ESSI Money Challenge
Lisa Walmsley - Teacher
The Financial Basics Foundation (FBF) – one of Australia’s leading non-profit financial education providers – with support from Suncorp Bank – has launched the 2025 ESSI Money Challenge – an annual financial literacy competition to help build the financial capability of Australian secondary school students.
ESSI Money is a free, online financial literacy game exploring the concepts of Earning, Saving, Spending, and Investing (ESSI) – in a safe, fun, and challenging way. ESSI Money is an online virtual reality game featuring interactive real-life scenarios which foster critical thinking and problem-solving.
The Suncorp Bank ESSI Money Challenge game goes “live” at 9.00am (AEST) on Monday, 18 August 2025. Students can commence play at any time after this but must complete each game along with the end-of-game quiz and survey questions and submit their score by 5.00pm (AEST) on Friday, 29 August 2025.
Students aged 12- 15 and 16-18 can compete via the link found in the newsfeed on compass and via your Year level MS Teams page.
JUDGING AND PRIZES
Judging for all prize categories will commence at 9.00am on 1 September 2025. All valid entries received during the Entry Period will be judged by the Promoter’s judging panel based on participant scores.
There are three types of prizes – High-Scoring Participant Prizes, School Prizes and Random Prizes.
High-Scoring Participant Prizes National 12 -15 and 16-18
Highest score – $1,500 bank deposit
Second highest score – $1,000 bank deposit
Third highest score – $500 bank deposit
State/Territory 12 -15 and 16-18 year age category
Highest score in participant’s state/territory – $250 pre-paid gift card
Random Participant Prizes
All eligible participants go into a random draw for one of 16 $100 pre-paid gift vouchers. Total prize value for all Random Prizes for participants is $1,600.
Two students from each state/territory will be randomly selected to win a AUD$100 pre-paid gift voucher. One student from a metropolitan area, and one student from a regional area in each of the eight states and territories.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. The Challenge is open to all secondary school students aged between 12 years (taken to mean students born in 2013) and 18 years (taken to mean students born in 2007), who are residents of Australia.
2. The Challenge has two age categories. The first category comprises participants aged 12-15 years. The second category comprises participants aged 16-18 years.
3. Participants born in 2013, 2012, 2011 or 2010 will be deemed to be in the 12-15 year age category, despite the fact that for part or all of the Challenge, they may not be aged 12-15 years.
4. Participants born in 2009, 2008 or 2007 will be deemed to be in the 16-18 year age category, despite the fact that for part or all of the Challenge, they may not be aged 16-18 years.
HOW TO ENTER
Check your newsfeed on Compass for a link to your age group. Start playing when the Challenge commences – remember to fully complete each week of each challenge and answer every Quiz question! Have fun – happy playing!
For further information visit https://financialbasics.org.au/
VERY IMPORTANT!
Any participant making in excess of five attempts (combined across all classes entered) at the ESSI Money Game will be disqualified from the Challenge.
DO NOT ENTER THE COMPETION MORE THAN ONCE – YOUR 1 ENTRY GIVES YOU 5 ATTEMPTS.
Please see Miss Walmsley in Staffroom 1 if you have any questions.