Australian recf robotics updates

Written By Garry Law

Having been part of the robotics community since 2017, I have seen firsthand how important it is for robotics competitions to be supported by robust, consistent and fair judging systems.

Our goal is to help ensure that RECF competitions in Australia are delivered with integrity, transparency and student education at the centre. With this in mind, we have worked closely with schools and community groups to address several areas of feedback, including the significant effort students invest in engineering notebooks and the need for greater consistency in judging formats across events.

As a result, for the 2026–2027 season, RECF Robotics in Australia will be piloting the following changes for RECF Engage and RECF Achieve events.

Australian RECF Engage and Achieve Excellence and Design Awards

In addition to the current award prerequisites, recipients of the Australian RECF Engage and Achieve Excellence Award and Design Award must be a registered school team or an approved non-profit team.

New Community Excellence and Community Design Awards

Australian RECF Engage and Achieve events will include two new award categories:

  • Community Excellence Award

  • Community Design Award

These awards will follow the same judging expectations as the Excellence Award and Design Award, but will be reserved for eligible non-school teams.

Updated event progression award ranking

For Australian RECF Engage and Achieve events, progression awards will be ranked as follows:

  1. Excellence Award — school

  2. Tournament/Alliance Champions

  3. Tournament/Alliance Champions

  4. Design Award — school

  5. Community Excellence Award

  6. Community Design Award

  7. Remaining progression awards as per RECF guidelines

Shortened Engineering Notebook option

Australian RECF Engage and Achieve events may request teams to submit a shortened version of their Engineering Notebook for judging instead of the full notebook.

This shortened Engineering Notebook will be limited to 10 pages and is expected to address all items in the Engineering Notebook rubric.

These updates will take effect during the 2026–2027 TIER TAKEOVER and PINNACLE season.

Official updates regarding these pilot changes will be shared on the ASTEM Incorporated website at astem.org.au.

For any questions, please contact admin@astem.org.au.

Garry Law
RECF Australia International Partner

Garry Law