Business Excellence Awards

The Winners of the 2024 City of Melton Business Excellence Awards have been announced.

The most innovative, creative, inclusive and professional local businesses were celebrated at the 2024 City of Melton Business Excellence Awards Night on 4 September.

Now in its 17th year, these awards are about recognising and rewarding the great contributions local businesses make to the City of Melton.

Eleven of the best were awarded top honours for their outstanding work in their respective fields.

Congratulations to all our 2024 winners!

CATEGORY WINNER
Business of the Year ABMT Group
Mayoral Achievement Award Punthill Caroline Springs     
Award for Disability Inclusion Initiative Autism Goals
Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion                     Melton Music
Award for Health, Wellness and Care Hit Fit Melton
Award for Innovation and Transformation ABMT Group
Award for New Business/Start Up Kidzalia
Award for Professional Services Varcon Group
Award for Sustainable Excellence CDS Melton
Award for Visitation and Hospitality Witchmount Estate Weddings & Events    
Award for Young Entrepreneur of the Year         No9 The Cafe - Deniz Ahmet

  

See Business Award Criteria below

Business Award Categories

Business Excellence Award in Innovation and Transformation
Open to all businesses, this category seeks to highlight organisations that have identified transformative and innovative ways of working, and/or created something that is unique to the marketplace. This could involve adapting an existing product for a new market or the introduction of something original and exciting. To maintain success and see this continue it is sometimes necessary to transform a business in some way. How did your organisation identify the goals for strategic development and what was involved in terms of planning and execution of the transformation? The judges want to hear how this has secured and improved the company’s standing in the market, customer reaction, and what measurable benefits were achieved. Entrants must be able to clearly demonstrate that there was a demand for the innovation and or transformation and that it has proved successful in line with the objectives set and been available on the market for at least 2 years

Business Excellence Award in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Open to all businesses, considered central to an organisation’s operation, the basic values of equality, diversity and inclusion need to be firmly embedded in its ethos. How does your business ensure that people feel empowered and respected for their difference in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin, whether employed directly/indirectly by your organisation, or a customer/servicer of your business? Provide details of your company's working practices that ensure difference is acknowledged, respected, and celebrated.

Business Excellence Award in Disability Inclusion Initiative
Open to all businesses, specific Disability Inclusion initiatives can raise the profile of one or more of these values and demonstrate how a company’s ethos has a bearing in the workplace and beyond. What specific initiative has your business introduced that has promoted these principles, and how have they been given prominence? How has your business gone ‘Above and beyond’ from standard requirements to ensure these principles have been implemented?   For what reason/s did you decide that this initiative was needed? Explain the originality of your ideas, how your plans were executed and what bottom-up response was taken into consideration? Lastly, give details of the impact of this initiative and of the feedback that has been received.

Business Excellence Award in Sustainable Excellence
Open to all businesses, this award will recognise best practice related to a specific product and/or processes and procedures. Entries will demonstrate how this practice minimises impact on the environment and/or delivers environmental benefits. You should detail how the objectives of sustainability for the product/process were identified and the ways in which these were met. Provide measurable outcomes and details of how the product will meet future sustainability goals

Business Excellence Award in Health, Wellness and Care
The Health, Wellness and Care category recognises businesses that provide excellence in health and allied health services. An applicant’s business should function in health care by providing an aspect or range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic, and direct patient care and support services. Examples include businesses that specialise in medicine and/or operate in health as an audiologist, dietitian, exercise physiologist, nutritionist, occupational therapist, optometrist, physiotherapist, podiatrist, psychologist, speech pathologist and/or provide other similar or related professional health services. This award recognises innovators from any wellness sector – spa, fitness, nutrition, workplace wellness, integrative medicine, and preventive health. 

Business Excellence Award in Visitation and Hospitality
Recognises hospitality businesses that offer food and beverage services to the public including accommodation, restaurants, and cafes. To enter this award category, you will have demonstrated success: in consistently delivering high quality food and beverage experiences, excellent customer service and maintaining a consistent quality and standard in food service in an enjoyable, clean, and comfortable atmosphere. You can show how you have adopted innovative marketing strategies to reach existing markets and attract new customers and maintain sustainable food practices. 

Business Excellence Award for New Business/Start Up
Aimed at companies that have been trading for less than three years, we are looking for innovative business ideas or a clear point of differentiation. Did you identify a gap in the market for something new? Or perhaps you are offering an established product/service with a special twist? The judges will be more focused on future potential rather than an entrant's ability to show turnover and profit growth at this early stage.

Business Excellence Award in Professional Services
Designed to recognise professional services offering B2C/B2B solutions and customised, knowledge-based services. Some example businesses include those operating in legal services, real estate, accounting and financial advisory, architecture, engineering, information technology and consulting. Applicants for this category should have an established business and strong client base.

Business Excellence Award for Young Entrepreneur of the Year (under 35 years)
Open to all businesses.  To take the lead in bringing new business to an organisation, or to identify new ways of working, and having the skills to see these through is something that deserves recognition, especially when those at the helm are under the age of 35 years. We want to hear from young entrepreneurs who have done exactly that and have achieved outstanding success for the business. You will have had significant impact and attracted attention across the sector and beyond. Tell us of your motivations, your ideas, and your instinct for identifying opportunities in the market. What exceptional results have you realised and how do you intend to expand your influence further?

2024 Non Nomination Awards Categories

The following awards will also be awarded at the Awards Evening. There is no nomination process for these awards. They are chosen from category finalists and winners by the independent judging panel. 

Mayoral Achievement Award
The Mayoral Award is judged across all Melton Business Excellence Awards 2024 finalists, and recognises outstanding performance in the judging criteria for their nominated category.

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

Selection Process

  1. Application
    Online applications open Monday 13 May 2024.  The application consists of a series of questions that allows the business to present and explain its operations.
     
    Applications closed midnight Friday 12 July 2024.
    • Business Excellence Award in Innovation and Transformation
    • Business Excellence Award in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Business Excellence Award in Disability and Inclusion Initiative
    • Business Excellence Award in Sustainability
    • Business Excellence Award in Health, Wellness and Care
    • Business Excellence Award in Visitation and Hospitality
    • Business Excellence Award for New Business/Start Up
    • Business Excellence Award in Professional Services
    • Business Excellence Award for Young Entrepreneur of the Year  
  2. Judging
    Independent and experienced business professionals review all applications within a category. The Judges will rank the applications based on the level of detail and quality of information contained within the application and determine a maximum of three category finalists.

  3. Finalist Announcement
    Category Finalists will be contacted, and announcements made.

  4. Site-Inspection/interview
    The judges will contact finalists and schedule a meeting at the finalist’s premises to interview a representative of that organisation and undertake a brief tour of the operations to validate the responses provided in the application.

  5. Category winner declared
    The judges determine which finalist warrants the award for the category.  All winners are announced at the Awards Night to be held later in the year.

  6. Business of the year winner declared
    The judging panel will determine an overall winner for the Business of the Year Award based on its assessment of the application and site visit of every finalist.  The judge’s decisions on category winners and business of the year winner are announced at the Awards Night to be held later in the year.

  7. Feedback
    All businesses who have made submissions will receive formal feedback from the judges which is considered a valuable exercise to identify potential business improvements. All businesses who have made submissions will also receive personal contact from Council’s Economic Development team with an opportunity to participate in business support programs such as mentoring, training and the Venture Melton Business Network.