News and updates

Each of these has different rules, which can vary between state jurisdictions. Our business director, Andreas, was asked by the ABC to shed light on this subject.
Article: abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/how-to-tell-if-trade-competitions-charity-raffles-are-legitimate/101956528

New regulations in SA formally announced today. An independent scrutineer is now required to attend prize draws where the draw value is $30,000 or higher instead of the previous threshold of $20,000. However, for national promotions, the threshold is still $10,000 (because this is the threshold in NSW). Other changes include the elimination of the winner submission requirement and a simplification to the compliance obligations for electronic draws.

Gift with purchase and cashback promotions now not considered games of chance in some states. So a permit may not be required. However, it is best to check with us as the requirements change from time to time and depend on the exact specifications of your promotion.

If you plan to restrict your entrants to winning maximum one prize, note that SA has a specific rule that says that "if an entrant is allowed to enter more than once, they must have the chance to win more than once". So if you intend to run a competition and don’t want the same winner to win multiple prizes, you will need to remove the restriction specifically for SA residents. A common clause is "entrants can only win one prize in this competition (excluding SA residents)".

NSW has changed the law concerning trade promotion lotteries. In brief, an "authority" is now only required if a single trade promotion exceeds $10,000. This authority confers the right to run competitions / trade promotions for differing periods (1, 3 and 5 years). Each applicable promotion still needs to be registered and needs to comply with the legislation, especially when dealing with issues like electronic random draws, liquor, minors, travel, etc.

Now is a good time to make sure your T&Cs for competitions/trade promotions include enforceable clauses that deal with potential substitutions of prizes. Some promoters are not able to award the original prize because of changes in circumstances beyond their control. For instance, a prize involving a cancelled sporting event or an inappropriate/unavailable travel related prize.

State government offices close during the holidays. Please take this into account when applying for permits.

NSW: Closed 24 Dec 2019 — 1 Jan 2020
ACT: Closed 25 Dec 2019 — 1 Jan 2020
SA: Closed public holidays only

We're still open on business days.

Did you know that Western Australia (WA) require you to send them the terms and conditions of the promotion? Whilst WA does not require you to get a trade promotion permit, they do require the competition terms and conditions to be lodged for review and record purposes. Many organisations focus on getting permits from the states that require them but forget that, for national competitions, it is important to comply with the regulations of all states and territories.

When applying for a permit where "travel" is the prize, make sure your terms and conditions include a reference to the standard of accommodation (e.g. 4 stars) and the type of flight that is involved (e.g. Economy). The states look for this when assessing your application.

Did you know that the difference between a game of skill (no permit required) and a game of chance (permit may be required) is in how the winners are selected? If the winners are selected randomly, it is a game of chance. Even if the method of entry involves some level of skill. Sometimes, you may think skill is relevant, but the states may interpret the winner selection as random. For example, a "count the jelly beans" competition is generally classified as a game of chance. Contact us to discuss if unclear.

The Christmas break is coming up! Any permit applications received after the 8th of December 2018 may not be approved until the government offices re-open.

NSW: Closed 24 Dec 2018 - 1 Jan 2019
ACT: Closed 25 Dec 2018 - 1 Jan 2019
SA: Closed public holidays only

We suggest you take these dates into account when planning any upcoming competitions / trade promotions.

As of July 2018, fees for ACT and SA competition permits are increasing as follows:

Did you know that the winners of prizes may need to be published for everyone to see? Each state has different requirements (e.g. SA if prize is higher than $250, NSW if more than $500, VIC if more than $1000, but ACT regardless of value). Most promoters choose to publish the winners on a website.

If you need to run a promotion multiple times throughout the year, then it may be possible to obtain "blanket permits" for NSW and ACT. These allow the promoter to run competitions that are similar in nature for a period of 12 months with only a single permit. Please contact us if you would like more information about this and how we can help.

Any applications received after the 8th of December 2017 may not be approved until government offices re-open.

NSW: Closed 22 Dec 2017 — 7 Jan 2018
ACT: Closed 22 Dec 2017 — 1 Jan 2018
SA: Closed public holidays only

We are still open and will try and process any applications received but suggest you get your applications in ASAP if you want them approved by the end of the year.

Did you know that Victoria requires prizes of chance based promotions to be delivered to the winner within 28 days of the draw? The other states have similar requirements, so ensure that you deliver prizes promptly.

We have recently launched Instant Win API™, www.instantwinapi.com

It is an API that uses a randomised time-based mechanism to ensure your prizes will be distributed smoothly across the promotional period, regardless of how many prizes are available or how many entries you receive. If you want lightning fast winner selection for your next competition/promotion and to save time, development and testing costs, request access now.

Great news: from Jan 2018, NSW intends to raise the threshold required for trade promotion permits from $0 to $10,000. You will still need to comply with the legislation and be mindful when dealing with stuff like liquor, minors, travel, etc.

According to Liquor and Gaming NSW:
"Liquor and Gaming NSW is now in the process of finalising the model to regulate community gaming and trade promotions. Once finalised, the intention is for the changes to become operational in January 2018, following the passage of legislation."

