Dates

August 29–30, 2026, at Stone & Chalk Melbourne, Melbourne CBD, Australia.

Eligibility

Anyone 13 or over who loves to build. Engineers, designers, founders and students are all welcome. Participants under 18 may join with a parent or guardian present. You may enter solo or as a team of up to four people.

Project and Submission Requirements

Projects must be an AI-powered app for Apple platforms (iOS, iPadOS or visionOS) built in one of the three tracks: Enterprise, Community Impact, or visionOS. All work must be built during the event weekend — no pre-baked projects. Every team must produce a working demo to present on stage.

Prizes

A$7,000+ in Apple hardware, supplied by CompNow. Prizes scale with team size:

• Grand Prize — Best Use of Core ML/Core AI or Apple Intelligence: 16″ MacBook Pro M5 Pro (24GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Silver), A$3,199 retail for a team of 1 (a device each for larger teams), plus intros to The App Blueprint investor network
• Best Enterprise Use Case (track prize): iPhone 17e 256GB, Black — A$999 retail
• Best visionOS Experience (track prize): iPhone Air 256GB, Sky Blue — A$1,799 retail
• Most Impactful — Social Good (track prize): iPhone 16e 128GB, Black — A$897 retail
• Best Beginner Hack (non-track prize): AirPods Pro 3 — A$419 retail
• People's Choice (non-track prize): HomePod mini — A$219 retail
• Best Project Built with ElevenLabs (partner prize): US$897 value — 3 months of ElevenLabs Scale tier, per team member credit (not cash)

Prizes are supplied by CompNow and subject to change before the event. Kit contents vary by team size; retail values are indicative.

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Projects are judged against the track and prize categories above, including: best use of Core ML/Core AI or Apple Intelligence, strongest enterprise use case, best visionOS experience, most impactful social-good project, best beginner hack, and best project built with ElevenLabs. People's Choice is decided by popular vote among attendees.

Ownership: you own everything you build over the weekend.

Attendee Rules / Code Of Conduct

We stand for inclusivity. We believe every single person has the right to hack in a safe and welcoming environment.

This is a hackathon for building, learning and meeting people; not for making anyone feel unwelcome. Treat everyone with respect. If what you're doing is making someone feel uncomfortable, that counts as harassment and is enough reason to stop.

• Be respectful, kind and considerate to fellow hackers, mentors, judges, sponsors, volunteers and organisers
• Be collaborative and welcoming, especially to beginners and first-time hackers
• Respect the venue, equipment and other people's belongings
• Follow the instructions of organisers and venue staff
• Look out for one another and speak up if something doesn't seem right

Harassment and other unacceptable behaviour includes, but is not limited to:

• Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, social class, economic status, or veteran status
• Sexual images or behaviour, and sexualised material in hacks, booths or presentations
• Violent or graphic imagery or threats of violence
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following
• Harassing photography or recording without consent
• Sustained disruption of talks, workshops, judging or other events
• Doxxing (publishing others' private information)
• Inappropriate physical contact and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour

This Code of Conduct applies to all participants — hackers, organisers, volunteers, mentors, judges and sponsors — and covers the venue, social events, event-provided transportation, and all online spaces (Discord, submission portal, social media).

Participants asked to stop any unacceptable behaviour are expected to comply immediately. Organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a warning, expulsion from the event with no refund or reimbursement, and referral to venue security or local authorities.

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If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, contact an organiser immediately. Reports are taken seriously and handled discreetly. You will never be penalised for reporting in good faith.

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How to reach us:

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Adapted from the MLH Code of Conduct

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