Frequently Asked Questions

The Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave is one of Australia's most well-loved fundraising campaigns.

Each March, thousands of Australians make it their mission to help beat blood cancer by getting sponsored to shave, colour or cut their hair. Some have a personal connection to cancer, while others take part simply to have fun, challenge themselves or do something for a good cause.

The official event for World’s Greatest Shave is this March 2025, however you can shave any time of the year that suits you.

Together, we're working towards a shared goal: zero lives lost to blood cancer by 2035. The money you raise will also help give people facing blood cancer the support and care they need.

You’ll help provide the latest and most up-to-date cancer information to patients and their carers, whenever and wherever they need it. The money you raise will also help fund breakthrough research projects discovering better blood cancer diagnostics and treatments that hope to say goodbye to blood cancer.

Your experience participating in this iconic Australian fundraising event will literally change the lives of people who need your help the most, and, who knows, it might just change yours, too.

Of course! The Leukaemia Foundation wants to ensure that all our supporters can donate and sponsor online with complete confidence. The Leukaemia Foundation uses the trusted Funraisin platform as its online fundraising provider for this website which secures your private information using a VeriSign SSL Certificate. Information exchanged with any address beginning with HTTPS is encrypted using SSL before transmission.

Click their unique link > arrive at their online fundraising page > click the  “Donate to me” button > complete the form with your credit card details. We’ll email you with a tax-deductible receipt.

There could be a few reasons. Check your spelling – you can just put a few letters in the search boxes to widen your search.  They could have marked themselves as private, so they don't come up in the search results. 

You can request for your name and/or your donation amount to be hidden on the participant's online fundraising page. If you do, your name and/or amount will appear as "Privacy Requested".

As you make your donation, you’ll be asked if you’re happy to display your name and the amount on the participant’s online page - tick the boxes as desired.

However, please note we cannot make your donation anonymous from the participant. They will be able to see the name and amount you give from their secure fundraising dashboard.

All donations over $2.00 are tax-deductible. You will receive a tax receipt by email.

If you lose your tax receipt, we can issue a duplicate. Submit a receipt request from our team with the details of your donation, and we’ll email you a replacement. Note, the copy is marked ‘duplicate’ so you can’t claim twice.

Absolutely! When you reach the donation page, select "Make a business donation" and enter the Company name. Many businesses will match monies raised or donated by staff for occasions such as World's Greatest Shave. Start by asking your manager, or if you have further questions, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088.

Search for the team, or click the team name on a members profile.

When their name appears in the list, click the team name > arrive at their online fundraising page > click the donate button > complete the form with your credit card details. We’ll email you with a tax-deductible receipt. Your donation will contribute towards the team total without the donation going to any specific member of the team.

Of course!

Our system accepts donations in Australian dollars via VISA and MasterCard from overseas.

Make sure to select ‘country’ first when completing the donation form so that our system will accept a non-Australian address.

You will receive a receipt via email, but you'll need to check with your financial advisor about whether the donation is tax-deductible outside Australia.

We send you an email when you’ve made a donation and attach your tax receipt as a PDF document. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe PDF Reader. If you still need help, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088 so we can assist you.

An error message may indicate your card was declined or the transaction failed for some reason.

Please check that the card number and expiry date you are entering are correct. Confirm that there are sufficient funds available, and the card is valid.

Check your credit card statement to see if we charged the transaction to your account.

If there’s been a problem, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088.

You may have made a general donation to World’s Greatest Shave instead of donating to a specific person.

Or you may have requested privacy while you were making your donation. If so, your donation will show as ‘Privacy Requested’ on the participant's online page.

Call us on 1800 500 088 and we will move your donation to the right spot.

Sign up online

We’ll ask you for some necessary contact information including an email address. We’ll ask you for a username and password so you can log in to the website and ask people to join you and or sponsor you.

Anyone! Sign up online, we'd love to have you on board. online, we'd love to have you on board.

