Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge today announced the winners of the 10th annual Money Stuff Challenge, a competition for consumer savvy students run by NSW Fair Trading.

“Students from public and private high schools around the State were invited to submit projects that had a theme of advising young people how to manage their finances,” Ms Judge said.

Some of this year’s winning entries included an animated video showing the pitfalls and solutions around choosing a mobile phone; a magazine featuring useful tips for young renters; and a 2011 calendar covering budget tips for teens.

Ms Judge said there was an excellent response to this year’s challenge with over 900 students from 51 schools across the State vying for a share of the $16,000 cash pool.

Winning students were presented with a trophy, certificate and cash prize of $200, and each winning school with $2,000.

Awards are presented in five categories - NSW Metropolitan Years 7-9, NSW Metropolitan Years 10-12, NSW Regional Years 7-9, NSW Regional Years 10-12 and the Teacher Award.

Ms Judge said the competition challenged young people to find out about their rights and spread their consumer messages to their peers in innovative ways.

“While the competition is fun, it also has a serious purpose,” she said.

“Young Australians are constantly bombarded with slick advertising images enticing them to spend their money. Many are unaware of their rights, even in day-to-day shopping transactions.”

“Unless they are equipped with the right skills, they can easily fall prey to rip-off merchants or fall into the debt trap,” Ms Judge said.

The Money Stuff Challenge also supports the State’s teachers as it is linked directly to learning outcomes of the Years 7 to 10 commerce syllabus.

Since 2000, 11,000 students have participated in the Money Stuff Challenge and $100,000 in prize money has been handed out, as well as prizes of computers, digital cameras and ipods to NSW schools.

Money Stuff Challenge 2010 Winners

NSW Metropolitan Years 10-12 Award Category

Winner: Sandy Panyanouvong, Natalie Siri, Wendy Tu, Danielle Wylie - Westfields Sports High School, Fairfield West - $200 for student(s) and $2,000 for school

Highly commended: Joshua Conanan - Trinity Catholic College, Auburn - $50 for student and $500 for school

Highly commended: Lauren Mahanay, Namrita Singh, Ashneeta Prasad, Daniel Moore - John Edmondson High School, Horningsea Park - $50 for student(s) and $500 for school

NSW Metropolitan Years 7-9 Award Category

Winner: Annie Nguyen, Annemarie Stein, Tess Nguyen – Meriden School, Strathfield - $200 for student(s) and $2,000 for school

Highly commended: Joyce Yu, Hannah Zhou - Pymble Ladies' College, Pymble - $50 for student(s) and $500 for school

Highly commended: Peggy Ling, Gurpinder Mand - Cheltenham Girls High School, Cheltenham - $50 for student(s) and $500 for school

Highly commended: Michael Au, Michael Nguyen, Jack Ou, Marcus Cheong - Fort Street High School, Petersham - $50 for student(s) and $500 for school

NSW Regional Years 10-12 Award Category

Winner: Nicole Johnstone, Renee Davis, Courtney Gorman, Sophie Hancock - The Henry Lawson High School, Grenfell - $200 for student(s) and $2,000 for school

Highly commended: Nick Yacoub - John Paul College, Coffs Harbour - $50 for student(s) and $1,000 for school

NSW Regional Years 7-9 Award Category

Winner: Ben Woodward, Crystal Whitehouse, Molly Ratcliffe - St Paul's High School, Port Macquarie - $200 for student(s) and $2,000 for school

Highly commended: Afeeya Akhand, Keira Barnard, Hugh Leitch - Newcastle Grammar School, Newcastle - $50 for student(s) and $500 for school

Highly commended: Lucy O'Connell - Mudgee High School, Mudgee - $50 for student(s) and $500 for school

Teacher Award Category

Regional Winner: Teacher prize –John Paul College, Coffs Harbour - $500

Metropolitan Winner: Teacher prize – Fort Street High School, Petersham - $500

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