Prime Minister's Spelling Bee

What Is the Prime Minister's Spelling Bee?

The Prime Minister's Spelling Bee is Australia's largest school spelling competition, run entirely online by News Corp Australia's Kids News (kidsnews.com.au). Launched in 2021, it has grown every year since: the 2025 edition drew a record 82,712 student registrations, up from 70,557 the year before, and more than 200,000 students have taken part since it began.

The competition takes its name from its signature prize — national finalists travel to Canberra to meet the sitting Prime Minister in person, alongside the usual trophies and certificates.

Who Can Participate?

Entry is open to any student enrolled in an Australian registered school — including registered home-schools — in Years 3 through 8. Students compete in one of three divisions based on their year level: Green (Years 3–4), Orange (Years 5–6), and Red (Years 7–8), each working from its own word list.

Home-schooling families register separately through a dedicated Home Education parent/teacher account, supplying a current home-education registration certificate and their child's equivalent year group.

Competition Format

Unlike a traditional stand-up oral bee, the Prime Minister's Spelling Bee is a timed online test. Each student is given 30 words drawn from their division's list and has 25 seconds to type the spelling of each one. Results are ranked by accuracy first, then speed.

• School Round — every registered student competes online, individually, from their own school
• State/Territory Finals — the top-scoring students from each state and territory advance
• National Final — state and territory finalists compete head-to-head for the national title

Because scoring is based on a full 30-word set rather than microphone-round elimination, one mistake doesn't end a student's run the way it would in a classic oral spelling bee — the whole set counts.

The Word List and What to Study

Each division sets its own word list, growing in length and difficulty from Green (Years 3–4) through Orange (Years 5–6) to Red (Years 7–8). Words are drawn from everyday, academic, and literary vocabulary appropriate to each age group, with more complex Latin- and Greek-derived words appearing as the divisions progress.

Because the test is timed to 25 seconds per word, speed under pressure matters as much as knowing the word at all — students who've practised typing a word out quickly and accurately, not just recognising it, have a real edge.

How to Prepare Effectively

Students who make it to the State/Territory Finals and beyond share a few habits in common. Here is what works:

• Start several weeks before the School Round — spaced repetition needs time to build real memory
• Practise typing words out against a timer, not just reading or reciting them — the real test is timed
• Study word roots, prefixes, and suffixes alongside the words themselves
• Use a spaced repetition system to review words at scientifically optimal intervals
• Work through the full division word list, not just the words that seem hardest

Why the Prime Minister's Spelling Bee Stands Out

It's the only spelling competition in Australia with a direct line to the Prime Minister's office: national finalists travel to Canberra and meet the sitting PM in person. National winners also take home an iPad, a $250 HarperCollins book pack, and a $1,000 voucher for their school.

With over 200,000 students having entered since 2021 and registrations setting a new record almost every year, it has become the default national spelling competition for Australian schools — and, because it runs entirely online, it's one of the easiest to enter from anywhere in the country.