Apply for relevant licences.
From all applicable state governments
Permits, licences and social media rules are the most common questions we receive. The government websites are a maze of redirects and double negatives, so I don’t blame people for getting confused.
The need for a licence depends on:
- Whether you run a game of chance or a game of skill
- Which states your competition is open to (not where you business is based – a common misconception)
- The value of your prize
The long and short of it is this: a game of skill (winner picked based on the quality of their entry) won’t need a licence in any state in Australia. A game of chance (winner picked at random) with a prize or prize pool over $3,000 may require a licence in ACT, if your prize value is over $5,000 you may need a licence in SA and/or NT and if your prize value is over $10,000 you may require a licence in NSW.
All of the above information is taken from each state government’s website, but you should also check for yourself on a regular basis in case the rules change:
NSW: Fair Trading
ACT: Gambling and Racing Commission
SA: Consumer and Business Services
NT: Northern Territory Government
QLD: Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (scroll to Category 4)
WA: Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
TAS: Department of Treasury and Finance
In our spirit of making your life easier, based on the facts found on each state government website above, we’ve put together a handy little flow chart to help you work out whether you need a licence for your competition or not:

The 2020 NSW licensing update.
NSW Fair Trading have finally changed the laws around the permits required to run a competition or trade promotion. As of 1 July 2020, you will only need to apply for a permit (or authority) to run a trade promotion competition open to NSW if your prize or total prize pool is valued at $10,000 or more.
You can read in full about the update here.