All secondary students at St Anthony of Padua Catholic College Austral have the opportunity to compete in national, international and industry-based competitions covering an array of academic areas to appeal to most students.
Aurecon is an international engineering firm which holds a competition across Australia and New Zealand for school students. All Stage 5 Engineering students will be encouraged to compete at the school stage of the competition. A team will be selected to represent the school at the next stage, where they will be required to build a bridge, which will be tested with the latest computer-based software to replicate the forces bridges face in nature.
Students undertaking Chemistry studies in Years 11 and 12 are strongly encouraged to take part in this competition. The quiz aims to promote and encourage an awareness of the nature and relevance of chemistry among secondary school students.
Students participate in a state-wide computer competition run by the University of New South Wales that assesses a wide range of computer skills areas. The competition is open to all students from Years 7 to 10.
The English Writing Competition is provided by ICAS, the University of NSW, and requires a text-type based response. Stimulus material and detailed instructions are supplied. The competition is open to all students who will receive a certificate and an information feedback sheet.
Macquarie University hosts a two-day Business Innovation Challenge (BIC). This competition gives the student the chance to team up and solve real-world business problems. The student will receive industry and academic mentoring and will pitch their solution to a panel of industry judges. The student will participate in a complete design life-cycle and gain skills crucial for the 21st Century workplace.
Tournament of the Minds is an international competition. It is a problem solving program for teams of students from Years 7–10. The teams are required to solve open ended challenges from one of the following disciplines: Applied Technology; Language and Literature; Maths Engineering; and Social Sciences. Tournament of the Minds is for students with a passion for learning and problem solving to demonstrate their skills and talents in an exciting, vibrant and public way.