Terms and Conditions of Entry 2026

1. The Competition
   1. The Humans of Aged Care photo competition (“Competition“) is run by Ageing Australia (“the Organiser”) in partnership with its sponsor HESTA. The Competition seeks authentic photographic images (“Work”) that capture small, everyday moments in aged care, in line with the 2026 theme Small moments, big impact, and that highlight the wide variety of career paths available in the aged care sector in Australia.
   2. Every entry must feature at least one individual who works or volunteers in aged care in Australia, whether in a personal capacity or connected to a community provider, aged care facility, retirement living provider, government body, or private or health-based facility.
2. Eligibility
   1. Entry is open to any individual or organisation. There is no age limit on who may submit an entry.
   2. Any person appearing in a submitted photographic image (Work) may be of any age, subject to appropriate consent being obtained as set out in clause 3.
   3. Because every entry must depict a person working or volunteering in aged care in Australia, entries are restricted to entrants residing in Australia.
   4. Entrants must be of good reputation. The Organiser reserves the right to decline or disqualify an entry from an entrant, or featuring a subject, whose conduct has the potential to bring the Competition, the Organiser, or its sponsors into disrepute (see clause 14).
   5. Employees of Ageing Australia are not eligible to be judged or to win a prize but are welcome and encouraged to submit photos for the Organiser’s use in promoting the Competition.
3. Consent and Privacy
   1. All identifiable individuals appearing in a photo must consent to the photo being submitted and to their image being used as described in these Terms and Conditions.
   2. It is the entrant’s sole responsibility to obtain that consent, and to provide the contact details of each identifiable individual appearing in the photo, before submitting the entry. The Organiser may rely on the entrant’s confirmation that consent has been obtained and is not required to independently verify it, but reserves the right to request evidence of consent, or to contact a depicted individual directly, at any time.
   3. Where a photo features a person who is a person aged 18 or below, or a resident receiving care who may lack capacity to consent personally, written consent must be obtained from a parent, guardian, or authorised representative, in addition to any consent required from care staff photographed.
   4. Personal information collected as part of an entry will be handled in accordance with the Organiser’s Privacy Policy available at Privacy Policy | Ageing Australia.
4. How to Enter
   1. Entry is free of charge.
   2. Each entrant may submit up to ten (10) photos.
   3. Submissions open from August 2026 and close 16 October 2026.
5. Artificial Intelligence, Image Authenticity and Verification
   1. Each Work must be the entrant’s own photographic work, originate from an image captured by the entrant using a camera, including a digital camera, film camera or smartphone camera, and substantially and authentically represent the scene, people and subject matter photographed.
   2. Reasonable photographic processing is permitted where it does not materially change the substantive content or meaning of the Work. This includes exposure, brightness, contrast, colour and white-balance adjustments, reasonable saturation, cropping, straightening, lens or perspective correction, denoising, reasonable sharpening, removal of sensor dust, and AI-assisted masking or selection used only to make those adjustments.
   3. Unless the Organiser expressly establishes a separate category permitting it, a Work must not be wholly or substantially AI-generated. Generative AI or other editing must not be used to:
      1. add, remove, replace, move or materially alter a person, animal, object, background or other significant element;
      2. generate or replace a sky, landscape, background or environment;
      3. create substantive new visual content using generative fill, generative expansion, compositing or similar techniques;
      4. materially alter a person’s identity, face, body, expression, physical characteristics, appearance, health, disability, mobility, care environment or lived experience; or
      5. otherwise materially change or misrepresent what was photographed.
   4. The entrant must disclose in the entry form any generative AI or AI-assisted editing used to create, add, remove, replace or materially alter any visual element, including the tool used and the nature of the alteration. Ordinary processing permitted under clause 5.2 does not need to be disclosed where it has not materially changed the substantive content of the Work.
   5. The entrant must retain the original image file, where reasonably available. The Organiser may request the original or unedited image, relevant metadata, or reasonable information about the editing process or software used to verify the authenticity and eligibility of an entry, particularly where the entry is shortlisted or the Organiser has a reasonable concern about its authenticity.
   6. The Organiser may determine compliance with these requirements acting reasonably. If an entrant fails to provide reasonably requested verification material, or the Organiser reasonably determines that a Work does not comply, the Organiser may declare the entry ineligible, disqualify it, withdraw any prize or recognition, and select another finalist or winner. Before withdrawing a prize on the basis of suspected prohibited AI manipulation, the Organiser may give the entrant a reasonable opportunity to provide an explanation or verification material.
   7. The overriding principle is that AI may assist with processing an authentic photograph but must not be used to create, replace or materially alter the substantive subject matter represented as having been photographed.
6. Judging and Prizes
   1. Entries will be judged by a panel convened by the Organiser with an additional public voting category. The public vote will run as a social media campaign in November 2026.
