Preview — ILO Australia is run by ASRA, an official ILO Regional Partner. Dates follow logicolympiad.org; the Sydney exam venue is Veriu Macquarie Park.

International Logic Olympiad · Official Regional Partner · NSW

From Sydney to Stanford — Australia's way into the International Logic Olympiad.

Sit the ILO 2027 Preliminary Round in person in Sydney. The top students form a team that represents Australia at the final at Stanford University, 29 June – 1 July 2027.

Key dates for 2027 Pre-register now

ILO 2027 in Australia at a glance

  • Junior — Years 6–8, ages 11–14 · Preliminary Round Saturday 10 April 2027
  • Senior — Years 9–12, ages 14–18 · Preliminary Round 17 or 18 April 2027 (session time set by the ILO)
  • Where — in person at Veriu Macquarie Park, 388 Lane Cove Rd, Macquarie Park session times TBC
  • Registration — 14 January to 21 March 2027, on the ILO portal
  • Fee — USD 50, paid to the ILO
  • Final — Stanford University, California · 29 June – 1 July 2027
  • All exams are in English
2
divisions: Junior (Years 6–8) and Senior (Years 9–12)
Sydney
in-person Preliminary Round with ASRA, the ILO Regional Partner for NSW
Stanford
three-day final on campus, 29 June – 1 July 2027
104
countries and 6,100+ participants since 2024 (ILO figures)

What is the ILO?

The International Logic Olympiad is a logic competition for school students, started in 2024 by Stanford University and Luminas, a US non-profit. Its academic director is Professor Michael Genesereth of Stanford's Computer Science Department, and the syllabus follows his Stanford course Introduction to Logic.

Students work with sets, propositional logic, truth tables and proofs, then move on to relational and term logic. No programming is needed, and the algebra is at high-school level. What counts is careful, step-by-step reasoning.

Logic sits underneath mathematics, computer science, law and medicine. It is also a skill most school curricula never teach directly, which is why a student who enjoys puzzles can do very well here.

ILO promo, 35 seconds (1.3 MB). Video: Luminas Inc. In Sydney the Preliminary Round is sat in person.

Who can enter

The ILO uses US grade levels. US grades line up with Australian school years by age, so the table below shows both.

ILO Junior

School
Middle school — US grades 6–8, about Years 6–8 in Australia
Age
11–14 on 1 January 2027
Preliminary
Saturday 10 April 2027, in person at Veriu Macquarie Park session time TBC
Language
English

ILO Junior rules →

ILO Senior

School
High school — US grades 9–12, about Years 9–12 in Australia
Age
14–18 on 1 January 2027
Preliminary
17 or 18 April 2027, in person at Veriu Macquarie Park. The ILO sets the session time for each region to be confirmed
Language
English

ILO Senior rules →

The ILO's age rule is strict. The Australian school year starts in late January, after ILO registration opens, so if you are unsure which division fits, check your birth date against the age rule first, then email us.

Key dates — ILO 2027, in Sydney time

The ILO publishes its dates in US time. Where a deadline falls on a US day, it ends a day later here, so we show the safe Australian date.

  1. Thu 14 Jan 2027
    Registration opens

    Create an account on the ILO portal.

  2. Thu 18 Feb, 6:59 pm
    Financial aid closes

    17 Feb, 11:59 pm US Pacific time. Decisions by 21 Feb.

  3. Sun 21 Mar 2027
    Registration closes

    Official close is 21 March (US). Australians: finish by Fri 19 March.

  4. 10–18 Apr 2027
    Preliminary Round · Sydney

    Junior Saturday 10 April · Senior 17 or 18 April (time set by the ILO), at Veriu Macquarie Park. Finalists are announced on 28 April. Both fall in the NSW school holidays.

  5. 29 Jun – 1 Jul
    Final · Stanford University

    Three days on campus in California, during the last week of NSW Term 2.

How to register — five steps on the ILO portal

Registration is done by each student, or a parent, on the ILO's own portal. The notes in red are the parts Australian students most often get wrong.

Before 14 January: pre-register with your email and the ILO will tell you the moment registration opens.

