Learn how to enter the Telstra Best of Business Awards, including what to expect and tips to prepare and help you get the most from the experience.
2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards National Winners
Entering business awards can feel like a big commitment when you’re busy balancing day-to-day business demands. But there can also be big benefits to entering awards programs.
Understanding what to expect upfront helps make it feel more manageable.
The Telstra Best of Business Awards process guides you through structured questions about your business. Explore this guide to understand what to expect so you can make the most of the opportunity.
Uncertainty can stop many business owners from putting themselves forward for an award. If you’re not clear on what to expect and how complicated it will be, it can be easy to delay or avoid the process altogether.
Entering the Telstra Best of Business Awards is less about producing the perfect submission up front and more about stepping through a process. With a bit of planning, you can set yourself up with motivation to make the most of the experience.
Here are our tips to help reduce friction and make it easier for you to get started.
While every awards program differs slightly, the Telstra Best of Business Awards follow a clear and structured process. This makes it easier to understand what’s required and plan your approach.
A typical entry process looks like this:
Before you start your journey, you’ll need to be nominated. You can nominate your own business or someone else can nominate you by completing the online nomination form.
If you meet eligibility requirements you can choose a category and start your entry.
You’ll be expected to work through the structured questions about your business model, performance and impact. Collect and provide supporting evidence as you build your entry. You can save progress and come back during the entry period, before you submit it to meet the deadline for entries.
After you’ve submitted your entry, it will be assessed. If your business progresses to the next stage, we’ll contact you with next steps so you can prepare.
Each step builds on the previous one, helping you articulate your business clearly and in context.
For detailed information on steps, timelines and eligibility explore how the Awards work or read these detailed FAQs.
Judges consider your responses to the questions in your entry to understand your business, how it’s performing, and the impact it is making.
They consider factors such as:
They’ll also consider how well your entry aligns to the chosen category.
Providing clear examples and evidence helps judges interpret your responses and understand your business in a practical way.
Explore what makes award-winning businesses stand out.
The time required to complete an entry can vary, but the process is designed to be flexible. You do not need to complete everything in one sitting.
Many business owners complete their entry over several sessions, allowing time to gather information, think through responses and refine their answers.
Telstra makes it really easy with the way you go through this process. You don't have to complete the whole application in one go.
Bill Lang - Telstra Best of Business Awards National Judge
and Chairman of Small Business Australia
Approaching the entry in stages can make the process more manageable and easier to fit into your schedule.
Taking a structured approach can help you get more value from the process and reduce the time required overall.
Learn how communicating your value helps create business success.
As Bill Lang describes:
When you go through the application process, it's like having a business coach. It's asking you questions that often you may not have asked yourself.
Bill Lang - Telstra Best of Business Awards National Judge
and Chairman of Small Business Australia
Even if you’re unsure of the outcome, the process of entering business awards can be a valuable experience in itself. Working through structured questions encourages you to step back and assess your business more objectively.
I think the Awards process is very structured… it makes you think in different ways, outside the box.
Justin Manton – Founder and Managing Director, Li-ion Energy,
2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards National Winner
For many entrants, this reflection becomes one of the most useful parts of the experience, helping clarify direction and identify opportunities for improvement.
Learn more about the benefits of entering business awards.
If you’re considering entering, taking the first step can make the process feel more achievable. Once you begin, the structure helps guide you through what is required.
With categories including Change, First Nations, Growth and Innovation, you can choose the area that best reflects your business.
Nominate your business to start your Telstra Best of Business Awards journey and use the process as an opportunity to reflect and move your business forward.
The process depends on each specific business awards program. Start by researching online to identify which awards you want to enter, and how each works. To enter the Telstra Best of Business awards you need to start by nominating your business.
It varies depending on how the business awards program is designed. The Telstra Best of Business Awards lets you complete your entry in steps, so you don’t need to do it all at once. This flexible process makes it more manageable to fit entering into your busy schedule.
Judging for a business award will depend on the criteria of each award program. Telstra Best of Business Awards Judges assess performance, impact and alignment to the category you choose to enter. Clear examples and evidence help them understand your business.
Winning a Telstra Best of Business Award at a State or National level offers benefits including increased business visibility and becoming part of a supportive network of alumni. Even if you don’t win, the process itself can be a valuable catalyst for powerful self-reflection.
Learn more about the benefits of entering the awards.
Inspirational founder stories celebrating success and sharing inspiration from small and medium businesses recognised as Telstra Best of Business Awards finalists and winners.
Whether it's your own business or one you admire, now's your chance to celebrate the most extraordinary of Australian small and medium-sized businesses.
Nominations close 5pm AEST Tuesday, 28 July 2026.
