Conditions of entry

To enter the awards, your business needs to: 

• Reside in Australia
• Have a registered Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Have been operating in Australia for at least 12 months when you submit your Stage 1 entry
• Have 200 or fewer full-time equivalent staff when you submit your Stage 1 entry
• Be more than 60% Australian owned, with the owners or founders responsible for making the key management decisions
• Be a small to medium-sized business that’s:
  • A Sole Trader, a partnership, an incorporated (Pty. Ltd), NFP, or social enterprise that is more than 60% Australian owned with the owner/s responsible for making the key management decisions
  • A franchise whose franchisor is more than 60% Australian owned
  • Not an ASX-listed company. 
• Earn more than $50,000 in annual revenue and for those businesses entering the Outstanding Growth category, the business must have a revenue growth of greater than 15% in the last 12 months
• To enter the Indigenous Excellence category the business must belong to or be certified as being an Indigenous owned and operated from any of the following organisations/groups: Supply Nation, FACCI Assured Affiliate, Indigenous Chamber of Commerce within your state (e.g., NSWICC), Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, FACCI Assured Affiliate, Registered as an Indigenous business through the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, or Supply Aus. 

• A business may not enter the awards and also apply to be a judge within the same awards program year​
• Business financials will be asked for and need to be supplied in order for an entry to be considered. All financials will be kept confidential and not shared or used outside of the purposes of judging the businesses performance, success and viability​

You will not be able to enter the awards if your business:

• Has more than 200 full time employees at the close of entry date;
• Enter the same category where the business has previously won at State or National level in the past 3 years for the Telstra Best of the Business Awards​
• Has been a state or national judge in the Telstra Best of Business Awards for any category in the past 3 years
• Is a franchisor, a listed company, club, co-operating, a Telstra licence, government agency, more than 50% owned by another business
• Is affiliated with Telstra through investments, donation or reselling​;
• Has employees who judged the Awards program in the past 3 years;
• Has been purchased and operating as an existing business prior to purchase
• Has filed for bankruptcy in the prior 5 years or been subject to court proceedings in the prior 12 months when you submit your Stage 1 entry/ies., including in the business owner or founder’s personal capacity.

Please make sure you read these conditions carefully as we take the integrity of our awards program seriously. We’re proud of the program and our alumni. If we have reason to believe you have done anything to bring the program into disrepute we may have to disqualify you.

To help get started, view instructions on how to enter, and learn more about our awards categories and our judging process. These sections form part of the terms. You must complete our nomination form and anything you include must be true and correct.

• Please make sure that anyone important to your organisation like business owners, founders or officers are available to attend award events and activities. These include the state and national workshops and events, along with judging days.
  
  
• We want you to help us publicise the awards. When attending any of our events, if requested, you or your representative must verbally endorse us. If you’re a finalist or a winner, we’ll need the business owners, officers or founders to be available for promotional appearances. We’ll give you at least 7 calendar days notice of the date and location, each time we request this.
  
  
• You agree that we may use your logo, business identity, details about your business or personal identity in any way, in any material which promotes the awards or the products or services. You agree to allow us to contact you to provide comments about the awards and to take photos or video footage of you, your business and your representative(s), and use any of the material collected as part of your participation. If we do use any of the materials listed above, you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable licence to use the materials for promotional purposes.

All intellectual property rights related to the awards, including the information and data we collect, belong to us. You’ll still own any intellectual property rights you already owned prior to entering the awards. You also assign, including by way of a present assignment, and assignment of all rights that may arise in the future, all intellectual property rights related to any and all materials that arise in relation to your participation in the awards.

This is a game of skill only. There is no element of chance in determining the winners. The judges’ decision is final. 

You are only eligible to win one prize. We reserve the right to withdraw a prize if there are no eligible entrants to receive that prize.

By accepting a prize, you agree to participate in and co-operate as required with all reasonable marketing activities relating to the prize including but not limited to being interviewed and photographed. We reserve the right to use your comments, image and name for advertising and publicity purposes in any media in perpetuity without further consultation or compensation.

A prize, or any unused portion of a prize, cannot be transferred, exchanged or redeemed for cash. All other expenses associated with the prizes are the responsibility of the winners.

We reserve the right, at any time, and in our sole discretion to (a) request entrants to provide proof of identity and/or proof of valid entry (b) disqualify any entrant who we have reason to believe has breached any of these conditions or engaged in any unlawful or other improper conduct or any conduct calculated to jeopardise the fair and proper conduct of the promotion.

Entries are accepted at the time of receipt by us. We will not be held liable for any entries not received for any reason during the promotion period.

We are not liable for any prize that may be lost, stolen, forged, damaged or tampered with in any way after it leaves our possession.

We are not responsible for any variation in the value of a prize.

If we are unable to provide a winner with a prize (or part of a prize), we will supply an alternative prize (or that part of the prize) of greater or equal monetary value and/or specification.

If for any reason, we are not able to conduct the promotion as planned, including due to tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, any technical difficulties or any other causes beyond our control, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this promotion, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to take any action that may be available.

We exclude all warranties in relation to the quality, suitability or merchantability of a prize, except those that cannot be excluded by law. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any liability of the Promoter or its employees or agents for breach of any rights a consumer may have which are unable to be excluded under Australian Law, is limited to the payment of the costs of having the prize supplied again.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss (including indirect and consequential loss) or damage or personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the promotion including the supply of goods or services by any person to the prize winners, and where applicable to any persons accompanying the prize winners. We accept no responsibility for any tax liabilities that may arise from winning the prize.

To the extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any loss, damage or personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the awards. You will indemnify us and our officers, employees or agents against any loss or liability from any claim or action that arises as a result of a breach of these terms by you, or your use of the materials or information supplied by you under these Terms. You irrevocably and unconditionally consent to all acts being done that would otherwise breach your moral rights.

If we are unable to provide a winner with a prize (or part of a prize), we will supply an alternative prize (or part of a prize) of similar monetary value. Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable and are not redeemable for cash. If a prize has not been claimed it will be distributed at our absolute discretion.

We are not responsible for any variation in the value of a prize.

If we are unable to provide a winner with a prize (or part of a prize), we will supply an alternative prize (or that part of the prize) of greater or equal monetary value and/or specification.

If for any reason, we are not able to conduct the promotion as planned, including due to tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, any technical difficulties or any other causes beyond our control, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this promotion, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to take any action that may be available.

We exclude all warranties in relation to the quality, suitability or merchantability of a prize, except those that cannot be excluded by law. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any liability of the Promoter or its employees or agents for breach of any rights a consumer may have which are unable to be excluded under Australian Law, is limited to the payment of the costs of having the prize supplied again.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss (including indirect and consequential loss) or damage or personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the promotion including the supply of goods or services by any person to the prize winners, and where applicable to any persons accompanying the prize winners. We accept no responsibility for any tax liabilities that may arise from winning the prize.