A trade promotion permit is not required for a game of skill promotion. A game of skill is where there is an application of judging involved in determining the winner. E.g. requiring an entrant to answer a judgeable question or post a photo, and assessing answers/photo on creative merit to determine the winner.
A trade promotion permit is generally required when there is chance involved in determining the winner.
For a standard game of chance promotion (e.g. draw, instant win mechanic), permits may be required in NSW, ACT, and NT, depending on where the promotion is conducted and the prize pool (as outlined below)
Where is the promotion conducted? | Is a permit required? |
National (Australia-wide) | $0.01 — $3,000: SA Permit (if printed scratch and win mechanic) $3,001 — $5,000: ACT Permit + SA Permit (if printed scratch and win mechanic) $5,001 — $10,000 : ACT + SA Permits $10,000 or more: ACT + SA Permit + NSW authority |
NSW | Duration based authorities have replaced trade promotion permits in NSW. A business can apply for a 1, 3 or 5 year authority, which will cover all promotions with a prize pool over $10K. There is no maximum prize pool limit. |
ACT | Permit required where prize pool is $3,001 or more |
SA | Permit required where prize pool is $5,001 or more OR the promotion involves a printed scratch and win mechanic (regardless of the prize pool) E.g. if you are providing printed scratch cards for the chance to win a t‑shirt in venue, then a permit will be required in SA, even if the prize pool is only $50. |
NT | A permit is only required in NT if the prize pool is $5,001 or more AND a permit is not obtained in another jurisdiction. E.g. if you run a promotion nationally with a prize pool of $50,000, and obtain permits in NSW, ACT and SA, then a permit in NT will not be required. |
VIC, TAS, WA, QLD | Permit NOT required VIC, TAS, WA and QLD do not have a trade promotion permit system in place. However, you must still ensure your terms are compliant with the trade promotion legislation in those States. |
If your promotion involves a guarantee of a gift for every person who completes the claim requirement during the offer period then there is no chance involved and no permits are required.
If you include a cap on the number of gifts awarded then permits may be required, as outlined below.
(a) Gift provided at point of purchase (advertising removed once stock runs out) = No Permit If you simply award a gift at the point of purchase, and advertising in store is removed as soon as all gift stocks run out, then no permits are required.
(b) Other gift claim mechanic
For any other gift claim options, you may need permits to run the offer. The States that may require permits and when they require a permit are outlined below. Please note these only apply if the offer is available in these States.
See ‘Limited Offer’ section above, as same principals apply in determining whether or not a trade promotion permit is required.
If you award a prize to the person with the highest sales, then there is no chance involved in determining the winner and no permits are required.
However, ensure in the event of a tie you include a ‘non-chance based’ tie-break mechanic. E.g. ask tied entrants to answer a question and award prize to most creative response.
If there you award entries into a draw based on number of sales, then winners would be determined by chance and permits may be required. See game of chance section above for details.
A tipping competition generally involves entrants submitting a free tip for who they believe will win for each round of a sporting season (e.g. AFL, NRL) and the winner with most correct tips wins. NSW and ACT (but not SA or any other State), usually require permits for a tipping competition, as they consider there to be chance involved in determining the winners (see Game of Chance section above for details).
If you are running an internal game of chance competition (i.e. entry is open to employees of the promoter business only), you may not need permits. It purely depends on whether the promotion promotes sales or not.
For example, if you ask employees to simply complete an entry from for the chance to win tickets to an event, then no permits would be required as the promotion does not incentivise trade.
However, if you award employees entries based on the number of sales completed and conduct a draw to determine a winner, then permits maybe required in NSW and SA (see Game of Chance section above for details).
ACT will not require a permit for any internal run campaign, as long as there is not external advertising of the campaign. I.e. advertising is only provided to employees. If there is a chance the general public may see the ad, then in such a case an ACT permit may be required.
Wanting to run your own competition? Plexus Promotion Wizard is the end-to-end- tool that you need to make it successful.
Plexus Promotion Wizard offers end to end legal support for competitions & promotions. Custom T&Cs and the right competition permits without the hassles. 90% faster and half the cost of traditional legal firms.
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