What Matters to Young Australian Students? An Australian Writing Competition That Gives Children the Mic

By The Whitlam Institute
Community contribution / April 7, 2025

In a world of 10-second sound bites and ever scrolling feeds, one national writing competition is reminding us of the power of words, and the voices of young Australians.

What Matters? Writing Competition Award Ceremony, 2024.

Now in its 21st year, the What Matters? Writing Competition, run by the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University, invites students in Years 5-12 across Australia to speak up about the issues that matter most to them. And year after year, they deliver: raw, honest, and thought-provoking reflections on climate change, racism, family, identity, mental health, education, political reforms, and more.

This is not an English assignment. It's a platform. A launchpad. A megaphone.

The competition was inspired by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's belief in the transformative power of young people's voices in shaping democracy.

In an age of polarisation and digital noise, What Matters? is a call back to values, vision, and clarity-offering students the chance to write from the heart and be heard.

Students can submit a 600-word piece of prose, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, opinion, reflection on any issue that truly matters to them. There's no right or wrong. Just passion, purpose, and a chance to make a difference and be heard.

Every year, thousands of entries pour in from across the country. In 2024, more than 5,500 students entered the competition, writing about everything from Indigenous justice to the power of kindness.

Winners don't just walk away with prizes; they join a growing alumni network of young changemakers. Some are now teachers, doctors, journalists, authors. Some return as ambassadors. All carry the What Matters? experience with them.

“Winning What Matters? when I was in year 9 helped me turn my despair about the state of the world into imaginative passion towards a brighter future. It’s important for kids and teens to know that, even when they feel helpless, they have the most powerful tool of change at their fingertips: a pen.”

- Jumaana Abdu, What Matters? Ambassador 2025