Having detailed terms and conditions for your business’ competitions is important. When participants sign up to the competition they will agree to the Ts&Cs. These Ts&Cs will outline what the business and the participants’ rights and responsibilities are. Once participants have agreed to the terms you have designed, the competition will be able to run on your terms.
Terms to Include
In a general competition’s Ts&Cs, you can find the following categories of terms.
General terms
At the beginning of the T&Cs, you may want to consider including some general terms. This could include introducing your business name, ABN and other business information. This is useful to help identify the business which is running the competition in case of confusion with similar businesses. Another general term that can be included is an outline of the terms that are to follow and a statement saying that the following terms are to govern the competition.
Eligibility
Eligibility terms should specify who is able to enter the competition. For example, the competition may only accept people with existing membership with the business, have an age requirement, or have a purchase requirement.
When to Enter
There should be a term that states when the start date and time is when the competition will be accepting entries. Accordingly, there should also be an end date and time.
How to Enter
How participants enter the competition may seem straightforward and obvious but it is important to have terms and conditions on this aspect of the competition. Some terms may include the responsibility of the participant to enter the correct personal information and contact details. Another term, may be that half-filled entries will not be eligible for the competition. Finally, you may include a term which states that only entries completed in a particular manner or through a specific website will be allowed.
Number of Entries Permitted
Some examples of this term could be that each person is only allowed one entry, each person is allowed one entry per day, or, one entry is allowed per account made.
Draw and Notification of Winner(s)
These terms outline how the winner will be determined and how they will be notified, whether that be by text, email, or through social media. It may also include a term that states how the winner is responsible for checking whether they have won. Additionally, the term could state that if the winner has not responded within a specific time frame, that an alternative winner will be drawn.
Prize
The prize for the competition should be stated here. If the prize is unknown, this term can state that the prize should be determined by the business.
Prize Collection
Prize collection terms can include how the business intends to transport the prize to the winner. It can include that the winner must pay for postage or that they are fully responsible for the travel and pick-up of the prize. Some competitions have a term that state that the prize may not be resold, where the prize is often a ticket to an event. Lastly, you can include a term that specifies appropriate forms of identification when picking up the prize.
Privacy Policy
A privacy policy can be included to inform participants of how their information from the entries are used and stored. You can easily create a separate privacy policy online here.
For further information on T&Cs specifically for online competitions visit here. For more general information regarding T&Cs for promotional competitions visit here.
Other Considerations
Some other things you may have to consider when creating a competition is whether you may need a permit or not. This depends on the type of competition you are holding and what state you are in. More information regarding this can be found here.
You also need to ensure that the the competition is not advertised in a misleading way. Otherwise, participants may be able to pursue legal action against the competition. You can find further information about misleading portrayal of competitions and giveaways on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s website.
Summary
Overall, hosting a competition can be more complex that expected and it is best to anticipate potential problems before they arise. This can be addressed by including thorough Ts&Cs for your competition. For further assistance or advice on what to include in your Ts&Cs, contact a business lawyer who can provide tailored advice for your competition’s Ts&Cs.
