Judging criteria & entry conditions

The awards are judged by an independent panel. Entries are commercial-in-confidence and seen only by the judges assigned to them.

Who can enter

Businesses operating in the Hunter region are eligible. Enter one main business category, plus New Start if you have traded for under two years, and any of the individual and special awards (Access & Inclusion, Customer Service, Young Entrepreneur, Business Woman, Business Leader) as separate entries.

How entries are judged

Each category is scored by the judging panel against the questions on its application form. Business categories are judged out of 150 across the fourteen application questions; the individual and customer service awards are scored question by question against their own forms; Access & Inclusion is judged out of 90. The overall winner of each category reflects the combined points awarded by all assigned judges. Each category page lists its exact criteria and points.

Entry conditions

• Information provided must be true and accurate. Judges may deduct points or disqualify incomplete or inaccurate entries.
• Entries are treated as commercial-in-confidence and are not shared beyond the judging panel and organisers.
• You may save your entry and return to complete it any time before entries close (31 March 2027 at 11:59 pm).
• Supporting files (logos, images, documents, resumes) may be attached: PDF, DOCX, PNG, JPG or WEBP, up to 10MB each.

The categories & scoring document is updated each cycle; the current edition is linked above.