National Press Club of Australia Best Photograph of The Year Award ($2000)

Eligibility: Photographs must relate to rural and regional Federal policy issues, taken in a rural area with pictures published between October 31, 2024 and October 31, 2025. The Photograph must be produced as an act of journalism, and not for advertising or public relations purposes, the work must be free from any commercial or corporate interests. All entries must be factually based. Publication on social media is accepted as published. Entry is open to all paid up members of the National Rural Press Club. 

Judging criteria: The photograph will be judged according to the value it adds to the overall story, the technical skill and creativity of the photographer as well as its impact. 

Process: Applicants must submit a 200 word supporting summary of how the photograph came about, where it was published and/or broadcast and what impact it had on the target audience. 

Format: Entries should include a weblink to the photo publication and a JPEG file of the photograph, in its original pixel dimensions as shot. Please note, if your work is behind a paywall, it is strongly advised that you also upload an accessible copy with your entry as published, such as a PDF as well as the JPEG file. Your entry may be disqualified if the judges cannot access your work. 

Use of AI is not permitted and only minimal editing for exposure and contrast is permitted. The use of cloning technology to alter the photograph is forbidden. The content of an image must not be altered. No hand of god image manipulation is allowed. Only retouching that conforms to currently accepted standards in the industry. No montaging or digital manipulation other than cropping, ‘digital spotting’, burning and dodging is permitted. The judges will be the arbiter of these standards and their decision will be final. The judges may ask to see your raw camera files.

Metadata which should be filled out such as the creation date, place and country as well as the caption/description and copyright must be provided. It can be included in the metadata of the image files or entered as part of the entry.