There is no age limit to participate. BUT written consent from your parent/guardian is required to participate in World's Greatest Shave. Please ask your parent/legal guardian to complete the form when you sign up.

Check in with your school before participating. Many students do not Shave or Colour during term times as it can be against school policy – and choose instead to shave at the end of the year, so they are shaved during the holidays, and it has time to grow back before the start of the new school year.

No, you can Cut or Colour your hair too. Every strand of hair you change makes living with blood cancer less scary.

It’s completely up to you what you do with your locks, but the more outrageous the better. We’ve seen it all over the last two decades: the all-over shave, edgy undercuts, messy mullets, or bright blue ‘dos. We’ve loved them all.

If you colour, use a temporary colour spray or coloured hair wax.

We’ve partnered with the clever team at Sustainable Salons to repurpose the hair that Australia shaves!

Many of the ponytails snipped can be turned into wigs for those with cancer, while shorter hair clippings will be transformed into compost and even floating hair booms to absorb oil spills. Learn more here about how you can donate your hair.

Sustainable Salons accept hair from people of any age, gender, hair type and hair colour (as long as the hair is properly prepared). This includes chemically processed or coloured hair.

You can place ponytails that are a minimum of 20cm, dry, tied at the top, plaited in the middle and tied at the bottom (coloured is okay) in a zip lock bag. Curly hair ponytails are also accepted, but must meet the minimum 20cm length without being straightened.

You can post all ponytail donations to:

World’s Greatest Shave Ponytails 
c/o Sustainable Salons 
GPO Box 322 
SYDNEY NSW 2001

We encourage you to take part in a team of friends, workmates, or classmates if you can.

Start a team and nominate yourself as the team captain. Team captains can recruit more team members and keep the enthusiasm going in the lead up to the day when everyone makes their hair sacrifice.

Simply search here for the group you want to join, select the team name, and then fill in your details.

Team captains can log in to the website and send an email to invite people to join their team. The email contains a link that invitees can click on to take them through and register. Once they complete registration, they will be part of your team.

If you signed up as an individual and other people want to join you, you can upgrade to a team.

Simply log in and click TEAM from the left-hand menu. Next, click on 'Create a team'.

Always keep the clippers clean and oiled during your shave.

Brush the clipper blades between each shave and wipe the edges with a cloth and a few drops of hospital grade disinfectant (available from all supermarkets).

Every two or three shaves, you may also need to put a couple of drops of clipper oil on the blades. Make sure you wipe this off before shaving the next person.

If colouring hair we recommend temporary coloured hair spray. Always cover people's eyes when spraying their hair – a small piece of cardboard or plastic is best for this.

Asking professional hairdressers to help at your private shave event (if safe to do so) is a good idea as they deal with the safety and comfort of clients every day.

Always sweep up unwanted hair – a dustpan and brush are best for this.

Shavers, sprayers and sweeper-uppers should all wear disposable gloves during your private shave event.

You can find more information under Policies & Safety on our Useful Resources page.

If you are holding an event and are looking to purchase supplies such as hair spray, please refer to our community fundraising guidelines or contact the team for guidance.

If you need a receipt for donated goods, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088 so we can assist you. Please note, Tax Office rules do not allow receipts to be written for donated services.

No. Generally, participants choose to colour their hair using brightly coloured, non-permanent, spray-on colour.

Non-permanent hair colour sprays are available in many leading pharmacies and large retail chains. Your local hairdresser can also offer advice about colouring your hair with non-permanent-coloured hairsprays and waxes.

We recommend you go to your local pharmacy, large retail chain or hairdresser and purchase non-permanent-coloured hairsprays. waxes.

All sprays and chemicals could cause an asthma attack. Therefore, all sprays should be used carefully if you have asthma or if there is someone with asthma around. Allergic responses vary from person to person, please do not spray anything into anyone’s face. It’s important to ask someone if they are affected by hair spray before colouring their hair. You should always seek advice from a healthcare professional.

Of course, it will. By clipping your hair short, you are not destroying any hair follicles so it will grow back the same as before. How quickly that happens varies from person to person.

We offer various graphics to brighten up your email signature and social media accounts. Please take a look at our useful resources, here you will also find a logo lock up for our brilliant community supporters to use, you don’t need permission to use these. If you still require our logo, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088 so we can assist you. .

Yes, of course. There's a couple of things that affect you if you take part in another country:

When you sign up choose 'Outside Australia' as your location. When completing your address details, please select your country FIRST so that our system will accept your non-Australian address.

We suggest you log in to our website and do as much fundraising as you can online. Our system accepts VISA and MasterCard from overseas accounts.

Your online donors will still receive a receipt, but they will need to check with their financial advisor about whether the donation is tax-deductible if they live outside Australia.

If you raise any funds in cash, bank that money in your account and donate through our website for the same amount using a credit card.

You can participate anywhere: your home, work, down the local or at your school - or somewhere else.

From front rooms to back yards, and from hair salons to shopping centres, every year we see brave Australians experience the joy of shaving in all sorts of places, with many sharing their extraordinary before and after photos on social media.

Absolutely. You’re welcome to shave any time during the year and sign up is open all year round.

The official World’s Greatest Shave timing is in March, however you can still shave any time of the year that suits you.

You can update your shave date by logging into your fundraising dashboard through the website.

Simply log in and go to 'My Account', and click on 'Update other info'. Next, select 'Change your date' and save by clicking 'Update'.

Yes, spread the word! Tell your local media about your shave or colour. Please remember to call it ‘World’s Greatest Shave’ and not ‘Shave for a Cure’, as the money supports patients directly, not just research.

If the media requires information about the Leukaemia Foundation, or about leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders, they must talk to the Leukaemia Foundation’s Media Manager in your state.

For all media and advertising inquiries, please contact media@leukaemia.org.au.

Often the best place to start is your local hairdresser. Then check with others in your suburb or town.

This year, World’s Greatest Shave events will continue to take place in backyards, workplaces, schools, hair salons and lounge rooms across the country.

There will not be any official Leukaemia Foundation public events on in 2025 but keep an eye out in your local community.

When you sign up, we'll give you your very own fundraising page where you can upload photos, post videos to your timeline, choose a goal and tell your story.

From within your fundraising dashboard, you can send emails asking for donations. Log in and click Fundraising > ask for donations. The email will contain a link to your fundraising page, where people can contribute with their credit card – easy!

Start asking for donations as early as possible. Remember that by asking someone to donate to you, you are allowing them to support an extremely worthwhile cause. So cast your net wide; family and friends, colleagues, business contacts, staff from other businesses in your building, suppliers, clients.

Don’t know how to ask? Look at our fundraising tips!

We’ve created an official fundraising page for you through World’s Greatest Shave.

When you share your fundraising page onto social media for friends and family to support you, Facebook may prompt you to set up a fundraiser through them too.

Facebook is an excellent way to fundraise. However, if you choose to set up a Facebook Fundraiser as well, we may not be able to directly match Facebook raised funds to your World’s Greatest fundraising page, as these two pages are not connected. Facebook send us 100% of the funds that you raise every 60 days.

We love following your journey and celebrating your massive efforts alongside you, which is why we recommend that you use your official World's Greatest Shave fundraising page.

Click  fundraising tips to find excellent and useful tips on how to maximise your fundraising efforts.

We don't recommend that you doorknock in your neighbourhood to collect donations or promote World’s Greatest Shave. It's not always a safe or profitable thing to do.

In many council areas around Australia, doorknocking requires a special permit. Please refer to our fundraising guidelines for further information.

You can run a small raffle or trade promotion in aid of a charity, but the rules vary from state to state. It depends on how valuable the prizes are and whether you are selling tickets or giving a free access in return for a donation. You’ll need to check with your local state government’s lotteries and gaming department.  Please refer to our fundraising guidelines for further information and contact details for your local State’s office.

Both!

Most of your fundraising will take place before you shave, cut, colour or wax.

Fundraising after you've sacrificed your hair is significant too, as everyone can already see the incredible change you've made and how committed you are to the cause.

Spread the word and fundraise online, or get creative and raise money at work, school and in your community. Check out our fundraising tips!

Log in to your fundraising dashboard, then click 'Ask for donations'. You can send an email that contains a link to your personal fundraising page, making it easy for people to click “Donate to me” and complete their credit card sponsorship online. 
 
OR

Ask your donors to visit www.worldsgreatestshave.com and click the 'Donate' button to search for you. Once they’ve found your Fundraising page it’s easy to click “Donate to me” and complete their credit card donation online. A tax-deductible receipt is sent by email directly to your sponsor.

Yes, you can. However, please commit to colouring your hair with non-permanent hair colour whatever you raise and tell your donors you will shave once you reach your target. This way, you are still doing something to your hair to help our cause.

Non-permanent hair colour sprays are available in many leading pharmacies and large retail chains. Your local hairdresser can also offer advice about colouring your hair with non-permanent-coloured hairsprays and waxes.

Our system only displays your fundraising once you've paid it in using a verified method. Online methods - credit card or PayPal display immediately. While EFT or BPAY may take up to 2 working days to show on your page.

While there are countless worthy causes, if you sign up and raise funds through World's Greatest Shave, you are legally required to direct all the money to the Leukaemia Foundation.

By law, all donors need to be clear about which charity they are supporting and must be issued with a receipt from that charity (if it's $2 or more). You are not able to decide to give your donor's money to another charity, however worthy or urgent that cause might be.

Your fundraising enables the Leukaemia Foundation to help give people facing blood cancer the support and care they need, provide the latest and most up-to-date cancer information to patients and their carers, and help fund breakthrough research projects discovering better ways to diagnose and treat blood cancer so more people can say goodbye to blood cancer.

World’s Greatest Shave is raising untied funds for the Leukaemia Foundation so that we can direct funds raised to the greatest needs of people impacted by blood cancer that the Leukaemia Foundation is supporting.

Your fundraising helps give people facing blood cancer the support and care they need, provide the latest and most up-to-date cancer information to patients and their carers, and help fund breakthrough research projects discovering better ways to diagnose and treat blood cancer so more people can say goodbye to blood cancer.

The Leukaemia Foundation is driving discovery in most types of blood cancer, including lymphoma, leukaemia, myeloma, MDS, MPN and amyloidosis, as well as graft versus host disease, a dangerous side effect of a stem cell transplant.

If a sponsor wants to remain anonymous online, they can. We’ll display ‘Privacy requested’ on your online Profile Page instead.

The same applies to any participant who doesn’t want to appear on the website scoreboards. You can log in and change this if you’d like your name to appear or disappear!

Offline banking like EFT, BPAY, cash deposit, cheques & receipt book donations can take up to 5 working days to show on your page. Remember to use your unique reference number to help us match the deposit to your registration.

If you have chosen to set up a Facebook Fundraiser, we may not be able to directly match Facebook raised funds to your World’s Greatest Shave fundraising page, as these two pages are not connected. Facebook send us 100% of the funds that you raise approximately every 60 days.

Are you a member of a team? Your donors can make contributions to your team, as well as directly to you. Check your team page – the contribution you’re looking for might have ended up there.

Has your employer matched your donations? Maybe you or your workmates have set up workplace giving through your employer or payroll administrator. These funds can take up to 90 days to be transferred to us. If you think this applies to you, let us know, and we’ll power through the paperwork.

If you have any questions, please give us a call on 1800 500 088.

Bank before or on 30 June 2024 to be in the running for the World’s Greatest Shave top fundraisers recognition!

