And the winner is ... social justice. And confusion

Tom Sulston was feeling upbeat on his mid-week flight from Melbourne to Sydney. As head of policy at Digital Rights Watch, Sulston had seen his team of UTS law students build an app to protect the privacy of dating site users. He’d heard the pitch; he’d tested the app; he’d grown optimistic.  

‘Prior to the awards ceremony, I was feeling pretty confident that we were going to win,’ Sulston said. ‘The team were smart, enthusiastic, and capable. I’d already seen the app and the presentation, which were both great.’  

The problem for Sulston was that three other teams had also done excellent work for the UTS Law Tech Challenge. One team was helping residents of public housing obtain urgent repairs; another team was enabling dementia sufferers establish their legal readiness to make wills; and a fourth team was assisting Australians to lodge complaints about unfair treatment by their superannuation funds.  

Soon after his plane touched down, Sulston’s confidence started its own descent. 

‘It was when I saw the other teams' presentations that I got a sense for the strength of the whole field and had to rapidly re-set my expectations,’ Sulton said.  

The Grand Final of the 2026 Law Tech Challenge was held on Wednesday 19 August at UTS Startups on Broadway. The nervous energy was palpable.  

‘First, we had the Oscars,’ said Challenge director Sacha Molitorisz, opening the event. ‘Then, we had the Logies. Tonight, we bring you the culmination of the 2026 awards season. Live from Broadway - the real Broadway, the one in Sydney - we bring you the Grand Final of the Wotton Kearney Neota Logic UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice. Emphasis on the word ‘challenge’. The first challenge is just saying it.’  

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