Heritage Bank Photographic Awards

The Heritage Bank Photographic Awards are open to all professional and amateur photographers. This competition encourages photographers all over Australia to explore their surroundings and capture their own little piece of history. With a massive prize pool of over $50,000 across a range of categories and awards, this competition is one of the most lucrative in the country. 

The aim of the Heritage Bank Photographic Awards is to encourage and celebrate the art of Australian photography. Heritage Bank understands that it has a responsibility to assist the communities it serves to grow and prosper, not just economically but culturally and socially as well. Heritage created the awards more the 30 years ago to help foster creativity in the photographic arts.

This year there were three main categories in the competition. 

Open Category 
Photographers of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels were invited to enter this category, the choice of subject was up to them.

Theme Category – ‘Firsts’ 
This year’s theme of ‘Firsts’ opened a huge range of possibilities. The theme lent itself to a variety of interpretations, for example a child’s first steps; memories of first love; or even the excitement of picking up the keys to your first house. 

Illustrative Category 
With the rise in digital manipulation of images, this category created a space for images where the photographer could use creativity in the post-production stage.

2023 Winners  
Open Winner – ‘Bonded Three' by Rochelle James
Theme Winner – ‘First Taste of Summer’ by Melissa Crisa
Illustrative Winner - 'Day in the life' by Frances Terlich
Mobile Phone Award – ‘Hells Gate’ by Lyn Aberneth
CEO Choice – ‘The Can of Ham’ by Steve Day