Essay Competition for High School and University Students for the Fourth Australasian Christian Legal Convention
Calling all high school and university students!
As part of the Fourth Australasian Christian Legal Convention, the Australian Christian Legal Society (ACLS) is hosting an essay competition inviting students to reflect deeply on the relationship between Christian faith, professional ethics and legal practice. This year’s question is:
“What does it mean to exercise freedom of conscience as a Christian in the legal profession?”
Entrants are encouraged to consider how Christian convictions might shape decision-making in practice, relationships with clients and colleagues, engagement with the court, and observance of laws. Essays should combine careful theological reflection with clear legal reasoning and real-world examples.
The maximum word count for high school entrants is 1,000 words. The maximum word count for university entrants is 1,500 words. Please see the official competition guidelines below for further information.
There will be one winner in each category and winners will be invited to present their essay at the Alphacrucis Conference Dinner (either in-person or a video recording) on Friday, 13 March 2026.
Prizes
The high school winner will receive a copy of Associate Professor Dr Alex Deagon’s new book, Christian Natural Law and Religious Freedom and an online Q&A with Associate Professor Deagon for their class!
The university winner will have the choice of either receiving a $250 book voucher or a ticket to the Fourth Australasian Christian Legal Convention on 13–14 March 2026 in Melbourne (or online).
Submission information and closing date
To submit your entry, please upload your essay to a cloud storage service like Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive, and provide the shareable link when registering for this event.
The closing date is 14 February 2025 (entries must be received by 11:30 pm AEDT).
Reasonable adjustments
If you require any adjustments to participate in the competition, please let us know by using the "Contact the Host" function on the left hand side of this page or emailing [email protected].
Tips!
Here are some helpful starting resources and keep checking back on this page - we plan to add more resources and a flyer which you can download and display to help promote the competition!
Judges
We are grateful for the assistance of our judging panel:
Chelsea Dempster
More information about the Conference
If you'd like to attend the Conference, please check out the following link for discounted tickets:
For High School Students and Legal Studies Teachers, we have a special offer for you to join our special half day program on Friday, 13 March 2026.
For University Students, early bird tickets for the Conference from 13-14 March 2026 are on sale until 31 January 2026! The conference ticket also includes a Welcome Event on the evening of 12 March 2026.
Display our poster!
Help us spread the word by sharing our essay competition flyer and conference poster!
Competition Guidelines
1. Organiser and Question
1.1 The Australian Christian Legal Society (ACLS) is hosting an essay competition for high school and university students in Australia.
1.2 The 2025 question is:
“What does it mean to exercise freedom of conscience as a Christian in the legal profession?”
2. Eligibility
2.1 High school category: Open to students enrolled at an Australian secondary school on the closing date.
2.2 University category: Open to students enrolled in an Australian university on the closing date.
2.3 Entrants must clearly indicate whether they are entering the high school or university category.
3. Original Work, AI Use, and Number of Entries
3.1 Each essay must be the entrant’s own original work and must not have been previously published or submitted for another competition or assessment (other than in draft form for feedback).
3.2 Each entrant may submit only one essay.
3.3 Co-authorship is not permitted; each essay must be written by a single author.
3.4 If any AI tools (including but not limited to ChatGPT or similar programs) are used at any stage of the process, the entrant must briefly declare this AI use and how it was used (e.g. “proof-reading only”, “idea generation”, “grammar suggestions”, “help with structure”) in a short note on the cover page or in an endnote.
3.5 Declared AI use will not count against an entrant. Essays will be judged on the quality, clarity, and originality of the student’s own thinking and writing.
4. Word Limits
4.1 High school entries should be approximately 1,000 words, with an allowable range of 900–1,100 words (±10%).
4.2 University entries should be approximately 1,500 words, with an allowable range of 1,350–1,650 words (±10%).
4.3 The word limit applies to the main body of the essay. Footnotes and the bibliography are not counted, provided they are used only for references and brief explanations.
4.4 Essays that fall significantly outside the ±10% range may be penalised or disqualified.
5. Formatting and Referencing
5.1 Essays should be typed in Times New Roman or Calibri, 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, with standard margins and page numbers.
5.2 The first page must include: essay title, student’s full name, school/university, year level or degree year, email address, and (if applicable) a brief AI use declaration as described in clause 3.4.
5.3 Students should use footnotes for quotations and references and a reference list or bibliography at the end. Any consistent footnote referencing style may be used.
6. Submission Method and Deadline
6.1 Entries must be submitted by registering for the competition at http://lu.ma/acls2026essay and providing a shareable link to the essay.
6.2 The closing date is 14 February 2025 (entries must be received by 11:30 pm AEDT).
7. Judging
7.1 Essays will be judged by a panel appointed by ACLS.
7.2 Essays will be assessed on:
how deeply and coherently they answer the question
integration of Christian theology with legal and ethical analysis
originality and clarity of argument
quality and appropriateness of authorities used (e.g. Scripture, cases, legislation, scholarship)
overall standard of writing, structure, and referencing.
7.3 The judging panel’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcome.
8. Prizes and Publication
8.1 There will be one winner in each category (high school and university). Each winner will have the opportunity to have their essay published on the ACLS website.
8.2 The high school winner will receive a copy of Associate Professor Alex Deagon’s Christian Natural Law and Religious Freedom (Routledge, 2026), plus a 45-minute online Q&A session with Associate Professor Deagon for the winner’s class.
8.3 The university winner may choose either:
a $250 book voucher, or
free attendance at the Fourth Australasian Christian Legal Convention on 13–14 March 2025 in Melbourne.
9. Use of Entries and Personal Information
9.1 Copyright in each essay remains with the author.
9.2 By entering, winners grant ACLS a non-exclusive licence to publish their essay (in full or in edited form) on the ACLS website and in ACLS promotional materials, with appropriate attribution.
9.3 By entering, students consent to ACLS using their name, school/university and year level in announcements and promotions relating to the competition.
9.4 Winners will be invited to present their essay at the Alphacrucis Conference Dinner (either in-person or a video recording) on the evening of Friday, 13 March 2026.
10. Variation and Acceptance of Rules
10.1 ACLS may vary or cancel the competition or these rules if necessary (for example, if circumstances change), but will endeavour to avoid doing so after the closing date.
10.2 Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of these Competition Guidelines.