The Governor-General's Undergraduate Essay Competition is Australia's most prestigious civics essay competition, open to Australian undergraduate students studying in all faculties at universities across Australia. It includes questions that are related to law, politics, history and economics.

Every year the competition is judged by a panel of distinguished individuals including a High Court Justice and prominent academics. This prestigious competition provides students with the opportunity to be further recognised for their academic skill, talent and research.

The 2009 competition closed on Monday, 14 December 2009. This was the 6th year of the Competition, which has awarded almost $100,000 in cash prizes to date. The questions can be found here: 2009 Essay Questions. The results of the 2009 essays will be published following their judging in 2010.

The 2010 competiiton will open in May 2010. CEFA encourages students to visit this website regularly to review the latest updates regarding the competition.

The primary contact person for the competition is CEFA Research Scholar Joel Williams. Joel can be contacted at jwilliams@cefa.org.au  Alternatively, you may contact CEFA Administrator Phuong Van at pvan@cefa.org.au.

The winners of the 2008 Competition received their awards and prizes from the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, in September 2009. Full details of this event can be found here.

Mr Joshua Quinn-Watson, the winner of the 2008 Competition, recently said “CEFA's 2008 Governor-General's Essay Competition has been a significant moment in my academic life. Of particular pleasure was the opportunity to engage with a judging panel on which sat some of Australia's finest minds. As far as I am aware, no other student competition has panels of this calibre, and also allows students direct access to that panel. Thinking critically about the this country's national life is something from which students of every discipline stand to benefit, and I recommend that all interested students take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to discuss the national life with a group of people who do as much as anyone to shape it”. 

Please view the links below for further information: