Example Buy Smart Competition entries
Buy Smart entries don't have set boundaries. Previous entries include everything from board games to picture books to rap videos.
Go ahead–surprise us!
Here, you'll find examples of recent prize-winning entries, including information about why they were successful. We're showcasing a handful of entries from all 3 categories to demonstrate the diversity of successful topics and formats.
Copyright and credits: The use of entrants' work on this page is licensed as condition of entry into the Buy Smart Competition.
Years 4 to 6
'Chat show' investigative documentary (1st place, 2024)
Meredith and Ruby, Year 6, St Dympna’s Catholic Primary School, Aspley
Welcome to today's episode of TDG—The Daily Gossip.
As we all know, shrinkflation is a huge problem in Australia, which becomes a huge problem for us.
When you go to the shops, you have a heart attack at how expensive things are and how small things have gotten.
But first of all, what is shrinkflation and why do shops do it?
Shrinkflation is when a product gets smaller in size and quantity, but the price stays the same or rises.
A common trick of shrinkflation is when the shops reduce the product by 25 or 50g, and shoppers don't even notice.
Some recent examples of shrinkflation are cereals, chips, cleaning products, biscuits and chocolate.
No one knows why shrinkflation is happening, but shops claim that it's because of the rising costs they have to pay to get the products.
While shrinkflation isn't illegal, it is frowned upon and greatly criticised by the public.
If you are in your early teens and you’re starting to buy your own snacks, this video is for you.
You need to be smart when shopping and the best way to not get tricked by shrinkflation is by comparing products to get the most bang for your buck.
It is important to compare products and to buy smart when shopping because we need to not be wasting money and we need to be able to realise when we're being tricked.
Learning this in your early teens is good practice for when you are an adult when you will come across more important financial decisions than buying snacks.
One of the best ways to compare products is by looking at the price-per-100g label, or finding out the weight and comparing that to the other products.
To help you buy smarter, we'll show you how to compare products successfully because some teens have no idea how to.
Oh, I don’t know which one is the best value. I need help—I guess I'll just get this one.
What should we get at the shops today, Ruby?
Well, Doritos, pretzels and KitKats are really popular with the teens today.
Let's get that.
What type of KitKat should we get, Ruby?
Well, there are 4 different options.
The fun-size KitKat, 1 of the bars in the 18 pack, has been shrinkflated by Nestle.
Previously, 1 of these chocolate bars weighed 17g only to be discovered to weigh only 14g this year, which is a 17% reduction.
This is a picture of a KitKat a while ago and the KitKat now.
Oh, look at this 1. It's a chunky version. It's only $2.50.
Well, it is better than this 1 at the same price, but this bar is 5g less—what a rip off.
So let's get this 1.
Wait let's compare the other ones first.
O.M.G. This KitKat milk chocolate block is $3.75 for 100g. And this KitKat chunky box is $5 for 100g. We should definitely get this 1.
Wait. This 18 pack of mini KitKats is $2.50 per 100g—way better pricing. These KitKats get us the best bang for our buck.
Pretzels are quite a popular snack but, in Australia, chips have been shrinkflating fast. Many shoppers and consumers have noticed that there has been a severe decline in the amount of chips in the bag.
Meredith, I'm in a dilemma. These 2 products cost the same—which 1 do I buy?
Well, look here—this, pretzels bag is 200g, but this bag is 225g for the same price—they're trying to trick us.
This bag is a better value—getting the most bang for our buck?
Well, this 6-pack is $3 per 100g, while this big bag is $2.13 per 100g—this big bag's the best.
Chips have been shrinkflating fast, and a popular teenage chip snack is Doritos. These iconic cheesy triangles are the last teenage snack we will be investigating today.
People are claiming that the Doritos are thinner and there are much less chips in a bag.
Which Doritos pack shall we get Ruby—this 1 or this 1?
Well, you could get 1 of those, but that Dorito box is $4.74 per 100g and that mini bag is $4.50 per 100g. This Dorito bag is $2.24 for 100g—so this is the best value.
Wow, you sure do know how to compare products.
Now all teens know how to compare products.
Hmm, I don't know which 1 gets me the most bang for my buck. I need help TDG!! Wow—thanks, TDG!
Now that you know some tips on how to be a smart shopper, you will most likely be less affected by shrinkflation when you start to buy snacks for yourself in your early teens.
Remember to be a savvy shopper and buy smart by getting the most bang for your buck, by comparing products.
Note: minor edits have been made to this entry to protect the students' personal information.
Judges' notes
As hosts of the chat show—The Daily Gossip—Meredith and Ruby put a spotlight on the issue of shrinkflation.
Their investigation tackles this issue where it most impacts their young teen audience—in the supermarket snack aisle.
The entry demonstrates excellent research and, importantly, gives viewers the effective solution that checking unit prices can help you get better value for money.
Students' comments
'We learnt that shops are really sneaky with shrinkflation and, if you pay attention to prices and the price per 100g, you can get way better value.'
Animated film (2nd place, 2023)
Aaron and Noah, Year 6, Wellers Hill State School
It was so cool that we won that competition.
Yeah, we won enough money to buy ourselves one thing each.
Let's check out this store.
Okay.
Oh, look at that. Look how cool this t-shirt is. I'm going to buy it.
Are you sure you don't want to look around first?
No, I want this.
Can I buy this please? Thank you.
Okay. Let's go.
What are you going to buy?
I'm not sure.
I'm going to look around first.
Two hours later.
Let's look here. This please. Thank you.
Look what I bought.
I wish I could get one but I spent all my money on this shirt.
Want to make sure this doesn't happen to you?
Here are some tips to help you.
Always think, do I really need this?
Check to see if there is anything that you want more.
And don't rush your decisions.
Judges’ notes
This eye-catching and colourful stop-motion animation is about 2 very different characters:
- a boy who buys on impulse and regrets his choices, and
- a boy who evaluates different options and considers his priorities before buying anything.
This simple, well-focused story clearly illustrates the importance of separating needs from wants and being mindful before making the commitment to purchase the product.
News report (2nd place, 2022)
Ziggy and Milla, Years 4 and 6, home education
Good morning and welcome to CZM News. You're watching news with Anne Trading.
Today we're going to be talking about Australian consumer rights with our reporter Derek Rights. He recently interviewed Miss Suzanne Consumer and her daughter. Over to you Derek.
Good morning and thanks Anne. I'm here with Miss Suzanne Consumer talking about Australian consumer rights.
She recently experienced some issues with a purchase. Hi Suzanne. Tell us what happened.
Well thank you Derek for inviting us onto the show. Recently my daughter and I....
...Oh yes—your daughter. What's your name, sweetheart?
My name is Annabel and I’m 6.
Oh, that's a lovely name, Annabel. Oh yes—continue Miss Consumer.
Recently, I bought Annabel a stuffed rabbit toy and she was so excited. And when we got home, the rabbit was faulty and all the stitching had come apart. I didn't know what to do, so I went online and searched up the consumer rights phone number, and I figured it out.
137 468.
137 468?
That's right Derek—137 468.
They taught me that, as a consumer, I had the right to get a repair or replacement or a refund. So I went back to the shop with the receipt and the shopkeeper was happy to repair, replace or refund it.
We decided to replace the stuffed rabbit.
I'm very glad that I searched up 137 468 so that Annabel could have her new stuffed rabbit.
Thank you, Derek, for letting us onto the show and have a great day.
Thanks Suzanne and Annabel, that was an amazing story and thank you for sharing it with us.
It's important to know our Australian consumer rights.
Back to you in the studio, Anne.
Judges' notes
A news report is a great format for presenting information. This entry has a lot of fun along the way with costume changes, big characters and a catchy jingle for contacting the Office of Fair Trading.
