Photo competition – 2026 Australian Weather Calendar

Photo Competetion - 2026 Australian Weather Calendar

Submit your image of Australia’s diverse weather to the Australian Weather Calendar photo competition, and it could feature in Australia’s bestselling weather calendar! If your photo is selected it will be hanging in homes and offices around Australia and across the world.

We welcome all photographs showcasing the drama and beauty of Australian weather. The judges will be on the lookout for photos that capture weather in a unique, spectacular or visually appealing manner. Previous winning images have shown the rich diversity of Australian weather in a huge variety of ways. They have included creative interpretations of frost, lightning, rainbows, sunshine, clouds, rain, storms snow and ice.

You can submit your entry for the 2026 Australian Weather Calendar using the form below.

Download entry form

How to enter

  1. Take a striking, authentic weather image that meets the conditions of entry
  2. Use an entry form
  3. Email completed entry form and your photograph(s) to:
    calendarvic@bom.gov.au

When emailing your photo please don't send zipped files. If your file is too large for email, use a transfer service.

For more information please email: calendarvic@bom.gov.au.


Conditions of entry

Entry
  1. The 'Bureau' means the Bureau of Meteorology (ABN 92 637 533 532) of 700 Collins Street, Docklands, Victoria 3001. Subject to any laws governing this competition, any decision of the Bureau about this competition is final.
  2. Information on how to enter forms part of these Conditions of Entry. Entry into the competition is deemed acceptance of these Conditions of Entry. If you do not agree with any part of these Conditions of Entry you should not enter the competition.
  3. You are only eligible to enter this competition if you:
    1. are aged 18 years or older, or are under 18 but have parent or guardian consent to enter; and
    2. have exclusive intellectual property rights (including copyright ownership) in relation to the photograph(s) submitted in your entry.
  4. By entering this competition, you warrant to the Bureau that you are eligible to enter this competition based on these Conditions of Entry.
  5. The competition is openly perpetually. It closes for judging each year at 5:00pm (AEDT) on 31 March. Submissions received after 5:00pm (AEDT) on 31 March will be entered into the following years' competition (including entries submitted as part of a previous Australian Weather Calendar competition for which the Bureau has received permission to retain and consider in subsequent years).
  6. To enter this competition, you must fill out the entry form at www.bom.gov.au/calendar/contest/entryform.pdf in full and send your completed entry form together with your photograph(s) to calendarvic@bom.gov.au, or
    Australian Weather Calendar competition
    Bureau of Meteorology
    GPO Box 1289
    Melbourne Victoria 3001
  7. An entrant retains the capacity to withdraw their photo from current or future calendar competition consideration at any time by emailing the Bureau on calendarvic@bom.gov.au
  8. The Bureau does not accept any responsibility for lost, late or incomplete entries, all of which will be ineligible.
  9. There is no fee payable to the Bureau to enter this competition.
  10. A single entry form can be used to submit multiple photographs. Entry forms must be legible and complete, otherwise they may be considered ineligible.
  11. If submitting a hard copy, quality prints of photographs should be submitted, as the winning photographs will be reproduced in A3 size.
  12. There is no restriction on when a photograph was taken.
  13. Employees of the Bureau are eligible to enter the competition.
  14. All entries must meet the requirements set out in these Conditions of Entry. Entries that do not meet these requirements may not be accepted or considered for judging. The Bureau may determine in its discretion whether each entry meets the requirements. The following types of entries will not be accepted:
    1. Entries that contravene any law, infringe the rights of any person or are obscene, offensive, potentially defamatory, discriminatory, indecent or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate (this includes, any content involving nudity, malice, excessive violence or swearing);
    2. Entries that violate another person's copyright or intellectual property rights;
    3. Entries that condone or promote illegal activity;
    4. Entries that are misleading, fraudulent or deceptive;
    5. Entries that include language or imagery that is discriminatory, rude or harassing;
    6. Entries that are spam or intended to cause technical disruptions to email servers;
    7. Entries that are considered by the Bureau to be potentially distressing, such as photos of natural disasters or sacred sites;
    8. Entries that communicate a potentially objectionable or inappropriate advertisement or message;
    9. Entries that have already been used in a previous version of the Australian Weather Calendar;
    10. Entries that are currently used in a competing publication;
    11. Entries that are considered by the Bureau to:
      1. be digitally enhanced, altered or manipulated (including via the use of filters and digital software); or
      2. involve combining, adding or removing elements in an image.
  15. Judicious use of dodging and burning may be acceptable if the Bureau believes that the photographer's objective was to adjust the tonal range of an image so that it more closely resembles what the photographer saw. Similarly, minor adjustments such as cropping, adjustments to brightness, contrast, sharpening and colour balance may also be acceptable. Any adjustments or changes to the photograph must be itemized and listed on your entry form. Failure to list adjustments or changes may result in your entry being disqualified.
