BirdLife Australia Photography Awards

What you will actually pay

Entry costs, explained.

Paid: open images A$12 initially; youth A$4 initially; six-image portfolio A$45, with early and volume discounts.

Rates include GST. Early pricing ran in April; the pages disagree by one day on its ending, so it should not be carried forward to a future edition. No free route is listed. More uploads should earn their place in an edit, rather than be justified by a lower marginal price. [3][4]

An award built around birds and their setting

Portrait, flight and behaviour reward different visual strengths. Backyard Birds explicitly welcomes familiar human surroundings, while Birds in the Landscape needs the habitat to matter. Human Impact can tackle damage or positive conservation work; its disclosed captive-subject exception is specific. The 2026 special theme covered native Australian finches. Portfolio asks for six connected images and a statement explaining their relationship, so a sequence should contribute something beyond six isolated successes. [4]

The published panel includes Josh Galicki, Nathan Watson, Richard Flack, Angela Robertson-Buchanan, Melissa Zappelli and Peter O’Brien. Their biographies span professional nature photography, conservation projects and club judging. Several have direct BirdLife connections, so this is a subject-focused panel, not a claim of complete organisational independence. Study the category briefs before assuming that technical sharpness alone will carry an entry. [5]

A visible award within a defined field

The Guardian published a gallery of the 2026 winning and shortlisted photographs. [7]

BirdLife’s October announcement identifies Lachlan Hall’s underwater king-penguin image as the overall winner and reports more than 5,000 submissions. It also names Samara Achermann’s fairy-tern sequence as the Portfolio winner. Those results demonstrate a functioning, competitive award. Our view is that selected work can reach a useful nature audience, but publication is selective and cannot be treated as a purchased route to assignments. [6]

Category cash and an equipment grand prize

Each ordinary category winner receives A$1,000, including Youth; Portfolio carries A$2,000. The overall award is a Nikon Z8 with a stated recommended retail value of A$7,449, available through entry in any category. Retail value is neither cash nor guaranteed resale value. For someone already well equipped, the recognition may matter more than the camera; for others, switching systems could create additional lens costs. The official October results confirm the distinction between these benefits. [2][6]

Location, methods and originals matter

Formal rules allow worldwide entrants, but require eligible Australian birds photographed within Australia, its listed territories or surrounding permitted waters. Youth means under 18 at closing. Drones, automatic camera traps, playback and specified nesting photographs are excluded; manual remote triggers are allowed. Preserve the original files for verification. The FAQ states no image-age limit. [1][3]

That makes this an opportunity to reassess an existing archive. Nevertheless, the original photograph’s circumstances matter as much as its current edit. A pleasing image cannot become eligible by omitting how it was obtained, and a portfolio statement should describe genuine connections in the work. [4][1]

Every entry supports more than the awards

Copyright remains yours, but all entries grant perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable unpaid use for competition, promotional and conservation activities, including advocacy and research. Sponsors can use entries for marketing. Cropping and resizing are permitted, with reasonable efforts to provide requested larger files free. Credit can be withheld during judging. Our assessment is fair rather than narrow: the conservation mission is clear, but entrants must accept use beyond an awards gallery. [1]

A completed 2026 call

Entries ran from 7 April until 08:00 AEST on 13 July 2026. Submission required an online form, payment and RGB JPEG files, at least 1,800 pixels long-side and no larger than 10MB. Winners were announced on 1 October. Use the next published rules before preparing a future entry. [1][6]