This was followed by a light-bulb moment when Alex went shopping with his parents, with the idea forming to try and design a fridge with a built-in automatic water dispenser for pets.

The now 13-year-old has been recognised as one of Australia's brightest young inventors from more than 1,100 entries in the 2021 Origin Little Big Idea competition.

"After I went shopping with mum and dad for a new fridge and thought of the idea for the water dispenser, my Science teacher told me that it would be a good idea to enter into the competition," Alex said.

"When I entered the competition, I had to send in a description of what my invention was and go into more detail on how it would work."

Alex has now been announced as one of the 12 finalists of the competition and will receive $1,000 and a one-on-one mentoring session from one of the competition's three judges to help evolve his idea.

The competition has three age categories, with one winner from each who will receive $10,000.

Little Big Idea judge Dr Jordan Nguyen said choosing a winner will be difficult this year.

"The extraordinary talent in this year's cohort has made it one of the trickiest years to judge," he said.

"I'm blown away by the bold thinking and creativity, and it's awe-inspiring to see how young Aussie's are considering the world around them and how their invention could help make for a better future."

Alex's parents, Paul and Ula Jordan, said they are very proud of their son.

"It's pretty inspiring. I think there would be a market out there for what Alex has designed," Mr Jordan said.

"It's a very good idea, we're very proud of him," Mrs Jordan added.

Now in its eighth year, Little Big Idea is designed to foster creativity and innovation in Aussie kids as part of Origin's broader commitment to supporting education and encouraging Australia's future STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) talent.

The Major Prize Winners and the Runners Up will be announced in the third week of November.

"It's very exciting for me and I am looking forward to it," Alex said.

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