If you have any questions, please give us a call on 1800 500 088.

We're repurposing the hair you bravely shave with Sustainable Salons.

Many of the ponytails snipped from those taking part can now be turned into wigs for those with cancer, while shorter hair clippings will be transformed into compost and even floating booms to absorb oil spills at sea. How cool!

Sustainable Salons accept hair from people of any age, gender, hair type and hair colour (as long as the hair is properly prepared). This includes chemically processed or coloured hair.

You can place ponytails that are a minimum of 20cm, dry, tied at the top, plaited in the middle and tied at the bottom (coloured is okay) in a zip lock bag. Curly hair ponytails are also accepted, but must meet the minimum 20cm length without being straightened.

You can post all ponytail donations to:

World’s Greatest Shave Ponytails 
c/o Sustainable Salons 
GPO BOX 322 
SYDNEY NSW 2001

Please ensure you apply the correct amount for postage. You can use a prepaid satchel (take careful notice of the weight restrictions on the pouch) or take your ponytails in the envelope into the Post Office for the customer service representative to process for you. Unfortunately, Australia Post won’t deliver any parcels with incorrect postage to Sustainable Salons.

We ask that you bank any cash collected as soon as you can. There are lots of easy ways to pay-in. 
 
Pay-in cash given to you, from your credit card

Log in to your fundraising dashboard and choose the “offline donation” option. 
You can list family and friends’ names on your timeline and pay in the funds using a credit card or PayPal. If you need to, you can also issue receipts for the donations.
 
At the bank

Collect all the cash and cheques and take them to any branch of NAB. Give us a call for the bank details.

If you have any questions, please give us a call on 1800 500 088.

When you log in to your fundraising dashboard, you have access to a set of fundraising tools and downloads. This is your secure fundraising dashboard that only you can see.

• You can set a fundraising goal for yourself, add a photo and your story.
• You can download posters and heaps of other great resources.
• You can send emails and share on social media to ask for donations and also track your fundraising results.

• You can thank your donors by writing them a personalised thank you email.
• You can recruit team members by sending emails asking people to join your team.
• You can update any of your event and contact details and even change your password.
• You can accept or delete comments from donors.
• You can pay-in cash received and more!

Log in now

Your Fundraising Profile Page is the page people see when they search for you on the website.

Take a ‘before’ photo and make it your profile pic. Then update your page with your story, letting everyone know why you are undergoing your hero transformation.

Update your page along your World’s Greatest Shave journey to get your donors excited! Your fundraising page has a timeline – a bit like Facebook. Use it regularly to post photos, video updates or thank you messages.

Don’t forget to add your shave photo on the day!

Your donors can search for you on our website by clicking the ‘Donate’ button. They will need to search for your name or your team’s name. Once they’ve found your fundraising page, they can click the ‘Donate to me’ button.

You can also log in, click 'Ask for donations' and send an email to your friends and family containing your unique link.  Or under 'Share my page', click on the Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn icons to share your unique link on social.

Log in and use the menu items on the left to navigate the area you would like to update. Most updates can also be made from the main page.

If you have any questions, please give us a call on 1800 500 088 or use our online chat function.

You can add photos to your fundraising page through your dashboard.

Simply log in  and under your profile checklist click 'Edit' and upload your before and after photo. To save, click 'Submit' these images will appear on your timeline.

Share your photos on Facebook or Instagram, use #worldsgreatestshave and, our website could feature you!

If you would like to upload a photo to your timeline or profile picture, accepted file types are jpg and gif. Make sure you choose an image that can fit a square profile.

If someone’s written something you don’t like, you can hide it.

Log in to your fundraising hub > click Fundraising > click Edit my timeline > find the message on your timeline you wish to hide > click Remove on the right-hand side of the page > the button will be highlighted red, so click Remove again to permanently delete the message.

When you take funds to the bank, they show up on your fundraising total a couple of days later. We display the amount you banked as ‘Banked funds’. This will show each time you take money to the bank.

We need a couple of days for the money to get from your bank to our bank account. If it’s not showing on your Fundraising Profile Page after three days, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088 and we’ll look in to it.

Of course!

Our system accepts donations in Australian dollars via VISA and MasterCard from overseas.

Ask them to select ‘country’ first when completing the donation form so that our system will accept a non-Australian address.

They will receive a receipt via email, but they'll need to check with their financial advisor about whether the donation is tax-deductible outside Australia.

Yes! It’s a great way to keep up-to-date with the latest news. Follow us on all our socials – Facebook and Instagram.

Please reach out to the Leukaemia Foundation’s Media team via media@leukaemia.org.au

The Leukaemia Foundation helps Australians with blood cancer. We offer wraparound health services, fund leading-edge research and campaign for change alongside our community.

Leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma – every blood cancer matters to us. We’re here for anyone with any blood cancer, every step of the way. The Leukaemia Foundation is Australia’s most trusted cancer charity, made up of patients, carers, healthcare professionals, researchers, specialists and an army of community supporters.

We’ve spent nearly 50 years working with the community to help solve the challenges faced by people with blood cancer. And we’re not stopping until together we reach the day when zero lives are lost to blood cancer.

Visit the Leukaemia Foundation for more information.

There are many different types of blood cancer and together they are among the most prevalent and deadly cancers in Australia today. The most common types of blood cancer are called lymphoma, leukaemia and myeloma.

Lymphoma is a blood cancer. Specifically, it’s a cancer of the lymphatic system. Lymphoma most often develops in the network of vessels in your body that play a part in protecting you from infection. It stops your immune system from doing its job. There a few different types of lymphoma. The exact cause of lymphoma is unknown. A range of factors affect someone’s chance of surviving lymphoma.

Leukaemia is a blood cancer. Specifically, it’s a cancer of the bone marrow. Leukaemia develops inside your bone marrow where blood cells are made. It stops your blood cells from doing their job. There are many types of leukaemia. The exact cause of leukaemia is unknown. A range of factors affect someone’s chance of surviving leukaemia.

Myeloma is a blood cancer. Specifically, it’s a cancer of the cells used by your immune system. Myeloma develops in your bone marrow. It stops your blood from being made properly. The exact cause of myeloma is unknown. Myeloma can be managed with treatment but is incurable.

Visit the Leukaemia Foundation website for more information about blood cancer.

Blood cancer stops your blood from doing what it needs to keep you alive and healthy. It develops in the places of your body where blood is made, but its exact cause is unknown. Visit the Leukaemia Foundation website for more information about blood cancer.

Another 53 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer each day, joining more than 135,000 people living with the devastating impact of our second most diagnosed cancer.

A range of things affect someone’s chance of surviving blood cancer and it can be incurable. Sadly, another 16 Australians will lose their life to blood cancer each and every day.

Visit the Leukaemia Foundation website for more information about blood cancer.

We may have leukaemia in our name, but we exist for every Australian diagnosed with any type of blood cancer, and while blood cancer continues to wreck lives that won’t change. Visit the Leukaemia Foundation website for more information about our services.

It’s a requirement of our insurance cover that we have clear policies and to make everyone aware of the health and safety aspects of participating in World’s Greatest Shave.

Terms & Conditions

If you have any questions, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088.

Before signing up and participating in World's Greatest Shave, please read the terms and conditions.

If you have any questions, please contact us at wgs@leukaemia.org.au or phone 1800 500 088 so we can assist you.

World's Greatest Shave fundraising guidelines are a set of guidelines you must follow if you are fundraising for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Each state and territory also have their own distinct rules about fundraising. If you are planning to conduct fundraising activities outside of collecting funds online through your Fundraising Profile Page please make sure to read the guidelines.

If you have any questions, please give us a call on 1800 500 088.