1. Why should you nominate for the IABCA Awards?

Nominating for IABCA helps gain recognition at a local, state, and national level. It raises community profile while showcasing businesses to a global audience including India. Nominating today will build a reputation for excellence inside and outside your industry and celebrate the success of your migrant and business journey. (There are no fees associated with nominating.) Businesses are invited to submit an entry based on the selection criteria detailed on the online entry form. National finalists use the IABCA platform to further profile their brand and business through our extensive marketing and social media channels. The awards provide media exposure for organisations and build community profiles. It also provides an opportunity to benchmark your business against other businesses within the industry while giving you an opportunity to share your success story nationally. A great example of this is our IABCA Business Woman of the Year in 2016, whose story was picked up by Times of India and shared 1.2 million times across the globe.

2. What is the cost associated with nominations and costs associated with attending the IABCA Stars cocktail event honouring our finalists?

Nominations are absolutely free, and this is across as many categories as you wish to nominate. However, each online nomination will need to be entered as a new category, this is at no cost. The exclusive invite-only cocktail event, IABCA Stars in honour of our finalists, is also at no cost. The IABCA Stars event is by invite only, and the awards gala provides a huge networking opportunity to profile your brand nationally. The IABCA black-tie gala dinner is a ticketed event.

3. Am I / Is my organisation eligible?

To be eligible, you must be an organisation / individual living in Australia or in India. Organisations that promote and work across the Australia–India space are encouraged to nominate. To be eligible for a business category, organisations must have a valid ABN (Australian Business Number) for taxation purposes. Businesses and not-for-profits based in Australia or Australian companies based in India that trade / provide services in India are eligible to nominate. Indian companies that invest in the Australian market are eligible to enter.

Please note:
Full-time or part-time employees of Gandhi Creations, commercial sponsors, members of the judging panel and members of the advisory board are not eligible to nominate for an award. This is to maintain transparency and avoid any conflict of interest.

4. My business is not a company; can I still nominate?

Any form of business can nominate for IABCA (Sole-trader, Not-for-profit organisation); you do not need to have an ACN (Australian Company Number), however you will need to hold a valid ABN if you are based in Australia.

5. How do I nominate/enter the awards, and our organisation entered IABCA in previous years—am I allowed to nominate again?

Nominations open annually for 6 weeks, and the entire nomination process is online. We are environmentally conscious and do not accept any paper nominations. To complete entries, you must accept our terms and conditions. We advise you to start your nomination and save your work, returning to the criteria when you are ready. It may take you a few hours to go through each criteria point and collate the right information requested. Our online system will provide you with a unique username and password that will let you save your work as you progress through your application. Nominations must be received by the closing date (check website) to be considered as an award entrant. Individuals, organisations, and not-for-profits that have entered in previous years are allowed to nominate again. We recognise that a lot can change in a 12-month period, and you may have further success stories to highlight that deserve recognition on a national platform.

6. Can I email my entry?

Entries will not be accepted by email due to privacy regulation and acceptance of our terms and conditions. Nominations must be processed through our online awards portal.

7. Can I self-nominate, or can I nominate someone else?

Yes, we encourage you to self-nominate as we recognise there is no better person to highlight your success story than yourself. However, you are also allowed to nominate someone else—both instances are common practices.

8. What are the next steps after I have nominated, and how are the businesses/individuals judged?

After you have submitted your nomination, we review if the criteria have been met and will contact you if your nomination is incomplete. Following this, our national panel will analyse your application over a six-week period. This is a thorough process and involves a combination of face-to-face meetings and teleconferences. Each nomination will be assessed by at least three judges to ensure the outcome is independent and robust. National finalists are advised of their success by email. National finalists will then compete within their category across Australia, and winners will be announced at the gala dinner in November. Judging is based on the awards criteria answers and supporting documentation included in the entry.

9. What is the closing date for entries?
Check website and note that IABCA Awards take place one year in Australia and one in India.

For any further questions, please email us on: awards@gandhicreations.com.au