 In 2009, the trustees of the Helen Lempriere Bequest announced that the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award would not be made, and the award is now defunct.In 2009, the award was withheld when a new selection process for finalists (a change from application to invitation) resulted in what "The Age" newspaper called 'a disaster', when an insufficient number of entries of good standard led to the withholding of the exhibition and award for that year.The trustees of the Helen Lempriere Bequest, Perpetual Private Wealth, announced in December 2009 that the award would no longer be made.