pace for easy understanding.
• Post without editing: Trim out mistakes, add transitions, and enhance your video with basic editing tools.

Adding music to videos

Do not use any music in your submission unless:

• It is entirely your own original composed and recorded music; or
• It is creative commons licenced under the CC0 (public domain). A list of sites offering music published under creative commons licensing is available at https://creativecommons.org/legalmusicforvideos/; or
• It is royalty free music under CC-BY licences, also known as ‘Creative Commons Attribution’ licences (see further information here about CC licences). If you are using music under CC-BY you must attribute the creator on your video, such as in the end credits. You can google sites which have these licences applied to music available for free. For example, see: https://www.youtube.com/c/FreeMusicTracks.

You must not use any commercially released music in your submission. Doing so will result in disqualification of your submission.

NSW Youth Week Short Film Competition Checklist

1. You have read the terms and conditions for the competition. If you are unsure or have a question about the terms and conditions, please contact us at: participation@acyp.nsw.gov.au
2. Your film is no longer than 2 minutes
3. Your film submission is no larger than 10GB. If your original file is larger than 10GB due to its high quality, please keep this version so we can use it for the screening event if you are a finalist
4. Your film reflects the theme: 'Tell us a story' and fits in either of the following categories: 'made up' (fiction) or 'in real life' (non-fiction)
5. Your film does not contain locations, logos, signs or buildings that would reveal your location
6. You have written consent from the property owner if you have filmed in a location that is identifiable
7. You have written consent from the people appearing in the film
8. You have provided your full name, age, email address, contact number and suburb
9. If aged under 18 years, you have provided contact details for your parent/guardian
10. You have included closed captions in English (CC) in your film, especially if it is in another language
11. The film is all your own work or uses copyright free images, video, words and music
12. Your film is your own work and does not use AI
13. You have read the criteria and made sure your film focuses on the following in the film: creativity, originality, story-telling and quality of the film.