  16. Photographs in which a person can be clearly identified may be ineligible unless the entrant can produce evidence to the Bureau's satisfaction that the person has provided their written consent for the image to be used in this competition. In the case of a minor, consent must be provided in writing by their parent or guardian. The Bureau may request to inspect the written consent and may request any additional documentation (including a statutory declaration) be signed to satisfy the Bureau that appropriate consent has been obtained. The Bureau reserves the right to reject any photograph(s) at all times notwithstanding that consent has been obtained.
  17. Photographs submitted to the competition should be of a high quality (for example 5000 pixels wide), as assessed by the Bureau. Photographs should be of an appropriate quality to be reproduced in A3 size.
  18. In the final stage of judging, the Bureau will request the original, minimally processed form of each photo—e.g. a 'raw' digital image file—for review. If you are unable to produce a minimally processed form of a photo, then your entry may be disqualified.
Copyright
  1. By submitting an entry to this competition, the entrant warrants that they hold all intellectual property rights (including copyright) in each photograph submitted for the purposes of this competition. The entrant consents to the Bureau engaging in an action or omission which may infringe the entrant's moral rights in relation to their photograph(s). The entrant warrants that the photograph is their original work and that they have not copied any part of another person's work.
  2. The Bureau may request proof and documentation to support a claim of copyright ownership, including a statutory declaration. The Bureau may reject any photograph(s) if proof of copyright ownership, to the Bureau's satisfaction, is not provided.
Judging panel
  1. The competition will be judged by the Bureau's judging panel. The judging panel will consist of employees of the Bureau and industry experts selected by the Bureau in its absolute discretion. The decision of the judging panel is final.
  2. The Bureau intends that the judging will take place at the end of the Promotion Period. The Bureau may extend the period of time for judging the photographs at its sole discretion.
  3. Entries will be judged based on the following criteria (Judging Criteria):
    1. quality and nature of weather phenomena depicted;
    2. creativity and aesthetics;
    3. calendar content strategy;
    4. relevance and authenticity (photographs should show authentic Australian weather events, themes and landscapes); and
    5. compliance with the requirements specified in condition 13.
  4. The competition is a competition of skill. Chance plays no part in determining the winners. Each valid entry will be individually judged against the Judging Criteria.
  5. The Bureau reserves the right to accept or reject any photograph and may exercise absolute discretion in selecting or rejecting any photograph.
  6. Participants who grant the Bureau permission to retain any unsuccessful entered photographs submitted in this competition for consideration in future Calendar competitions will be bound by the Terms and Conditions of the future Calendar competition in which they are entered. Participants who elect to be considered in future Calendar competitions acknowledge they will be bound by the photo eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions of that future Calendar competition for their photo to be considered eligible as a winning photo. Any participants retained photo's future calendar competition winning eligibility criteria will be confirmed by the Bureau with the participant at the time their photo is shortlisted in that future calendar competition.
  7. The Bureau may, at any time, disqualify any entrant who, in the opinion of Bureau, has not complied, or does not comply, with these Conditions of Entry or a law applicable to the entrant, or who has engaged in any unlawful or improper misconduct which jeopardises the competition.
Successful entries
  1. Winners will be notified via telephone or email by 5:00 pm AEST three months after the competition ends.
  2. Copies of winning entries will be stored in the Bureau's image library. The catalogue record will contain a caption and the name and contact details of the photographer.
  3. If selected as a winner, the entrant agrees to maintain confidentiality over their selection until such time as the Australian Weather Calendar is made publicly available for sale.
  4. If selected as a winner, by submitting an entry form and photograph, the entrant agrees to execute or sign any documentation (for example a licence deed poll) necessary to give effect to the licensing of any intellectual property rights (including copyright) to the Bureau, in connection with any present or future promotion of the Australian Weather Calendar.
  5. If selected as a winner, the entrant grants to the Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Bureau, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide licence (including a right of sub-licence) to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, communicate and display any photograph submitted to this competition in connection with any present or future promotion of the Australian Weather Calendar.
  6. The entrant, by submitting an entry to the competition, consents to and permits the image to be reproduced in the following publications and platforms without charge:
    1. the Australian Weather Calendar and accompanying promotional material, including Electronic Direct Marketing (EDM) campaigns;
    2. any form of media coverage relating to the Australian Weather Calendar (domestic and international, electronic, print, radio and television media);
