I love that painting. I hope it wins the prize!
The Archibald Prize is Australia's most prestigious art prize.
It is awarded annually and the exhibition is held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.
Under the terms of the Archibald Bequest, the portrait must be that of an Australian, painted in the past (I think) 24 months (may be the past 12 months?) who has distinguished him/herself in public life in some way (academia, sciences, the arts, etc.)
It is an open competition and any Australian can enter, so long as you've got the entry fee in your pocket.
Many emerging (unknown) artists have entered in the past. They get around the necessity to paint a famous person by entering self-portraits, which is a quirky way one can legally squirm around the terms of the bequest, in that it can be rationalised that if one wins the Archibald Prize (even being accepted for hanging is considered an accomplishment - it's fiercely competitive), one has, therefore, distinguished oneself and has attained "fame," even if one was completely unknown beforehand.
Thousands of entries are received each year (it's a great fundraiser for the Art Gallery of NSW), most of which are culled, leaving only a couple of dozen portraits hung. I've entered a couple of times but have always, alas, been culled.
The Art Gallery of NSW is only a 5 min. drive from where I live and I will certainly be going this year, specifically to see Heath's portrait.
The Archibald Committee; who make the choice as to who the winner is and, indeed, who will hang and who will be culled; is comprised of local business people and A-listers with (sometimes) a couple of artists thrown in. The membership changes as members come and go. I have actually see in some years, where there were no artists on the committee. This makes the choice of winner highly contentious and very controversial. There's always a huge amount of media hysteria generated by the awarding of the Archibald Prize every year here in Sydney.