Judging criteria: Written assessment

A template has been provided as a guide for your Monetary Policy Statement. The written statement is an opportunity for you to use an assessment of current and expected future economic conditions in order to justify and explain your decision on the Official Cash Rate.

Judges will be looking for:

• a logically written report – structure your report in a way that best enhances your argument. It is great to see you assess a range of indicators and consider important issues from both sides, but be sure we can still see why you came to your Official Cash Rate decision
• your ability to explain why you think things have happened/are going to happen – back up your arguments with relevant information and data
• a wide range of sources for your information (e.g. newspapers, private banks, other public sector organisations). However, make sure you adequately reference these sources; remember that we are likely to have seen this information and so will recognise it as someone else’s argument
• a well presented document, with correct spelling and grammar, which keeps to the 1000 word limit.

The judges will not be giving marks for correctly ‘guessing’ what the Reserve Bank’s next interest rate move will actually be. Rather, they will be interested in how you justify your decision. Don’t feel the need to change your decision for the oral presentation if the Reserve Bank has since made a different decision.