    3. the Bureau of Meteorology website and online shop;
    4. social media posts (e.g. on Facebook® and Twitter®) promoting the Australian Weather Calendar;
    5. Bureau of Meteorology in-house material promoting the Australian Weather Calendar; and
    6. any other materials and publications associated with the dissemination or publication of the Australian Weather Calendar.
  7. The Bureau requires exclusive use of the winning photograph in the period between notification of being a finalist and, if chosen as a winner, April of the following year. The entrant must notify the Bureau immediately if they have previously committed to publication of the image during this period. Such entries may be disqualified from the competition in the Bureau's absolute discretion.
  8. A winner must sign a licence deed poll within seven days of being notified by the Bureau that they are a winner. If a winner is unable to do this to the satisfaction of the Bureau, the Bureau may select an alternative winning entry.
  9. All costs associated with being selected as a winning entry are the responsibility of the winner.
  10. Winning entry photographers will be acknowledged via a tagline on their images each time they are reproduced. The form of attribution and acknowledgement that is adopted is solely at the Bureau's discretion. It will usually consist of the photographer's name and/or the name of their business.
Privacy
  1. The Bureau collects the information, including personal information, set out in the entry form to accept entries. The Bureau will use the information:
    1. to identify and contact the relevant entrant for any reason related to this competition
    2. to identify and contact the relevant entrant for proof and documentation in relation to a claim of copyright ownership; and
    3. for the general administration and conduct of the competition.
  2. The Bureau will handle your personal information in accordance with our privacy obligations. Read our Privacy Policy and find out more at www.bom.gov.au/other/privacy.shtml).
  3. When you submit an entry form or email the Bureau, the Bureau will record and use your personal information (including your email address) for the purposes of including you in the competition and, where appropriate, selecting winning entries. By submitting an entry form, you consent to:
    1. the use by the Bureau (and its employees, agents and contractors); and
    2. the disclosure to a third party (at the discretion of the Bureau), of any personal information that is collected by the Bureau as part of, or while administering the competition, for the purposes of:
      1. verifying your eligibility to enter the competition;
      2. communicating with you (e.g. to seek further information about the entry);
      3. advising you of the outcome of the competition;
      4. returning photographic materials;
      5. obtaining feedback about the competition for evaluation purposes;
      6. exercising the Bureau's rights under these Conditions of Entry (including the right to publish the names of winners); and
      7. providing names, telephone numbers and email addresses of the successful entrants to journalists to facilitate media coverage of the calendar, or to people and publishers who contact the Bureau expressing an interest in obtaining a copy of the photograph (independent of the calendar).
  4. If you do not provide the personal information required by the entry form, your entry may be deemed ineligible.
  5. If you prefer not to submit your entry online, see condition 6 for details on how to post your entry into the Bureau.
Return of photographs
  1. Copies of winning entries, corresponding entry forms and any correspondence entered into between the entrant and the Bureau will be stored by the Bureau (including a copy of the winning photograph, which will be stored in the Bureau's image library). The Bureau's image library catalogue record will contain a caption including the name and/or contact details of the photographer.
  2. Non-winning entries submitted in hard copy will be returned to the entrant via mail using the address provided on the entry form. Copies of each entry form and any correspondence entered into will be retained by the Bureau.
  3. All records (including entry forms) will be managed and disposed of in accordance with the Archives Act 1983 (Cth).
  4. In returning hard copy photographs, the Bureau will not be liable for the loss of any photographs due to failure of the postal system, third party interference or the entrant's failure to provide a valid postal address.
Modification or cancellation
  1. The Bureau may exercise its discretion, at any time:
    1. to modify, suspend, postpone or cancel this competition without notice to entrants; and
    2. change or amend these Conditions of Entry without notice to entrants.
  2. An entrant may withdraw their entry at any time by notifying the Bureau, via email to calendarvic@bom.gov.au, or via post to the address listed in condition 6.
Liability
  1. To the extent permitted at law, the Bureau excludes all liability to entrants for any loss, damage, claim or expense that entrants suffer or incur in connection with this competition.
  2. Entrants indemnify the Bureau on demand against all claims directly or indirectly incurred or suffered by the Bureau in respect of:
    1. any infringement by the entrant of any intellectual property rights of any other person in respect of any photograph(s) entered into the competition;
    2. the use of the photograph(s) by the Bureau; and
    3. any breach of these Conditions of Entry.
  3. All entrants release the Bureau from any liability, cost, damage, loss or expense arising out of, or in connection with, entry into this competition and the use of any photograph(s).