Students across Queensland have proven themselves to be smart and savvy consumers after taking home cash prizes for producing winning entries in the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) 2019 Buy Smart Competition.
Rylan Stone, Athan Matthews and Cain Mackie from Gold Coast’s Merrimac State High School have received awards at Parliament House in Brisbane after submitting creative projects designed to educate and raise awareness of consumer centric topics, such as buying a car, shopping online and avoiding common marketplace scams.
Twenty prizes in total were awarded to winners, with students and their schools sharing $15,000 in prize money.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath said she was impressed with the variety of submissions in this year’s competition, as more than 1,000 students lodged entries in a bid to win the state’s top consumer awareness prizes.
“The Buy Smart Competition invited students from Year 4 to Year 12 to create a project about any consumer topic they wish” Mrs D’Ath said.
“It’s great to see so many young Queenslanders learning about the important issues of managing their money and enforcing their consumer rights.”
Rylan, Athan and Cain were awarded a highly commended prize in the Years 7 to 9 category. Their entry was an interactive PowerPoint display combined with multiplayer online quiz. The project offers information, tips and advice about staying safe online. Rylan, Athan and Cain were awarded $50.
Full details of this year’s winning Buy Smart Competition entries are available on the OFT website at www.qld.gov.au/buysmartcomp.
