Business Excellence Awards

The Health, Wellness and Care category celebrates businesses that enhance the wellbeing of the community through high-quality health, allied health, and wellness services. It highlights organisations that deliver exceptional care, support positive health outcomes, and demonstrate leadership across clinical, therapeutic, and holistic wellness fields.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Provide professional health, allied health, therapeutic, or patient care services.
• Demonstrate strong expertise in diagnostic, technical, therapeutic, or other care practices.
• Show innovation across wellness fields such as fitness, nutrition, preventive health, workplace wellbeing, integrative medicine, or spa services.
• Deliver high-quality, person-centred care that supports improved health and wellbeing while contributing to better community health outcomes through accessible, effective, and responsive services.
• Operate with professionalism, ethical standards, and evidence-based practice.

The Professional Services Award celebrates organisations that deliver high-quality, knowledge-based services to individuals, businesses, and the broader community. It highlights providers who demonstrate strong expertise, professionalism, and the ability to offer tailored solutions that build trust and deliver meaningful outcomes. Some example businesses include those operating in legal services, real estate, accounting and financial advisory, architecture, engineering, information technology and consulting.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Provide specialised B2C or B2B services grounded in professional expertise.
• Demonstrate strong client relationships and an established, reliable business foundation.
• Deliver customised solutions that meet client needs with accuracy, insight, and efficiency.
• Uphold excellence in service standards, ethical practice, innovation and industry professionalism.

The Visitation and Hospitality Award celebrates hospitality, tourism and visitor economy businesses that deliver exceptional experiences for visitors through quality food, beverage, accommodation, and leisure offerings. It highlights operators who create memorable guest experiences, foster a welcoming atmosphere, and contribute to the broader tourism appeal of the region through excellence in service and presentation.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Provide excellent customer service in a clean, enjoyable, and comfortable environment.
• Offer high-quality tourism, dining and entertainment experiences that drive local visitation and engagement, with strong and reliable standards in hospitality, food service and guest care.
• Create memorable guest moments through thoughtful, personalised, or unique experiences.
• Demonstrate innovative marketing approaches to connect with existing customers and attract new audiences.

The Retail Services Award celebrates outstanding retailers who set the benchmark for customer experience, service quality, and industry leadership within their product offering. It highlights businesses that excel in meeting customer needs, embracing new trends, and delivering high-quality retail experiences across both physical and online environments.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Deliver exceptional customer service and consistently positive shopping experiences while maintaining a strong commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, and continual improvement.
• Demonstrate innovation in product offering, store presentation, technology, or service delivery.
• Show strong awareness of market trends and adaptability within a changing retail landscape.

The Industry and Trade Services Award celebrates businesses and professionals across the industrial and trade sectors who deliver exceptional service, demonstrate strong capability, and contribute meaningfully to their field. It recognises organisations that set high standards in areas such as manufacturing, construction, logistics, engineering, and other trade-based services.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Demonstrate excellence in service delivery, operational performance, or technical expertise.
• Show commitment to quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement within their sector.
• Contribute to the advancement, growth, or reputation of their industry.
• Exhibit leadership through innovation, sustainable practice, or workforce development.

The Sustainability Excellence award celebrates businesses that lead the way in sustainable practice. It highlights organisations that are actively reducing their environmental impact, improving resource efficiency, and embedding long-term sustainability into their operations, products, or services.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Delivered best-practice sustainability through a specific product, process, or operational initiative.
• Clearly identified environmental objectives and took targeted action to address them.
• Achieved measurable outcomes showing reduced environmental impact or improved environmental benefits.
• Demonstrated how this work contributes to ongoing or future sustainability goals.

The Disability Inclusion Award celebrates everyday businesses that champion accessibility and inclusion, ensuring their services, spaces, and experiences are welcoming and usable for people of all abilities. This award celebrates organisations of any size or industry that intentionally go beyond minimum standards to embed inclusive practice into their operations, culture, and customer experience to ensure people with disability are genuinely welcomed, supported, and able to participate fully.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Introduce initiatives that meaningfully improve accessibility and inclusion for customers, clients, and or employees with disability.
• Demonstrate how inclusive values are reflected in everyday operations, service delivery, or workplace culture.
• Go above and beyond standard accessibility requirements to create equitable and barrier-free experiences.
• Demonstrate originality, thoughtful planning, and effective implementation of inclusion-focused actions.
• Provide clear evidence of positive impact and the feedback or outcomes achieved

The Workplace Engagement award honours businesses in the City of Melton that actively foster a positive, diverse and inclusive environment for their workforce, creating a culture of respect and inclusivity.

