Team Digital Rights Watch wins the 2026 UTS Law Tech Challenge

The three judges were introduced: Professor Isabella Alexander, interim dean at UTS Law; Heidi Anderson, head of pro bono at Wotton Kearney; and John Lord, chair and CEO at Neota Logic. They praised the event’s commitment to social justice. 

‘The impact of the Challenge really is multi-faceted,’ said Anderson. ‘There's the impact on the users of the apps, to better understand their rights and be empowered to take action. There's the impact on the community organisations being supported, adding capacity as app users are able to self-help. And there’s the impact on students, on their learning, collaboration and direct client experience.’ 

Following the judges’ remarks, the first team to present comprised students Chloe Nair, Faheemah Dean, Brian Chuahiock, Brooklyn Plunkett and Eliatha Akoto-Appiah (mentored by Wotton Kearney’s Gemma Curcio and Anthony Smith). On behalf of the Canberra Community Law Centre, the team had built a RepairMate app to help public housing tenants.

‘This app turns the overwhelming process of getting public housing repairs into practical steps,’ said Nair.

Next up was Team Dementia Australia - Pamilla Huang, Leo Chau, Charles Bruton and Albi Raphel (mentored by Adem Garana and Danyon Soligo) - with an equally compelling presentation showcasing their Legal Readiness app. 

‘This is Margaret, she’s 74,’ said Chau, pointing to a slide with an illustration of an older Australian. ‘Six months ago the doctor told her that she had dementia. Her first reaction wasn’t fear. It was that she wants to stay in control of her future.’ The team then described an app that helps dementia sufferers and their carers assess someone’s legal readiness to make wills, powers of attorney and advance care directives. Given that nearly 450,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, the potential is enormous, as Garry Walters from Dementia Australia recognised. ‘Your app is exciting,’ Walters said. ‘It has the potential to assist people in a critical window of independence to help them initiate informed decisions. Brilliant!’ 

The third team - Ryan Empson, Chiara D'Ambrosio, Yaashvanthi Murugan, Jared Metzger and Preethi Chockalingam (mentored by Cassie Grant and Jack Tynan) - presented the Data Demander app they’d built for Digital Rights Watch. 

‘Can we get a show of hands,’ said D’Ambrosio, opening the presentation. ‘Who in this room has either used a dating app, or knows someone who has? And keep your hands up if you didn’t find your perfect match. But don’t worry, because there actually was one successful match: your data and third party buyers.’ 

D’Ambrosio pointed to a slide proclaiming, ‘It’s a match!’ The screen showed a match between ‘your data - swipes, location, preferences, chats’ and ‘data brokers - analyse, aggregate, monetise, sell and profit.’ 

Molitorisz then announced that it was time to announce the real winner. ‘Spoiler alert, it’s social justice,’ he said, before handing the microphone to Heidi Anderson. 

‘Each team presented an effective and practical solution to help advance a social justice issue,’ Anderson said. ‘It made judging incredibly tough.’ 

She announced that Digital Rights Watch had, in fact, won the event. 

‘We’re so happy,’ said Jared Metzger. ‘For a lot of us, this has been the best experience we've had at university. It’s also made us committed to doing more for social justice.’ 

The happiest person in the room may well have been his dad, Gideon Metzger. 

'I was really quite emotional during the presentation,’ he said. ‘I'd seen how much work, and how many late nights, Jared and the team had put into this.' 

Professor Isabella Alexander and Neota’s John Lord admitted judging had been tough, but rewarding. 

‘The judges faced an enormous challenge,’ Professor Alexander said. ‘All of the apps were easy to use, beautifully designed, and were immediately beneficial to clients and users. And all of the presentations were professional, clear, and informative.’ 

And Lord said, ‘There’s not one of these students that you would not be proud to have sitting at your table as part of your professional team. All the best of everything we hope to achieve in multicultural Australia was in evidence. UTS Law in those students is creating role models for generations of diverse young Aussies to look up to.’ 

Before leaving for the airport, Sulston spent time celebrating with his team. 

‘I’m delighted that the judges picked our team in the end, but all the projects were so good that I’d have been quite content to see another team win,’ he said. ‘The UTS students were a joy to work with and I expect them to go on to great things. And beyond the excitement of competition, our new Data Demander app is going to be incredibly useful to help Australians take control of their data, and to help DRW fight for lasting legislative change.’  

Explore photos from the Grand Final.