  1. Create an account at portal.logicolympiad.org and verify your email. An account alone does not register you. Applying for financial aid? Stop after this step and use the aid form first.
  2. Choose your division — Junior or Senior — and confirm your age and school year.
  3. Pick your testing location. This decides where you sit the Preliminary Round and is checked after payment. Choose ASRA — New South Wales, Australia.
  4. Upload identification showing your name, birth date, school and year level. Most Australian school ID cards do not show a birth date. Upload a letter from your school confirming your enrolment and year, together with a passport or birth certificate.
  5. Pay the USD 50 fee by card on the portal. Your bank converts it to Australian dollars.

Preliminary Round day in Sydney

Where and when

In person at Veriu Macquarie Park, 388 Lane Cove Rd, Macquarie Park NSW 2113, run by ASRA. Junior on Saturday 10 April. Senior on 17 or 18 April, at a time the ILO sets for our region. Session times TBC

Both dates fall in the NSW school holidays (Term 1 ends Friday 9 April, Term 2 starts Thursday 29 April). Please plan family travel around them.

What to bring

  • Your own laptop, fully charged, with its charger
  • Google Chrome installed and up to date, with all extensions turned off
  • Valid photo ID — the same identity you registered with
  • Your ILO portal login details

Paper and pens for working are provided. A few power boards will be in the room, but don't count on one.

In the exam room

  • The exam runs for 75 minutes on the ILO portal, in full screen
  • No switching tabs or windows and no screenshots — the portal flags these automatically
  • Phones are switched off and handed in at check-in
  • Nobody leaves the room until the session ends. Bathroom breaks are allowed with a supervisor
  • A proctor may ask to check your laptop if something looks unusual
  • Warnings are given at 30 and 10 minutes to go

The venue — Veriu Macquarie Park

The exam is held in the hotel's Level 1 conference rooms: the Gala Room and the Granny Smith Room, opened into one room of 83 m² (up to 32 students at desks), with a breakout area next door. Check in at Ground Floor reception and you will be shown up to Level 1. Paid parking is available in the hotel basement — ask reception on the day.

Veriu Macquarie Park hotel building, 388 Lane Cove Road
Level 1 conference room with tables and chairs
Floor plan: Granny Smith Room 38 m² and Gala Room 45 m² joined by an operable wall, with a 25 m² breakout area

Photos and floor plan: Veriu Hotels. Room layout depends on final numbers.

Laptop check — the week before

  1. Open Chrome and update it (Settings → About Chrome)
  2. Turn off every extension (chrome://extensions)
  3. Log in to the ILO portal and try the sample test in full screen
  4. Check the battery lasts at least 90 minutes away from a power point
  5. School-managed laptops sometimes block exam sites — test yours, or bring a personal one

Outside NSW?

The Junior Preliminary Round is in person only. Senior students without a Regional Partner nearby may sit online through the ILO portal. We are confirming with the ILO how this applies to each state and territory, and will post the answer here. TBC

How finalists are chosen

Two conditions apply. A student must score above the ILO's global average for their division, and must be among the top performers at their regional site. Being first in Sydney is not enough on its own if the score is below the global average. Senior finalists from Sydney form a team that represents the region at Stanford; Senior students without a Regional Partner are ranked in an international online pool. Junior finalists come only from in-person sites. Finalists are announced on 28 April 2027.

Help run the Sydney exam

The ILO asks every test centre for one supervisor for every ten students. We are looking for teachers, parents and university students to help on the two exam days, and for schools that want to bring a group.

Supervise an exam session

  • About two hours on Saturday 10 April (Junior) or 17/18 April (Senior)
  • A short online briefing on the ILO exam rules beforehand
  • To keep things fair, you will not supervise a room with your own child or students you coach
  • We need both men and women, as students are accompanied on bathroom breaks

I can help supervise

Bring a school group

  • An information pack for staff and families
  • Enrolment letters for students whose ID card has no birth date
  • Seats held together for your group at the Sydney venue
  • A teacher contact for exam-day updates

Register a school group

How to prepare — free

Every resource below is free and open to all students, whether or not they register. No paid course is needed.

1

What each exam tests

Junior is an aptitude test: puzzles, logical thinking and applied reasoning. It does not assume any formal logic. The ILO provides a syllabus, a recommended book list and a new sample test each month — see the Junior curriculum.