The report is about a faulty toy bought by a consumer, who learned about consumer rights that apply and was able to get a replacement toy as a remedy for the original fault.
Overall, this entry is a well-researched and succinctly-presented explanation of a key element of Australian Consumer Law.
Picture book (2nd place, 2020)
Zac, Year 5, Kedron State School
Download the picture book—this is a digital copy of the paper booklet that was submitted.
Judges' notes
A very clever storybook that uses its narrative as a framework to help kids learn about budgeting and work towards a savings goal.
Each page includes simple maths equations that show how earning and spending impact on saving.
The book uses a balance of text and illustrations to engage young readers and its cheeky sense of humour makes it lots of fun.
Calendar (Highly Commended, 2022)
Rachel, Year 4, Forest Lake State School
Judges' notes
A calendar is a highly functional, everyday object. The Monthly Money-Saving Calendar uses this format to build an activity into daily life.
Each month offers a tip and a challenge to help young people meet their savings goals. It comes complete with a handy sticker chart to track progress.
The challenges are an excellent inclusion—questions typically relate to finding the best value when making choices at the shops.
Years 7 to 9
Video skit (1st place, 2024)
Dev and Ivan, Year 9, Merrimac State High School, Gold Coast
Hi. I'd like to refund it—when I plugged it in, it just didn't work.
Sorry sir—no refunds.
Okay.
Has this ever happened to you? We are the refund enforcers. You see, there's this thing called the ACL, and it prevents this exact thing from happening 'cause it's illegal.
This young man was fully in his right to get a refund. But a corrupt company like that one, they just didn't let him—they didn't meet this consumer guarantees.
Consumer guarantees are a set of rules that every single company must abide by. Obviously, nobody should be paid for a broken product, which is why it's part of the guarantees.
It has to be done, but it's got to be an acceptable quality, which means it cannot be broken or near broken.
Consumer guarantees include:
- acceptable quality
- fit for a particular purpose
- match the description
- match the sample or demonstration model
- extra promises like warranties
- spare parts and repairs, and finally
- no hidden charges.
However, under certain circumstances, the company can reject the request for the refund. If the consumer changes their mind, even if all of their guarantees are met, the company can reject that claim to refund the product.
Make sure you talk about remedies.
Yes—remedies. In the case the consumer doesn't want to refund their product, they can exchange, repair, or ask for spare parts for their product. This is an alternative for companies to right their wrongs.
But let's get back to the situation at hand.
I'd like to refund this product—it didn't work when I plugged it in.
Sorry sir—policy says no refunds.
Sir, this item is broken. The Australian Consumer Law says my consumer guarantees entitle me to a refund if the product is broken.
Sorry sir—I'll make sure this is refunded immediately.
Thank you.
Judges' notes
In a light-hearted and effective skit, these so-called 'refund enforcers' explain the rules around product returns.
The skit demonstrates an excellent understanding of consumer guarantees and explains them with clarity, energy and charisma.
Students' comments
'My team learnt about refunds, returns and remedies during this project. We studied the laws that protect both consumers and businesses.'
Instructional video (1st place, 2022)
Mei Mei, Year 9, Wavell State High School
Have you ever wanted to buy something but didn't have enough money for it? Or did you suffer from lack of control when it comes to spending money? Well, if so, I've got just the right thing to fix your problems.
Budgeting. No, not 'budge it, Ting'—budgeting.
Now, you may be asking yourself, what is budgeting? Well, budgeting is an effective way to keep track of your expenditure, as it is the process of creating a systematic plan to help you ensure that there's enough money for food, bills and other expenses.
Budgeting comes with many benefits and is a great step to take if you're wanting to achieve financial goals as it promotes saving and prepares you for unexpected bumps along the road.
So, what are financial goals? Financial goals can be short term and long term. This can be saving up to buy something you've always wanted or setting up an emergency fund.
