The New Inventors

IP Australia, a supporter of the program, described it as a way for Australian inventions to gain publicity and possible entrance into the mass market.

The inventors were then queried by a panel of three judges, chosen for each program based on their speciality.

The judges included agricultural scientist Chris Russell, CSIRO engineer James Bradfield Moody, designer Alison Page, futurist Mark Pesce, science broadcaster and microbiologist Bernie Hobbs, woodworker Richard Vaughan, designer and inventor Sally Dominguez, materials scientist Veena Sahajwalla, journalist and inventor Christine Kininmonth and inventor and plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood.

[1] The winner of the episode was then in the running to appear in the annual grand final episode, and be named "Inventor of the Year" and join the ranks of the Hills Hoist and the fax machine in Australia's hall of fame of home-grown inventions.

The public could vote by SMS or online for their favourite invention, which was then in the running for an annual People's Choice award.