2026 AIAL Essay and Blog Competition
12 Dec 2025
2026 AIAL ESSAY PRIZE IN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
The AIAL Essay Prize aims to promote knowledge and interest in administrative law.
A prize of $5000 will be awarded to the author of an essay and $1000 to the creator of a blog entry.
The AIAL is looking for original thinkers who, through their work, promote discussion about the law and practice of government actions and accountability.
There is no restriction on the topic other than the expectation that essays and blog text should address matters relevant to contemporary issues in administrative law.
Entries are due by 29 May 2026.
More details in relation to the prize are set out below.
COMPETITION RULES
Entries must be previously unpublished and must be the original work of the author / creator. They may be on any topic relating to administrative law.
The winning entry will exhibit original ideas and be a catalyst for considered debate on issues of importance in administrative law.
For the written essay, entries should be 5,000 to 8,000 words in length, including footnotes. A written blog entry, should be 500 – 800 words .
FORMAT OF ENTRIES
Entries can be submitted in the form of an essay or blog text.
Electronic copies of each essay or blog text should be submitted to the email address below.
The name of the author and a short biography should be included in the covering email. The author’s name should not appear (as the author of the essay or blog text) in the essay or blog text itself.
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to any interested persons.
OUTCOME
The winning entry will be determined by the Executive of the AIAL acting on the recommendation of a judging panel appointed by the Executive. The award of the prize shall be at the absolute discretion of the Executive.
The Executive may determine not to award the prize in any year.
PRIZE
A prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the author of an essay and $1,000 to the creator of a blog.
The winner will also be invited to attend the National Administrative Law Conference in Canberra at the Hotel Realm, National Circuit, Barton on 30-31 July 2026.
PUBLICATION OF ESSAY
Any winning essay will be published by the Institute in the AIAL Forum, the journal of the AIAL. Any winning blog text will be published on the AIAL website.
It is a condition of entry to the competition that entries will not have been published elsewhere. Once submitted, essays may not be submitted for publication elsewhere without prior approval of the AIAL.
ENQUIRIES
Further inquiries relating to the competition, including whether an essay is eligible for submission for the prize, may be directed to the AIAL Secretariat (contact details below).
SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES
Entries should be sent by email marked with the heading ‘AIAL Essay Prize Entry’ to:
aial@commercemgt.com.au
Inquiries may be made by phone: 02 6290 1505 or via email to the address above.
CLOSING DATE:
The closing date for entries is 29 May 2026. Late entries may be accepted but an extension must be sought before the closing date.
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