Published 24/03/2021 by Josh Tucker
Whether you have already run multiple competitions or this will be your first, you should take the time to create new terms and conditions for each competition.
Even though most people may not read your terms and conditions before entering, they will help protect you as a promoter and list some key information about the competition, entry periods, prizes, winner selection and liability.
The following information is only to be used as a reference guide and we recommend having your completed terms and conditions reviewed by a lawyer.
Key things to cover in competition Terms and Conditions
Promotion - You should list the promotion name and link it to the terms and conditions. This can either be via the title or added as the first item. For example Terms and Conditions for XYZ promotion or Promotion - XYZ competition. This makes it easier for you and end-users to link the terms and conditions with each promotion that you are running.
Promoter - Let people know which company is promoting the competition, including basic contact details like office address and phone or email address, info@ or supper@ are fine.
Eligibility - What are the conditions to enter the competition, these may include age (for example entrants must be 18+), location (entrants must live in Australia), you must like our page on social media, keep a copy of the receipt if you had to buy a product to enter, etc, etc.
You should also list who can not enter the competition, which usually includes the staff members of the promoter or any associated brands.
Type of competition - There are only a few types of competitions that you can run, mainly a game of chance or game of skill. If you are running a game of chance, make sure you follow all state guidelines and obtain permits where applicable.
Promotional period - Let people know when the promotion starts and ends, including time and date as well as a timezone.
Prize details - In your competition, you can use the top line prize details like 'win a trip to Europe', however in the terms and conditions you should include every detail of what is included, for example, flights from any Australian capital city to London, accommodation at A hotel for 7 nights, $500 spending money.
Total prize pool and winners - You should state how many prizes are available and what the total value of all of the prizes is worth at the time of setting up the competition. The prize pool will also help you determine if you require permits to run your competition.
Winner selection - How you will choose the winner(s) of the competition, where and when the winner will be selected. If there is some skill required, i.e. tell us in 25 words or less, share how will you be selecting the winning entry? If the winner is randomly selected (game of chance) will it be random number or picked by a computer.
Winner notification - Winners are typically required to accept a prize and to do that you need to be able to contact them, so make sure you share how you are going to let them know if they are the lucky winner and when. For example, we will contact the winner via email within 48 hours of the draw date.
Privacy policy - As you are collecting personal information, you should include a link to your companies privacy policy for entrants to review if they choose.
Disclaimer - Lastly, add a generic disclaimer that by entering the completion you agree to the terms and conditions, meet the eligibility requirements, and accept the promoters winner selection as final and binding, prize value may not be swapped for cash or substitute, except at promoters discretion, additional prize-related expenses incurred (not covered in these terms) are the responsibility of the winner, without limitation.
Looking to get started, download the information above as a Word document and start editing.
Completing the information above should have you most of the way to creating terms and conditions that you can use when running a competition. On our website, all terms and conditions are easy to find and review, so check a few out to see some of the things included and wording used.
As mentioned, this is just a guide and is not legally binding and we recommend that you have a lawyer review the terms and conditions that you create.
