You might be tempted to skip the fine print and get straight to work. But this is more about you than about us. Make sure you understand how to make your first speech eligible for the competition.

1. The purpose of the My First Speech competition is to raise awareness of the federal Parliament among young Australians by encouraging students to voice their opinions as if they were making their first speech in the House of Representatives.

2. The 2023 My First Speech competition opens on Monday, 3 July 2023 and closes at on Friday, 11 August 2023.

3. By entering the My First Speech competition the entrant agrees that copyright of their entry becomes the property of the Parliament and that the Parliament reserves the right to use, reproduce, adapt and exhibit the video at Australian Parliament House and online on the Parliament's websites.

4. Any person under 18 years old must have a parent or guardian’s permission.

5. There is no cost to submit an entry into the My First Speech competition. However, any associated costs such as video materials or accessing websites are entirely the entrant's responsibility.

6. Each entry must be submitted in digital format via email, Dropbox, Google Drive or USB and be no longer than 90 seconds long.

7. By entering the My First Speech competition the participant warrants that its entry is original work.

8. Entries must not include any material offensive to any specific racial, gender, religious, sexual or other group or contain swearing, slurs or sexual suggestions. Any entries deemed inappropriate will not be eligible for the competition.

9. Entries should be appropriate to a broad audience and demonstrate respect and consideration of others.

10. Entries must not contain any material (music, logos, text etc) that infringes the copyright of any third party.

11. The competition will be judged by a panel of professionals, which will include Members of Parliament and parliamentary officers.

12. The decisions of the judges are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

13. In the event that the entrant is awarded a prize, the person named as the entrant on the entry form will be the sole recipient of said prize. Prizes are not negotiable or transferable.

14. The Parliament accepts no responsibility for lost, damaged or late entries.

15. The participant should make copies of entries and entry forms as these will not be returned to the participant following the competition.

16. Winning entrants will be notified by phone. Winners will also be published on the Parliament's websites.

17. The Parliament manages information collected from entrants in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. Personal information submitted by the entrant will be stored at the Parliament and only be used to notify winners and identify the creator and school of the entry.

18. Entrants that breach the Terms and Conditions are subject to disqualification.

19. In the event that an election is called during the competition the judging and visit to Canberra will be re-scheduled until after the return of the parliament.