About the competition

The Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation Financial Literacy in Action Awards recognise and reward teachers who inspire their students to be confident in managing money.

Kindergarten to Year 12 educators are invited to share innovative classroom approaches that help their students engage with, and strengthen their financial literacy skills.

Submissions are invited from teachers from all year levels and across learning areas, no matter how big or small the lesson. We encourage submissions that are inclusive of diverse learners and their needs, including students living with disabilities, First Nations peoples, and schools in areas of lower socio-educational advantage.

The competition opens 9am, Friday 15 November 2024 and closes 5pm, Friday 28 February 2025.

How to enter

To enter, Kindergarten to Year 12 educators are invited to like and follow the Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation Facebook page PLUS must provide a submission that demonstrates innovative classroom approaches to help students strengthen their financial literacy skills.

The submission should include:

1. A summary of the lesson plan/project idea.
2. A description of your students, including the year level, class size and composition/diversity.
3. The lesson plan, including the purpose, objectives, activities, materials needed, how learning was verified, resource list, worksheets, rubrics.
4. Photos (maximum 3) to support your application.

Award categories

There are four award categories recognising teachers and their exceptional efforts to embed financial literacy:

1. Kindergarten to Year 6
2. Years 7 and 8
3. Years 9 and 10
4. Years 11 and 12

Number of entries teachers can submit

There are no limits on the number of entries that teachers can submit.

How to enter

• The competition is open to all Kindergarten to Year 12 educators at schools in Australia.
• Submissions are made using on the competition entry form located at www.talkmoney.org.au/FinancialLiteracyinActionAwards2025
• The competition opens 9am, Friday 15 November 2024 and closes 5pm, Friday 28 February 2025.
• One winner from each category will be selected from a judging panel and announced during Global Money Week, 17-23 March 2025.
• The prize for each winner in each category is $2,500 for the school. Winners will be notified via email and announced on social media.

Cost of Entry

Entry is free.

Winners and prizes

• The total prize pool is $10,000 which includes four cash prizes of $2,500 each, awarded to the school with the winning submission in each category.
• Note that each school is only eligible to win one category, regardless of the number of entries submitted.
• Prizes will be provided via digital bank transfer (BPay or EFT).

Selection of winners

This competition is a game of skill. Ecstra Foundation will select four schools that met the competition criteria including:

• Completion of the submission.
• Like/Follow the Talk Money Facebook page.
• Submit all entries via the competition link at www.talkmoney.org.au/FinancialLiteracyinActionAwards2025

A judging panel selected by Ecstra Foundation will review and select the winning entries. The successful schools will be:

• notified by email.
• published on The Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation social pages (Facebook and LinkedIn).
• May be published in a media release including the name of the school.
• The digital bank transfer for $2,500 for each category winner will be completed by Wednesday 2 April 2025.

Judging criteria

When selecting the winners of the competition, Ecstra Foundation will consider the extent to which:

• Purpose – The lesson objectives clearly aligned with developing financial literacy competencies.
• Knowledge and skills – The lesson was designed to build a key financial literacy skill or knowledge area, connected financial literacy to the curriculum, and related to real-life financial scenarios.
• Activities – The learning activities were engaging, interactive and encouraged critical thinking and problem-solving.
• Innovation – The learning activities were innovative and creative.
• Verification of learning – The lesson included a strategy for verifying student’s learning progress.

All decisions of the judging panel are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Publication of winning entries

Entries may be shared at any time during the campaign period or after the campaign period via the Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation Facebook page, Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation LinkedIn page, the Talk Money website or other promotional mediums.

Note that entries will not be used for commercial purposes or be permitted to be used by any other external third party.

Follow Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation on Facebook to find out who won.