Senior is based entirely on Stanford's logic course: formal logic, proofs and structured reasoning. Work through Stanford Introduction to Logic alongside the Senior curriculum.

2

Practise the format

  • ILO sample test on the official portal
  • The ILO Discord — practise, ask questions, and open a support ticket for portal problems
  • The ILO Facebook group for students and teachers
  • The warm-up puzzle below
3

Sessions in Sydney

Early 2027

Information sessions for students, parents and teachers, with a walk-through of the registration steps and a timed practice paper. Dates TBC

Tell me when dates are set

Warm-up puzzle

Ava, Ben and Chloe each either always tell the truth or always lie.

  1. Ava says: “Ben is a liar.”
  2. Ben says: “Chloe is a liar.”
  3. Chloe says: “Ava and Ben are both liars.”

Who is telling the truth?

Show the reasoning

Suppose Chloe tells the truth. Then Ava and Ben are both liars. But if Ava is a liar, her statement “Ben is a liar” is false, so Ben tells the truth — a contradiction. So Chloe is a liar. Then Ben's statement “Chloe is a liar” is true, so Ben tells the truth, and Ava's statement “Ben is a liar” is false, so Ava lies. Check: Chloe's claim that both Ava and Ben lie is false, which fits. Only Ben tells the truth.

The final at Stanford University

The ILO 2027 Final is a three-day event on the Stanford campus in California, 29 June – 1 July 2027: a team-based final round, logic puzzles and private tours of the campus. The final covers all earlier material and goes deeper into propositional, relational and term logic.

Planning from Australia

  • Travel: families arrange and pay for travel. Sydney to San Francisco is about 14 hours, and flights usually leave a day or two before the final.
  • School: the final falls in the last week of NSW Term 2 (which ends Friday 2 July), so finalists will miss a few school days.
  • Entry to the US: Australian passport holders normally travel under the Visa Waiver Program with an approved ESTA. Apply well ahead. The ILO does not arrange visas but can provide supporting letters.
  • Costs: travel and accommodation are paid by families. Finalists also pay a non-refundable RSVP deposit that covers lunch at the event. The ILO is working on financial aid and sponsorship for finalists.
  • Students under 18: plan for an accompanying adult, travel consent and insurance. ASRA will brief finalist families after the Preliminary Round.
ILO 2026 finalists on the lawn in front of Hoover Tower, Stanford
A lecture for finalists in a Stanford lecture hall
Three finalists working on a problem together
Three medal winners at the ILO 2026 final

ILO 2026 Final, Stanford University. Photos: Luminas Inc.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know programming or advanced maths?

No. The ILO tests logical reasoning. The symbolic work is at high-school algebra level, and the Stanford lessons start from the basics.

Is there an extra fee for sitting the exam in Sydney?

The ILO registration fee is USD 50, paid on the ILO portal. Any local venue arrangements will be announced here well before registration closes.

Can I register through my school?

Each student registers on the ILO portal individually. Schools can register interest with us so their students get venue details and enrolment letters in time.

Which year level do I enter if I'm moving up a year in January?

Go by the ILO age rule on 1 January 2027 first (Junior 11–14, Senior 14–18). If both seem to fit, email us before you register and we will check with the ILO.

Is the exam in English only?

Yes. All ILO exams are written and answered in English.

What if my laptop or the portal fails during the exam?

Tell the proctor straight away. If a genuine problem happens in the first 30 minutes, the exam can be restarted from the beginning. After that, the ILO can reopen it for the time you have left and keep your saved answers. If the laptop cannot be fixed, Junior students can finish on paper; Senior cases are decided one by one. If you close the exam window by accident, you can go straight back in.

What if I'm sick or something happens on exam day?

The ILO can apply special consideration after the exam for illness, bereavement or a temporary injury. Tell the proctor on the day if you can, and email us as soon as possible so we can pass it on to the ILO.

Is the Preliminary Round a team exam?

No. Everyone works alone in the Preliminary Round. Teams are formed only for the final at Stanford.

Who decides the results?

The ILO marks all papers and selects finalists. ASRA runs the Sydney venue under the ILO's exam rules.

Students, parents and schools — get in touch.

Questions about ILO 2027 in Australia, the Sydney venue or school groups.

media@oztry.org