Photography Competition: Terms & Conditions

Charters Towers Regional Council invites photographers to enter a photography competition encompassing the theme ‘Unearth Our Secrets’.

Photographs that celebrate and what you love about the Charters Towers Region, be it our natural surrounds, our buildings or our events are encouraged.

Entering in this Competition automatically declares Charters Towers Regional Council a licence to reproduce entered photographs for promotional, educational and informational purposes in Council publications, on Council’s website and social media platforms and agreeance to the Terms and Conditions associated with this Competition.

Finalist photographs will be displayed at the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Exhibition at the Queensland Day - Celebrating Faces and Places Street Party on Sunday, 5 June 2022. All winners will be announced at the Queensland Day - Celebrating Faces and Places Street Party and via Council’s social media channels and website on Monday, 6 June 2022.

How to Enter

Entries will only be accepted via the online entry form.

Submitted images must be:

JPEG format (Please DO NOT submit TIFF format files),
at least 300 dpi,
minimum of 2MB in size and no larger than 10MB and
titled with Entrant’s name and image title (E.g. JaneSmith_OldShed.jpeg).

Prizes

The amount of $500 will be awarded to the determined winner in each of the five (5) entry categories as well as $250 for the People’s Choice Winner.

Terms and Conditions of Entry

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before submitting your entry in the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition.

Entering the Photography Competition constitutes your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any of these Terms and Conditions, please do not enter your photograph(s) into the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition.

1. Definitions

For the purpose of interpreting these Terms and Conditions, the following terms will have the corresponding meanings:

“Unearth Our Secrets” means the Photography Competition conducted by Council.

“Chief Executive Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer of Charters Towers Regional Council or a person acting in that position.

“Council” means Charters Towers Regional Council, and where the context permits, includes an authorised officer of Council.

“Entrant” means a person who submits a photograph(s) or the photographer of the entered image as part of ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition.

“Force Majeure Event” means any circumstance beyond the reasonable control of a party which results in that party being unable to perform an obligation on time, and includes, but is not limited to:

a) Natural events like fire, storm, flood, landslide, washaway or earthquake

b) National emergency

c) Terrorist act or war

d) An order of any court.

“Judge” see clause 5(a).

2. Competition dates and entry fee

a) Entry is free.

b) Entries open from 9:00am Monday, 9 May 2022.

c) Photographs must be received by Council no later than 9:00am on Monday, 30 May 2022.

d) Council reserves the right not to accept any entries which do not comply, in any respect, with these Terms and Conditions, determinable by Council at its sole discretion.

3. Eligibility Criteria

a) Amateur photographers are eligible to enter.

b) Only Entrants who currently reside in the state of Queensland are eligible to win.

c) Council employees, contractors and volunteers are ineligible to enter.

d) There are five (5) available entry categories:

Buildings/Architecture
Nature/Outdoors
Events
Time Lapse
Drone image

e) An Entrant can submit a maximum of five (5) photographs.

f) Entries can be submitted in any or all categories.

g) All photographs entered into the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition must be:

(i) Original and solely the work of the Entrant.

(ii) Include only imagery of the Charters Towers Region. Council reserves the right to request information on where a photograph(s) was taken.

(iii) Entered photograph(s) must not be collages, composite images, be digitally manipulated, enhanced or altered other than being cropped or resized to suit required format, or include watermarks or other branding.

(iii) Each image file must be submitted as 300 dpi jpg, minimum size of 2MB and maximum size of 10MB and titled with Entrant’s name and image title (E.g. JaneSmith_OldShed.jpeg). Please DO NOT submit TIFF files. Council reserves the right to request a higher resolution copy of the Entrant’s photograph(s) at a later date if required for judging or printing.

(iv) All submissions must be accompanied by the following information: Entrant’s name, address location of the image.

(v) Photograph(s) must have been taken since 1 January 2020.

(vi) Portrait and landscape formats are acceptable.

(vii) Photographs are to be submitted in digital format only via the Council website.

h) Drone photography

(i) Photograph(s) must be taken using flight on a drone.

(ii) Council supports the safe and legal operation of remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs), including drones. All entries captured with an RPA must comply with local rules and regulations. Any images suspected of being captured illegally will be disqualified.

i) Where the submitted photograph(s) contains an identifiable person/people, the Entrant is responsible for obtaining permission to use the image of the identifiable person/people. If the person is a minor, consent must be obtained from the parent or guardian. Council reserves the right to request written evidence of consent. Council reserves the right to reject any photograph(s) at any time not withstanding that consent has been obtained.

j) Copyright: Entering in the competition automatically authorises Charters Towers Regional Council to use the photographs and/or digital images and that such images may be used in printed or electronic publications, published or reproduced by Council, in any form (in whole or in part) and by any medium, including but not limited to newspapers, magazines, brochures, television advertisements, websites and social media platforms or other electronic communications to promote and publicise Council and/or our Region. All images shall be the property of Council and you are undertaking to indemnify Council absolutely against any claim arising howsoever from the use and publication of the images or material.

k) No alterations to photographs, title or statement must be made after submission.

