The Michael Hill International Violin Competition will be held between 31 May–8 June 2013 in New Zealand. Semifinalists' arrival date in Queenstown is 27 May 2013. (Due to international dateline, arrival from European or North American points of origin requires 25 May departure.)

The Competition is open to violinists of all nationalities born after 1 June 1985 and before 1 June 1995.

The Competition is held in five stages:

Selection	Applications due 30 November 2012
Round I and II	Queenstown, 1–3 June 2013, solo and unaccompanied works
Round III	Auckland, 5–6 June 2013, piano trios
Finals	Auckland, 8 June 2013, concerti

All 18 semifinalists play Rounds I and II (no elimination); 6 semifinalists progress to Round III, 3 finalists progress to the Finals. It is a requirement of the Competition that all semifinalists remain in attendance of the Competition through the Finals even if they are no longer competing.

A panel of violinists from Australasia's leading performing and educational institutions carry out the Selection Round and select the 18 semifinalists and 6 alternates. They also determine the recipients of the NZ and Australian Development Prizes. Identities of applicants are not revealed to the panel until they have determined the results.

An international jury comprised of seven violinists assess the semifinalists' performances from Round I through to the Finals and determines the prize winners. The jury is chaired by a separate non-voting chairman. All advertised prizes will be announced.

All live rounds are open to the general public and are recorded for live and delayed broadcast throughout New Zealand by Radio NZ Concert and internationally via the European Broadcasting Union or similar international broadcasting programmes. Videos of all live rounds are also uploaded to the Competition’s YouTube account and/or other similar accounts/channels for web viewing in perpetuity.

All semifinalists are provided with one round trip economy-class air ticket from the nearest major international airport in his/her country of residence to Queenstown and Auckland, and must comply with the Competition's Rules and Regulations regarding ticket issue. (European originating cities are Paris, Frankfurt and London only.)

All semifinalists are provided with accommodation in private homes with private rehearsal facilities during the live rounds.

The Competition provides accompanists and collaborating artists of the highest calibre for all live rounds at no expense to the semifinalists.

All semifinalists are encouraged to participate in the Competition's Professional Development activities including masterclasses led by jury members, school outreach activities, and professional workshops.