The SBTC Small Business Awards are one of the most anticipated events on the Australian small business calendar. Now in their twelfth year, the Awards celebrate the resilience, innovation and community contribution of small businesses and sole traders across the country. Nominations for the 2025 Awards are open until 31 March 2026.
Award Categories
- Small Business of the Year — open to all SBTC financial members, recognising overall excellence in business performance, customer service and community involvement
- Innovation Award — recognising a business that has introduced a genuinely novel product, service or operating model in the past two years
- Regional Business Award — celebrating outstanding businesses making a difference in their regional or rural community
- Sole Trader of the Year — recognising the achievement and resilience of individual operators
- Employer of the Year — for businesses that have demonstrated exceptional workplace culture, flexibility and employee development
- Young Entrepreneur Award — for business owners aged 35 or under
How to Nominate
Any financial SBTC member can nominate themselves or another member. Nominations are submitted via the SBTC website and require a 500-word submission addressing the selection criteria for the chosen category. A panel of independent judges drawn from industry, academia and the not-for-profit sector assess all nominations.
The Awards ceremony will be held in Sydney in June 2026. SBTC encourages all members to consider nominating — the process itself is a valuable opportunity to reflect on and document your business’s achievements. For information on what makes a strong nomination, the Smart Company website has published useful guides on how to write a compelling business award submission.
