How our awards work - Building Communities
Building Communities category
The strength of a nation can be measured by the harmony of its communities. This category is for small and medium-sized businesses making a positive impact in their communities.
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.
Community cohesion
For businesses actively enhancing community cohesion by supporting Australia’s most vulnerable citizens.
Care and education
For businesses whose day-to-day operations include providing care and education in a way that helps the community thrive.
Celebrating diversity
For businesses who fight for, embrace and promote the community’s cultures to create a welcome and more inclusive environment.
Cultural preservation
For businesses that preserve and promote awareness of our multicultural society in a way that benefits the whole community.
Training and access
For businesses built around educating and training people in the interests of better social cohesion.
Social Protect
2025 National Building Communities Winner
Social Protect detects and deletes abusive social media comments in real time, provides on-demand education, and offers expert investigative support so users can stay in the conversation on social media.
Camp Quality
NSW Winner
Camp Quality is a not-for-profit organisation that supports children and families facing cancer. Its programs and services are delivered in hospitals, at school, at home, and at Camp Quality’s Retreats and Camps. The services are completely free of charge, thanks to the incredible support of more than 1,000 volunteers across Australia.
Share the Dignity
QLD Winner
Share the Dignity is a charity working to end period poverty by making sure everyone who needs period products can access them, no matter their situation. Through grassroots campaigns, and bold advocacy, Share the Dignity is changing how Australia talks about, supports, and responds to menstruation.
WA All Abilities Football Association
WA Winner
The WA All Abilities Football Association (WAAAFA) delivers inclusive sports programs for people with disabilities in Western Australia. Established in 2017, WAAAFA exists to ensure that every person, regardless of ability, has the chance to experience the joy and benefits of community sport.
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.
Video: Social Protect's speech
Building Communities Winner
Video recording of Social Protect's speech
Footage: The video transitions from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo and the text “2025 Best of Business Awards”, to footage of the Host and the Award presenter on stage.
Presenter speaks: The 2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards National Building Communities Award winner is... Social Protect.
Audio: [Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music plays]
Footage: One recipient, wearing a black suit, walks past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.
Host speaks: Hello! Oh my goodness, what an amazing job you do. Congratulations!
Recipient 1 speaks: Thank you, thank you so much. Thank you. It is an absolute honour to be here. Thank you.
Host Speaks: Shane. Shane. Shane, you have done incredible work and I want to talk to you about it. You are now the 2025 National Building Communities winner. My first question is: how does it feel to be recognised for your work in the community with this amazing award tonight?
Recipient 1 speaks: Humbling. To see the quality of amazing people with amazing ideas who are here, it is incredibly humbling. And I do not know what else to say. It is amazing. It is such an honour to be here.
Host speaks: Your work genuinely speaks for itself. It is so important and, as a person who cares for a lot of young people, I cannot thank you enough. I know of course that success is a group effort, so who has been in your corner throughout this journey?
Recipient 1 speaks: There are so many people to say thank you to. I have to say my mum and dad, of course. My amazing, tolerant partner, Jenny, who puts up with me being overseas and away for so much of the year. An incredible team at Social Protect. We have Jacques here with me tonight, who is an incredible backbone of what the business is. There are two particular people who have always trusted and supported me in this. That is Andrew and Faith, so a big shout-out to them both. But probably most of all, to our users — to the people who trust us with their online safety, who give us the ability to keep them safe online. It is such a big thing to put faith in a company to look after you in the online space, so thank you for trusting us with that. And of course Telstra. What an incredible experience this has been. An amazing journey, an amazing night tonight. So thank you so much to the Telstra team.
Host speaks: Thank you so much, Shane. I will ask you one more question. After a win like this, what is the next big goal for you as a business, but also for you individually?
Recipient 1 speaks: Grow. We want to make people aware that there is a solution, that you are not on your own, that there is something that families, communities and people can do to be safe online today. So go and download the app. Make yourself safe. That is what is next for us: getting the word out. This award is an amazing platform for us to let people know that they are not alone anymore. We are here to help them.
Host speaks: Shane, you do such important work. Give it up for Shane and the amazing team at Social Protect. Thankyou so much.
Footage: Video transitions to a blue end screen with the Telstra logo.