DVA Anzac Day Schools Awards

DVA Anzac Day Schools' Awards

This national competition recognises the work of students, teachers and schools who engage with veterans and honour Australia's wartime history.

The annual theme for 2024 is:

Discover the Stories of Veterans in Your Local Community.

Your entry must focus on learning about the experiences, service and stories of veterans from your local community. This will support students as they develop a deeper understanding of Australian involvement in wars, conflicts and peace operations.

Entries close at 5 pm AEST Friday 31 May 2024.


How to enter

Step 1: Plan your commemoration

Plan how students at your school will learn about and commemorate the service of Australian personnel who have served their country.

Commemoration is one way we remember and honour Australia’s service men and women. Many schools hold special ceremonies or assemblies to commemorate significant dates such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

You are encouraged to consider other creative and innovative ways for students to commemorate and be involved in learning about the experiences of veterans in your local community. Your entry should show how students engaged with veterans and reflected on their own learning.

Some ways that students may present the stories of their local veterans are through:

  • A podcast with veteran interviews for students in other year levels.
  • A museum exhibition design for a gallery walk or virtual tour.
  • A video chronicling the life and contributions of Australian veterans.
  • A website to share veterans' stories and student investigations.
  • A class artwork, mural, garden or memorial to reflect an aspect of service and commemoration.


Step 2: Research the stories of veterans in your local community

Historical research using credible sources is important for students to develop a good understanding of veteran experiences and Australia's wartime history. These pages may help your students:

Other helpful websites:


Step 3: Check the entry requirements

Carefully read these entry requirements early in your preparation to avoid difficulties later. Your entry must focus on discovering the stories of veterans in your local community to be eligible.

Each school is limited to one entry. If a school submits multiple entries, only the final submitted entry will be assessed by the judging panel.

All entries should be coordinated by a teacher or school leader.

There will be 2 parts to your entry: a rationale and a submission.

  1. Your entry must include a rationale (up to 500 words) of the activities and learning undertaken by students about the theme. It would help your entry to include how your submission meets the award criteria. This is in addition to the word or time limits for the format that you choose.
  2. You may choose one of the following formats for your submission:
  • A PowerPoint presentation or similar (maximum of 15 slides). This may include a 2-minute video if embedded.
  • A 2-minute video or podcast (in an acceptable file format).
  • Written content and images, such as poems, artworks, creative writing, or a link to a website. A maximum of 10 text or web pages will be accepted, including images. Images must be in JPEG format.

Your entry must be in one of these acceptable file formats: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, pdf, doc, docx, mov, mp3, mp4, zip, ppt, pptx with a file size of no more than 100 MB. Entries in Google Docs and Google Slides WILL NOT BE accepted for judging due to accessibility issues.


Step 4: Submit your entry

Make sure you submit your entry before 5pm AEST Friday 31 May 2024.

If you have any questions or experience technical difficulties when submitting your entry, send an email to education@dva.gov.au


Research guides are available on the VWMA Resources for Students page. For assistance with locating veterans from your local community and how to locate credible sources, contact the VWMA Schools Program Manager Kate Johnson, schools.program@vwma.org.au


For further information about the prizes on offer, the awards criteria and special categories awards, visit the DVA Anzac Day Schools' Awards website - here


Have your students’ work published to the VWMA

Your students’ stories about local veterans, after moderation, could be published to the VWMA profile of the veteran they research. The VWMA is keen to have your students’ work become a permanent part of the public record. For more information and to register your students, please contact the Schools Program Manager schools.program@vwma.org.au