4. Additional information

a) Digital manipulation is discouraged, and it is requested that alteration of subject matter be kept to an absolute minimum.

b) Council reserves the right to decline to exhibit any photograph which does not meet its exhibition content guidelines.

c) If Council reasonably believes, at any time, whether before or after the expiration or termination of these Terms and Conditions, that an Entrant has breached any of these Terms and Conditions, that the Entrant will be liable to return the printed photograph and any prize money they received as a result of their entry into ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition within 30 days of such demand by Council. If this is not returned to Council within the said time, Council may recover the amount as a liquidated debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.

d) Council reserves the right to waive or modify any of these Terms and Conditions if it forms the reasonable belief that this action is justified given the extreme or exceptional circumstances of the Entrant. Such waiver or modification must be evidenced in writing from Council to the Entrant to be effective at law.

e) Neither Council nor the Entrant will be liable for non-compliance with any of these Terms and Conditions in the case of a Force Majeure Event.

f) The Entrant agree to release to the full extent permitted by law and to indemnify and keep indemnified the Council, its officers, employees, agents, suppliers, contractors, volunteers and insurers against all liability for loss, damage and expense (including legal costs) whatsoever arising in any way associated with ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition.

g) The Entrant agree to their images and first names being published on Council’s website and social media pages, with the possibility of third party sharing.

5. Judging

a) Three (3) judges will be appointed by Charters Towers Regional Council and form the judging panel.

b) All photographs that qualify and are deemed suitable for entry into the five (5) abovementioned categories of the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition will be judged.

c) Photographs will be judged on originality, creativity, technical excellence, creativity with impact (even humour) and relevance to competition guidelines.

d) First prize for each entry category will be awarded at the discretion of the judging panel and no discussion will be entered into.

e) People’s Choice Category will be determined by the highest number of community votes at the Queensland Day - Celebrating Faces and Places Street Party.

f) Photographs that are deemed as finalists will be professionally printed and displayed during the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Exhibition at the Queensland Day - Celebrating Faces and Places Street Party on Sunday, 5 June 2022.

g) The printed images will be given to the Entrant to retain following conclusion of the exhibition.

h) Council reserves the right to disqualify or reclassify any photograph(s) which, in the judges’ opinion, is copied or otherwise infringes any laws or these Terms and Conditions. The judges’ decision is final and not subject to appeal. No correspondence will be entered into in relation to the judges’ decision.

6. Correspondence

a) Entry into ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition is an online process.

b) Entrants should receive instant confirmation of receipt upon submission of entry.

c) By entering the competition the Entrant is confirming their acceptance for their photograph(s) to be displayed in the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Exhibition.

d) All winners will be announced at the Queensland Day - Celebrating Faces and Places Street Party on Sunday, 5 June 2022 and via Council’s social media channels and website on Monday, 6 June 2022.

e) All communication will be via the email address supplied to Council during the online entry process. Entrant must keep Council updated of any email or contact detail changes in order to receive correspondence in relation to ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition.

7. Dispute resolution

The Entrant agrees that any dispute arising between the Entrant and Council in relation to these Terms and Conditions will be dealt with as follows:

a) The Entrant will notify Council in writing of the nature of the dispute.

b) The Entrant and Council will attempt to resolve the dispute via negotiation in good faith.

c) If no resolution is reached via negotiation within seven (7) days of the service of the written notice (or such extended time as the parties may agree in writing before the expiration of the seven (7) days) the dispute must be resolved by a decision of the Chief Executive Officer.

d) The decision of the Chief Executive Officer will be binding on both the Entrant and Council.

e) The decision of the Chief Executive Officer will be given to the Entrant in writing.

f) At all times during the dispute resolution process, the Chief Executive Officer must act in accordance with the principles of natural justice and fairness.

8. General

a) These Terms and Conditions will be effective from the date upon which the Entrant enters the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition up to the date upon which the exhibition ends. However, any of these Terms and Conditions which are capable of having effect following the completion, termination or expiration of these Terms and Conditions (including without limitation; warranties, releases and indemnities) must remain in full force.

b) These Terms and Conditions shall be governed, constructed and interpreted in accordance with the laws in force in the State of Queensland.

c) In the event that any of these Terms and Conditions are declared invalid, such a term and condition will be severed from this document and the remainder of the Terms and Conditions will continue to operate in full force and effect.

d) The Entrant acknowledges that the purpose of these terms and conditions is to protect Council in all respects and to make the Entrant liable for any loss, damage or expense suffered in any way associated with the ‘Unearth Our Secrets’ Photography Competition and the Entrant agrees that these Terms and Conditions must be interpreted to achieve that purpose.

e) The Entrant acknowledges that they have had the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice prior to agreeing to these Terms and Conditions.

f) These Terms and Conditions supersede any prior agreement between the Entrant and Council and any modification to these Terms and Conditions must be in writing and signed by both the Entrant and Council.

g) Personal information provided is dealt with in accordance with Council’s Privacy Policy.

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