This award recognises organisations that:

• Welcome, embrace and showcase a diverse workforce in terms of gender, abilities, nationalities, and backgrounds.
• Offer workforce training and partner with providers to engage diverse jobseekers.
• Collaborate with local education providers for employee development.
• Uphold a workplace diversity policy integrated into daily operations.
• Implement a range of measures that aim to improve employee engagement and retention. 
• Invest in their people by creating clear pathways for career progression, offering mentoring, training, and leadership development programs.

This award recognises organisations that demonstrate outstanding leadership and a strong commitment to excellence in corporate social impact. It celebrates businesses that have delivered meaningful initiatives resulting in positive, lasting change for the community and its people.

Applicants must provide clear examples of one or more social impact initiatives that sit outside their core business operations (i.e. not directly related to their primary products, services or customer delivery).

Examples may include:

• Projects delivering measurable benefits to vulnerable or disadvantaged community groups such as First Nations or Emerging Communities
• Community-wide events, fundraising activities or initiatives supporting the not-for-profit sector
• Cross-sector partnerships that create shared value for businesses and the community
• Youth engagement programs, including structured work experience opportunities

Strong applications will clearly articulate the initiative’s purpose, the need it addresses and how it was delivered, demonstrating measurable outcomes, lasting community benefit, and the organisational leadership and culture that have positioned the business as a leader in social and community impact within its sector.

The Mayoral Award is judged across all City of Melton Business Excellence Awards 2026 finalists and recognises outstanding performance in the judging criteria for their nominated category.

Open to businesses across all sectors that demonstrate high delivery and achievement in three or more of the above award categories.

The City of Melton Business Excellence Awards (MBEA) celebrate excellence, innovation, and outstanding achievements within the Melton business community.

Please refer to the Melton Business Excellence Awards 2026 Terms and Conditions(PDF, 142KB) for eligibility. 

Simply complete the application form available on the City of Melton Business Excellence Awards website. You’ll need to provide information about your business and answer questions specific to the category you choose. Applications can only be made via the Awards website, email and paper submissions cannot be accepted.

The Melton Business Excellence Awards applications are due by 5pm Thursday 9 July.

No, onlyoneapplication per business will be accepted.

Yes, you can use AI to help write your application — it can be a great tool for organising your ideas, improving clarity, and checking grammar. However, applications must be the applicant’s own work. AI can be utilised to support the review and refining of responses but should not be used as the only method in preparing your submission.

The judging panel is made up of independent business experts with proven industry experience. The judging panel will assess all applications fairly and objectively. All judges complete a Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality form prior to judging.

This year, we’re not accepting nominations. If you know a great business, encourage them to apply directly for the 2026 City of Melton Business Excellence Awards.

Yes, the Economic Development and Tourism team are happy to guide you through the application process and selecting the right category. It’s also a great idea to get your team involved, their input can strengthen the application and highlight different perspectives and achievements.

The Economic Development and Tourism team can be contacted at venturemelton@melton.vic.gov.au

Congratulations to all the outstanding businesses recognised in the 2025 Melton Business Excellence Awards! 

Explore the 2025 Melton Business Excellence Awards night gallery below:

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Congratulations to all the outstanding businesses recognised in the 2024 Melton Business Excellence Awards!

Explore the 2024 Melton Business Excellence Awards night gallery below:

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Congratulations to all the outstanding businesses recognised in the 2023 Melton Business Excellence Awards! 

Explore the 2023 Melton Business Excellence Awards night gallery below: 

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Congratulations to all the outstanding businesses recognised in the 2022 Melton Business Excellence Awards! 

Explore the 2022 Melton Business Excellence Awards night gallery below: 

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