Core values awards

Entries open in February 2026, and the Entry Kit will be available via the Engagement Institute website.

There are two Major Awards: Project of the Year Award, and Organisation of the Year Award.

The Project of the Year Award is divided up into the following categories:

• Planning
• Infrastructure (Planning and Design)
• Infrastructure (Construction)
• Energy
• Environment
• Health
• Disaster and Emergency Services
• Community Development
• Indigenous – Māori
• Indigenous – Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
• Smart Budget

All entries are submitted via the Awards Submission Portal: https://acv.awardsplatform.com/

Important Changes for the 2025 Awards

The Research Category Award has taken a temporary hiatus in 2025.

A new category has been included: Energy.

The ‘Smart Budget’ award is now a standalone category, rather than an option criteria.

References: You have two options to provide references in 2025, you can upload them or provide contact details.

All finalists will have their entry converted into our case study template by IAP2 Australasia and sent to you for review.

Entries from Australia and New Zealand are most welcome. Entrants from other countries can enter their local IAP2 Affiliate Awards. Visit: iap2.org for more information.

There is no time limit on when your project was started or completed to enter the 2025 Awards.

An entry fee applies to each application: $175 plus GST for Engagement Institute members, $475 plus GST for non-members.

Organisations entering need to be a Corporate, Government, Industry Supplier, or Engagement Consultancy Member of the Engagement Institute to access the member rate.  If multiple organisations are entering, then at least one organisation must be a Corporate, Government, Industry Supplier, or Engagement Consultancy Member. Credit card payment is required at the time of submitting and you will be re-directed to a payment portal upon submitting your application.

Yes, you may – although note that there is a different entry fee for non-members.

Finalists will be announced in August 2025. The winners will be announced the Annual Conference, to be held in Melbourne, October 2025.

We recommend you enter the Category that best fits your project or organisation.  The judges may move you to a different category if they feel there is a better fit for your entry.

We recommend you create your account in the Award Force system at least 2 weeks prior to the deadline to ensure you are familiar with what is required and comfortable with the online submission system.  This also gives you the opportunity to seek help if you are having any technical issues.  You can save, edit and even re-submit your entry as required up until the deadline.

All entrants need to create an account in the Award Force system and will receive a system generated email verification request before they can proceed.  If you do not receive this email, please check your spam or junk folder, and check with your organisation’s IT if your firewall allows emails from Award Force.  For additional assistance, contact the events team via email events@engagementinstitute.org.au.

Some organisations may have difficulty accessing Award Force, or receiving emails due to IT firewalls, policies or configuration.  We suggest you speak to your IT department about granting access; or use an alternative email address (such as a Gmail or personal address) to receive validation emails.

For further information on how to use the Award Force system, visit their FAQ page at: https://support.awardforce.com/hc/en-us

Ensure that your entry addresses all of the criteria. And definitely proofread it well.

Entry submissions do vary for each category, the range is typically between five to twenty.  The Planning, Community Development and Infrastructure categories generally attract the most entries.

Your original entry will be used for all stages of the process.

So, you only need to submit your entry once.

Referees or references are required.  There are two different options to provide referees:

1. Upload written references (ensure referee contact details are included), OR
2. Provide the contact details of referees (name, how they were involved with the entry, email address and phone number)