   2. Finalists and winners will be announced at Ageing Australia’s National Conference in November 2026.
   3. The judging panel’s decision is final and made at its sole discretion. No correspondence will be entered into.
   4. Prizes are paid in cash, with first prize of $2,500, second prize of $1,000 and people’s choice prize of $1,000.
   5. Where the entrant represents an organisation, the prize is awarded to that organisation rather than to the individual photographer.
   6. Employees of Ageing Australia are not eligible for judging or winning a prize.
7. Copyright and Licence
   1. The Entrant confirms they are the sole owner of the copyright in the Work, or that they hold all necessary rights and permissions to grant the licence set out in this Agreement.
   2. This Agreement does not transfer ownership of copyright in the Work. The Entrant retains copyright at all times.
   3. The Entrant grants the Organiser, and acknowledged partners including HESTA, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-revocable, worldwide licence to use, reproduce, publish, adapt, and communicate the Work for the following purposes:
      1. Judging and administration of the Competition.
      2. Campaign promotion and marketing of the Competition and the Humans of Aged Care project, including on websites and social media.
      3. Exhibitions and pop-up galleries, including photography of those exhibitions by the Organiser or others for further promotional sharing.
      4. Publications, including Aged Care Today magazine.
      5. Digital galleries hosted by the Organiser, which will carry a watermark or other identifier attributing the Humans of Aged Care project.
      6. Ongoing and future promotion of the Humans of Aged Care project.
   4. The licence granted under clause 7.3 continues for as long as the Organiser reasonably requires for the purposes listed, including after the Competition has concluded, consistent with clause 8.
   5. The Organiser is not obliged to publish or use any entry submitted. A curated selection only will be featured across exhibitions, digital galleries, social media and print.
8. Optional Extended Use Licence
   1. The licence in clause 7 covers the core promotional and exhibition uses of the Competition. The Entrant may separately opt in to broader use of the Work beyond those purposes (for example, in unrelated Ageing Australia or sponsor materials). This is optional and does not affect eligibility to enter or be judged.
9. Consent of Identifiable Individuals
   1. The Entrant confirms that every identifiable individual appearing in the Work has consented to the Work being submitted to the Competition in accordance with the Privacy Laws and used for the purposes described in clause 7 (and, where applicable, clause 8).
   2. Where an identifiable individual is a minor, or a care recipient who may lack capacity to consent personally, the Entrant confirms that consent has instead been obtained from a parent, guardian, or authorised representative.
   3. The Entrant has provided, or will provide on request, the contact details of each identifiable individual appearing in the Work so the Organiser can confirm consent directly if required.
10. Warranties and Indemnity
    1. The Entrant warrants that:
       1. the Work is their own original creation, or they otherwise hold the rights necessary to grant this licence;
       2. the Work does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party;
       3. all consents described in clause 9 have genuinely been obtained; and
       4. the Work is not defamatory, unlawful, or otherwise likely to bring the Organiser or its sponsors into disrepute.
    2. The Entrant agrees to indemnify the Organiser against any claim, loss, or expense arising from a breach of the warranties in clause 10.
11. Moral Rights
    1. The Entrant consents to any act or omission by the Organiser that would otherwise infringe the Entrant’s Moral Rights in the Work to the extent necessary to allow the uses described in clause 7 (and where applicable, clause 8) including cropping, resizing, colour adjustment, watermarking, or use alongside other images and text.
    2. The Organiser will use reasonable efforts to attribute the Entrant and/or photographer where practicable, including in exhibitions and digital galleries.
12. Term
    1. This Agreement takes effect on submission of the Work and continues for the duration described in clause 7.4. Either party may seek to vary or end a specific use by written agreement, but this does not affect uses of the Work already published or distributed prior to that variation.
13. No Payment
    1. Entry to the Competition and the licence granted under this Agreement are provided without payment to the Entrant, other than any prize awarded.
14. Conduct and Reputation
    1. Entrants retain responsibility for maintaining an appropriate standard of professional and personal conduct in connection with the Competition, and must promptly notify the Organiser if they or an Identifiable Individual featured in their work are, or become, the subject of any investigation, finding, judgment, or current proceeding, including but not limited to matters involving fraud, misrepresentation or dishonesty in any administrative, civil or criminal proceeding in any country, where this may be relevant to their entry or eligibility.
    2. Entrants must not engage in conduct which brings, or has the potential to bring, the Competition, the Organiser, or its sponsors into disrepute.
    3. The Organiser reserves the right, at any time, to verify an entry or entrant, and to disqualify an entrant it has reasonable grounds to believe has submitted an entry not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, or has engaged in conduct with the potential to bring the Competition, the Organiser, or its sponsors into disrepute.
15. General
    1. The Organiser reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions, or to alter, postpone or cancel any part of the Competition, at any time, and will advise entrants of any material change.
    2. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia.
    3. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits or restricts any rights an entrant has under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.
16. Definitions
    1. Moral Rights has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth) as amended from time to time.
    2. Privacy Laws means the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) as amended from time to time.
    3. Work means each photo or photographic image submitted for this Competition.