And if you're looking to buy the latest iPhone or the newest model of a car, but just don't have enough money yet, budgeting is a great strategy to help you manage your money and save up for whatever it is you want to buy.
But how do I budget? First, you need to record your income and expenses over a certain amount of time—for example, a fortnight. You can use pen and paper, a budget journal, a budget planner or budgeting app.
Like the Queensland government states, 'Keeping a budget is as simple as calculating how much income you earn and taking away whatever you spend, while trying to include all your income and expenses as soon as possible, or you might forget them.'
Your income may include:
- wages
- rental income
- bank allowances, or
- interest.
And your expenses can fall to several categories like:
- living expenses
- travel expenses
- repayments, and
- other extra expenses.
Examples of these may be rent, study resources, petrol, clothes, food, bills, loans, and so on.
If your income outweighs your expenditure, you can choose to:
- spend that money
- invest
- save it and put it towards a financial goal—whether it be a car, a house or the latest iPhone, or
- putting money aside for emergencies.
However, if you seem to spend more than you earn, then maybe look towards balancing your budget by cutting back on your spendings and try to find a way to make more money.
Budgeting comes with many benefits, like:
- learning to balance your spendings with your income
- being able to pay your expenses on time without overspending or going into debt, as well as
- sets you up for emergency funds.
This financial strategy can help you prepare for the future, ensuring you have enough money for things you want by allocating a certain sum of money depending on your income for certain categories like groceries, living expenses, other expenses, savings, and so on.
Everybody's budget will be different and will vary from time to time. So keeping a budget can allow you to keep track of your spendings and choose what you want to do with your money and get the most out of it without overspending.
Judges' notes
This video offers a clear, well-organised guide to saving money in a quirky, hand-drawn package. The presentation contains targeted, useful and achievable advice for:
- keeping a budget
- balancing income and expenditure, and
- maintaining control of your spending habits.
The vocal tone and use of modulation in the voiceover are excellent, helping keep viewers engaged with the content.
Music video (2nd place, 2024)
Olivia, Paiton and Leah, Year 7, Livingstone Christian College, Ormeau
Scammers get you out of the blue, so watch this video all the way through.
Check if the website address looks right and remember to never trust a free price.
Scammers want you to always pay in weird payment methods right away.
Ensure the connection is secure that way it's safe and you are sure.
If it sounds too good to be true, you better watch out or this could be you.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you will be screwed.
If it sounds too good to be true, you better watch out or this could be you.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you will be screwed.
Scammers want urgency so slow down and think. If there's a limited time offer, could your money be on the brink?
When checking the web address look for things out of place—are numbers or symbols instead of letters the case?
Is a site asking you to use a strange payment app? If you pay this way, you'll never get your money back.
Pause. Think.
Reviews could be a warning sign like people letting out a cry. Filter through the fake reviews scammers make these, so you lose.
But what if it's too late? What if you've walked through the scammers gate?
Contact your bank straight away. There's no need to dismay.
Report to the ACSC. This can help others know, what websites are a scam and caution can start to grow.
Change your passwords if needed. Then the scammers plan will fail and your money and you will stay out of harm's way!
If it sounds too good to be true, you better watch out or this could be you.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you will be screwed.
If it sounds too good to be true, you better watch out or this could be you.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you will be screwed.
Judges' notes
This delightful music video has an absolute earworm of a song exploring online shopping and scam awareness.
The messages are as well thought out as the song is catchy, particularly the 'stop, think' moment halfway through the song. The song is especially impressive in using original music rather than 'reinterpreting' an existing song.
The combination of filmed content, animations and memes are a fun way to engage young people with this entry's substance.
Students' comments
'[We learned] how to not get scammed when online shopping and how to identify scam websites. We also learned what to do if we have been scammed and how many people get scammed.'
Magazine (3rd place, 2024)
Fina, Sofia, Elise and Hester, Year 8, Loreto College, Coorparoo
Download the magazine—this is a digital copy of the paper magazine that was submitted.
