About The Competition
The inaugural 2026 Australian Plant Photography Competition will be the premier opportunity in Australia to showcase the beauty and diversity of our unique plant life. It is for showcasing photos of Australian native plants taken in the past 2 years.
Who we are
Plant Conservation Australia (formerly the ANPC) is the national network that links people, research and action in plant conservation. Founded in 1991, we are a membership based organisation focused on the protection of Australia’s threatened plants. We run events and create publications aimed at connecting the science and practice of plant conservation in a way that is accessible and affordable. You can learn more about us here, or sign up to become a member here.
Our Audience
The winners of the 2026 Australian Plant Photography Competition will be announced at APCC15 – the Australasian Plant Conservation Conference – in Port Douglas on 26th August 2026. APCC15 will bring together land managers, scientists, practitioners, agency staff, students and volunteers from across Australia to discuss the latest plant science and how to approach key threats to flora conservation in Australia. Plant Conservation Australia itself is a national organisation with membership across Australia including numerous community-based environmental organisations, Traditional Owner Groups, native plant societies, natural resource management groups, and tertiary institutions. Winning entries will also be published (with credit) in our quarterly publication Australasian Plant Conservation, which is circulated to a wide audience of those involved in or interested in plant conservation.
*please note that you do not need to be attending the conference to enter the competition
To learn more click on the tabs below
Conservation in Action – capturing the work that goes into protecting Australian plants.
This can be photos taken in the lab, or in the field. It can also be a photo that doesn’t include the plant. It can include studying a pollinator, or a mycorrizal fungi association with a plant. Anything to do with the process of protecting threatened plant species. It is defined as anyone undertaking plant research or management (including plant conservation, restoration and recovery).
Rare and Threatened – documenting species or communities at risk.
It is defined as a State or Federally listed species with a conservation category of Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. It can also include threatened ecological communities – provided this is communicated by the image and description. For these it is recommended that the photo encapsulates the ecological community as a whole.
In Bloom – showcasing the beauty and uniqueness of the flowers of Australian native plants.
This is defined as a native Australian plant in flower. It may be a close-up photo of the details of an individual flower, wider shots of the plant(s) in bloom, or a pollinator-flower interaction.
Your organisation is invited to donate a prize to this premier plant photography competition! This would be an excellent opportunity to promote your organisation to community groups, private businesses and the wider public that are interested in the conservation of native plants. We will work with you to publicise your company during promotion of the competition via social media and our website, at APCC15, and through Plant Conservation Australia’s quarterly publication Australasian Plant Conservation – which has an overall readership in the thousands.
Entries close 19 August 2026
Winners announced at APCC15 on 26 August 2026
For specific queries, please contact one of the organisers below:
Paul Donatiu: qtpn@anpc.asn.au
Richie Southerton: communicaitons@anpc.asn.au
Prizes to be announced soon!
Total prize pool for the competition expected to exceed $1000 in value.
Click here to view the competition Terms and Conditions.
Darren Jew – professional nature photographer
Paul Donatiu – Project Manager of the Queensland Threatened Plant Network and enthusiast plant photographer
Richie Southerton – Plant Conservation Australia Communications Manager and enthusiast nature photographer
Enter your details and submit your images via the form below:
You have already entered the photo competition.
With thanks to our competition sponsors:
