How our awards work - Accelerating Women
Accelerating Women category
This Award category is for businesses actively challenging exclusion to create lasting equity for women.
Who can apply in this category?
If you’re fulfilling one or more of the following category examples, consider nominating and entering your business for this Award.
Initiative development
For businesses who have developed and put internal initiatives in place focused on supporting women.
Challenging stereotypes
For businesses actively challenging stereotypes by reshaping traditionally male-dominated industries or roles.
Core focus
For businesses with a core offering built on providing products or services that support and help women.
Championing women
For businesses passionately working to keep women employed or helping women to re-enter the workforce at every stage of life.
Career pathways
For businesses advocating for women by providing career pathways to leadership positions for women.
Addressing the gap
For businesses offering training and education for women aspiring to work in male-dominated fields to reduce the skills gap.
Equity fighters
For businesses resolutely fighting for, or offering equal pay and work opportunities for women.
Rahma Health
2025 National Accelerating Women Winner
Rahma Health is a globally recognised charity creating culturally and psychologically safe health and parenting resources for multicultural communities around the world particularly Arabic-speaking families affected by war, displacement, racism, poverty and intergenerational trauma.
BEME MOVEMENT EDUCATION
NT Winner
BEME MOVEMENT EDUCATION (BeME) delivers trauma aware, culturally responsive movement programs in remote communities across the Northern Territory and beyond. Through curiosity, breath, and high-energy games, BeME helps young people regulate, focus, and connect, building the physical literacy and emotional safety that underpins all learning.
EPIC
TAS Winner
EPIC (Empowering People In Construction) is a social impact business dedicated to transforming culture in the construction industry. EPIC delivers people focused services including peer support, mentoring, coaching and training workshops to address mental health risks, gender inequity, and systemic challenges that have long plagued the sector.
Pregnancy to Parenthood Clinic
WA Winner
The Pregnancy to Parenthood Clinic (P2P) is a community-based early intervention service for families facing emotional challenges during the transition to parenthood. Providing free support from pregnancy through the child's second year, P2P strengthens emotional wellbeing and nurtures parent-infant relationships, ensuring every child and family thrives from the start.
Eligibility criteria
To enter, the following eligibility criteria must be met. Each category also has specific requirements. If you have any questions about these conditions, please contact us.
- Reside in Australia
- Have a registered Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Have been operating in Australia for at least 12 months at the time you submit your Stage 1 entry
- Be more than 60 percent Australian-owned, with the owner(s)/founder(s) responsible for making the key management decisions
- Be a small-to-medium business that’s a sole trader, partnership, incorporated, NFP, social enterprise or franchise whose franchisor is 60 percent Australian owned and not a listed company
- Earn more than $50,000 in annual revenue
- Have under 200 full-time equivalent staff at the time you submit your Stage 1 entry
- Operate in an ethical manner with suppliers, distributors and contractors
- Supply financials when requested. All financials will remain confidential and will not be shared or used outside the purposes of judging the business’ performance, success and viability.
- Be a listed company, franchisor, a club, co-operative, or a Telstra licensee
- Be affiliated with Telstra through investments, donation or reselling
- Be more than 50 percent owned by another business
- Be a government agency
- Have filed for bankruptcy in the prior 5 years or been subject to court proceedings in the prior 12 months – including in the business owner or founder’s personal capacity – at the time you submit your Stage 1 entry
- Be a recipient of significant ongoing government funding (excluding temporary government relief or support packages, such as Jobkeeper or disaster recovery)
- Have been a contracted commercial supplier of Telstra in the last 3 years
- Enter the same category where the business has previously won at State or National level at the Telstra Best of the Business Awards in the past 3 years
- Have a staff member that has applied and/or Have a staff member that has been a State or National judge in the Telstra Best of Business Awards for any category in the past 3 years
- Enter the awards if a staff member or owner has applied to be a judge in the same awards program year.
Our program dates
Our 2026 Program
Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2026 program dates.
Nominations open
All year round
We accept nominations all year round. If you know an exceptional business moving Australia forward, nominate them today.
How our Awards work
Explore our award categories, application process, selection criteria and eligibility.
Need help?
Have a question?
Find answers to your frequently asked questions.
Contact us
Speak with our Awards Team and call 1800 AWARDS Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm (AEDT).
Terms of entry
Ensure you're eligible to enter by viewing our official terms and conditions.