Judges' notes
This stylish magazine—Shopping Online—offers young readers the 'why' and 'how' of shopping online safely.
Its clever tips include evaluating reviews, looking for 'red flags' such as spelling or grammar errors and checking the URL and publication date for signs of deception.
Students' comments
'Through our research, we have learned about the risks of online shopping [and] how to avoid these risks in a safe way, therefore making us more educated consumers coming out of this project. We hope that our magazine will not only educate us, but pass on this message to others, which is the main reason we made it and decided on this idea.'
Card game (3rd place, 2023)
Charlotte, Year 9, Wavell State High School
Judges' notes
This card game tests players' knowledge of scam awareness by asking trivia questions and posing entertaining challenges.
It is a clever, quirky balance of fun and learning that uses a gameplay format to teach knowledge and skills.
The fun and engaging aspects of the project enhance rather than detract from the learning experience.
Fair Trading rock garden (3rd place, 2022)
Finn and Rosie, Year 8, Bell State School
Judges' notes
This eye-catching, creative idea turns people's natural curiosity into opportunities for learning.
Each rock is adorned with shiny ribbon and a colourful information card. They're ready to be scattered around a school garden to catch people's eyes and encourage them to read the advice.
The judges appreciate the bold, unusual approach to the competition task because—as stated in the students' explanatory note—information rocks!
Years 10 to 12
Board game (1st place, 2024)
Andrei, Year 10, The Springfield Anglican College
Judges' notes
This incredibly sophisticated game teaches young players about the false, misleading or deceptive practices that can be found in online shopping.
While these practices include scams, they also include the tactics some legitimate businesses use to manipulate or nudge people into spending more money than planned—known as dark patterns.
A lot of work has gone into understanding the issue and presenting the information in a game format.
The question-and-answer cards are a clever way to gamify the learning and encourage and reward critical thinking.
Student's notes
'It was interesting to see a specific age demographic and how they dealt with these [practices].'
Slide presentation (1st place, 2023)
Samantha, Year 10, Nambour State College
Note: minor edits have been made to this entry to protect the student's personal information.
Judges' notes
This sophisticated and thorough slideshow guides older teens through the choices involved in buying their first car.
The level of research is extraordinarily high and it's all brought together in a clear, informative package.
The detailed cost-benefit analysis is an excellent feature to help guide the audience through what can be a very complex decision-making process.
Brochure with flyer (2nd place, 2024)
Cooper and Thomas, Year 10, Aspley State High School
These are digital copies of the paper submissions.
Judges' notes
Brochures and flyers are deceptively hard to do well, but this entry successfully balances the amount of information to include and exclude—it's substantial enough to inform without being overwhelming.
Both documents are impressively thorough, covering topics such as:
- getting your licence
- researching different options before buying
- setting a budget for regular ongoing expenses and unexpected costs.
Students' comments
'We learned some useful skills, including how to spot and avoid car-related scams, as well as getting to know some very important info about car ownership, such as the upfront and ongoing costs—licences, registration and insurance—which has prepared us for buying a car of our own.'
Interactive digital storybook (3rd place, 2024)
Lucas and Liam, Year 10, Aspley State High School
Download the full presentation.
Note: Minor edits have been made to this entry to protect the students' personal information.
Judges' notes
This entry is about travel scams with a focus on school leavers preparing to attend Schoolies Week. It's an interactive digital storybook in a choose-your-own-adventure style.
This approach teaches users to use critical thinking when booking accommodation or activities. It also provides tips on how to spot and avoid other travel-related pitfalls.
Students' comments
'Attending schoolies is an easy way to come across a various amount of scams and online fraudulent listings of hotels, activities etc. They have evolved over time and are becoming increasingly difficult to spot.'
More information
For hints and tips on entering the competition, check out these pages:
Find out how to request a classroom presentation on Buy Smart topics.