These are short form terms and conditions that you place on ads that promote your competition. You would have seen them on the bottom of a print ad or a TVC. There are specific requirements about what needs to be included, including the prize pool, where the draw will occur, the permit number(s) and a reference to where the full T&Cs can be found. TPAL® can help.

Did you know that if you change the T&Cs of your competition, you will need to apply for approval? Even if the change is small. Each permit state will assess the application separately and will not approve the change if they think that existing entrants may be disadvantaged by the update. Contact us to discuss further.

A "Gift with Purchase" (GWP) promotion is where the consumer gets a free product/service if they purchase a participating product. NSW and SA (if prize pool exceeds $5,000) both require a permit if there is a limit to the GWP. For example, the offer is limited to the first 1,000 customers or up to $50,000. In other words, “whilst stocks last”. ACT does not require a permit because they view this as a game of skill.

You must generally perform a re-draw if any of the original winners do not claim their prize(s) after you have notified them (and you have done your best to try and locate them). This unclaimed prize draw should generally take place 3 months after the original draw. If the prize is perishable or time dependent, you will be able to reduce the time period between the original draw and the re-draw.

Did you know that the permit fee charged by the states and territories varies and depends on the total prize value? Basically, the higher the prize value, the higher the permit fee. Some are free below certain thresholds - again, this varies by state and territory.

Use our free wizard to give you an estimate:

Did you know that SA and NSW have specific requirements for the random draw picker you use? If your system is not already pre-approved, you must apply for approval through SA. You will need to provide them with background information about the system, including the methodology, security and accessibility, relevant source code and the technology used. You also need to have the system reviewed and signed off by an independent and appropriately qualified person.

Alternatively, you can use our pre-approved system:

Lawyers Weekly is the authoritative source of independent news, analysis and opinion about the practice of law in Australia.

Did you know that you need to keep records of the competition in order to be compliant? Each state has differing requirements, but it is generally appropriate to maintain the records (T&Cs, lists of entries, winners, etc.) for at least 12 months. Apply for your next permit through TPAL and we will keep safe records of your promotion.

randomdraws.com™ has been featured in Radio Info, a website for radio industry broadcast professionals.

We have recently been featured in Radio Info and Radio Today, leading websites of the radio industry.

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Did you know that large prize draws generally require you to engage an independent scrutineer to oversee the draw? NSW and SA have specific regulations that cover these requirements.

TPAL can help you with your next random draw, and arrange for an independent scrutineer to be available.

Did you know that any advertising of your competition must include the permit number(s) and a reference to where the terms and conditions can be accessed? It is not permitted to display a "Permits pending" message. You should also at a minimum display the start and end date, how to enter, prize values, the total prize pool, as well as the promoter's details (organisation name, address, ABN).

randomdraws.com is a cloud-based, self-service, third-party platform that can be used to execute compliant and independent draws for trade promotions, chance-based competitions, and sweepstakes.

Our random draw system and secure infrastructure is government-approved and certified in Australia, one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world for running promotions.

For more information, visit https://www.randomdraws.com

Did you know that Victoria requires that you publish the winners of prizes over $1000? Even though you do not need a permit in Victoria any longer, you are required to publish the winners in a publication or website that is easily accessible to Victorian residents.

If you are launching a cashback promotion and the claims are limited to a certain number (e.g. the first 1000 purchasers can claim the cashback), then SA and NSW may require a trade promotion permit. They view the promotion as chance-based because they do not think that it is a skill to be within the first, say, 1000 claims.

We have launched our instant terms and conditions drafting service for games of skill (no permits required). Pricing is $150 per competition/promotion. You get the documents (PDF and Word) as well as a hosted URL link that you can use with your promotions. Generate your next T&Cs in less than 10 minutes!

Did you know that some states have restrictions around the awarding of alcohol as prizes? For example, NSW has a prize limit of 20 litres for liquor with less than or equal to 20% alcohol content, or 5 litres for liquor with greater than 20% alcohol content. TPAL's online system will flag requirements like this and many others.

Did you know that when you run an instant win competition/promotion, you must award/distribute all the prizes? Your terms and conditions must contain a statement to this effect and you must ensure that you have protocols in place to ensure that this occurs. Apply for your next permit through TPAL and we will tell you what your terms and conditions requirements are.

Did you know that if your competition's random draw is electronic, South Australia (SA) requires an approved random draw picker? This applies even if you do not require a permit.

We have launched our online terms and conditions service. You can now easily and inexpensively obtain terms and conditions for your promotion/competition 24/7 with a few extra keystrokes when applying for promotion/competition permits.

Did you know that South Australia (SA) requires you to send them details of the winners, within 14 days of the draw, as part of their permit requirements? Many organisations are not aware of this requirement or forget to attend to this.

Did you know that if the winner draw is random, the promotion will be classified as chance based, and you may need a permit? Each state and territory has differing regulations, so it is important to check the specific permit requirements that apply to your promotion. If the winners will be selected based on skills and there is absolutely no element of chance, then you do not require a permit.

A Trade Promotion Lottery permit is no longer required where the total prize value does not exceed $3,000.

TPAL's electronic random draw system has been approved for national electronic random draws and can be used in competitions, trade promotions and lotteries.