Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards 2024

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED
And we congratulate our finalists:

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What can entering the 2024 Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards do for your business!?

Once you decide to enter the Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards, you immediately begin to procure the rewards. Preparation of your submission gives you a fresh perspective and new insights into future strategies for the growth and development of your business. It also gives you a rare opportunity to stop and reflect how far your business has already come.

Winners of the relevant categories are now also eligible to enter the State Regional Business Awards in 2025.

The entry process has been deliberately designed to help you focus on key aspects of your business:

• Business Model
• Customer Care
• Business Performance

Regardless of whether your business is named a winner this year or in the future, you’ll have a valuable opportunity to benchmark your performance.

The awards are open to all businesses in the Wheatbelt

2024 GALA AWARDS EVENT

A celebration of business excellence in the Wheatbelt

To be held from 6.00pm Saturday 19th October at the Cummins Theatre, Merredin

The evening includes:

Announcement of winners in each business category
3-course meal with complimentary drink on arrival
Live entertainment

Tickets announced closer to the date.

What the 2024 Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards can do for your business!

As a Finalist you gain the prestige and satisfaction through significant public recognition of your achievements.
Your staff and associates will share in your success and will be motivated to continue to strive for excellence.
Like past Award Winners, you will enjoy a distinct business advantage through the enhancement of your organisation’s image and standing.
Winners are entitled to use the 2024 Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards logos on their stationery, labels, packaging and marketing communications.
All finalists receive a certificate and recognition.
Winners of the relevant categories are automatically eligible to enter the State Regional Business Excellence Awards held in April 2025.

What the 2024 Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards winners receive

Stylish award trophy
Free membership and/or renewal with the Wheatbelt Business Network
Use of the WBEA logo on your business material

Eligibility

1. Entry is free.

2. All entrants must be Wheatbelt-based businesses (as per the Wheatbelt Development Commission map). This means that the business must be owned and operated by person/s living in the Wheatbelt. Businesses that are located in the Wheatbelt, but are owned by persons living outside the Wheatbelt are ineligible.

3. Entrants must fit the criteria for each award category.

4. All businesses must have been trading for a minimum of two years, or 12 months for the start up category.

5. All submissions must be completed on the Awards Force platform – no other form of submission will be accepted.

6. All award category winners will be considered for the 2024 Business of The Year Award. No further submission is required for this category.

7. All submissions that are eligible by way of selecting that the owner is under 30 years of age during the entry process will be considered for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. No further submission is required for this category.

8. All entrants must hold a valid Australian Business Number (“ABN”) for the entity in which their submission relates.

9. Listed companies are not eligible to enter the Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards.

10. The Sole Trader category must have no employees.

12. The Not-For-Profit category is not eligible for Business of the Year.

13. All entrants in the business categories must be for profit businesses.

14. Franchises are eligible to enter any of the business categories, so long as they are owned and operated by persons living in the Wheatbelt.

15. Any business who provides a service to the tourism industry and can justify their entry in this category by demonstrating how they provide a unique and outstanding visitor experience is eligible to enter this category.

Key Dates

Wednesday 26th June 2024, Entries open
5pm Sunday 1st September August 2024 – Entries Close
AWARDS DINNER – Saturday 19 October 2024 at Cummins Theatre, Merredin

How to Enter – Please read before entering

Entry Checklist

Determine if you are eligible (see above).

Complete an online Submission through Awards Force (scroll down to the link at the bottom of the page) by addressing the Selection Criteria relevant to your submission. Your Submission must address the performance of your business against the Selection Criteria for the Award(s) applied for. If you believe a specific criterion is not applicable to you, please state the reason(s) in the space allocated for that criterion. Ensure you have answered the question in your responses.

Your submission needs to be succinct and not exceed the maximum allowed word count. The fields will have word count restrictions so ensure you answer the question within the given restrictions.

You may include an additional four instances of supporting documentation (uploads) in your application. This includes your financial statements as required and can also be business brochures, planning documents, advertising, customer feedback, graphics and logos. Supporting documents can be uploaded with your online application in AwardForce by clicking on the Attachments tab.

Some notes on why we are asking you to include Financials for this year’s awards:

Financial performance is a critical measurement of business success, and successful financial performance is critical to business growth
Strong financial performance is a key component of any successful business
Financial performance is also straight forward to measure, and measure against each business in each category
The Western Australian Regional business Awards require financials, so to be eligible and at the same standard as the other regional awards and state awards we are asking you to include your profit and loss and balance sheet.
The WBN staff and our Judges will be signing confidentiality agreements to ensure the integrity of your submission is maintained, and your entire submission will be judged confidentially via our secure Awards platform.

Submit application online at Wheatbelt Business Excellence Awards Application (scroll down to the link at the bottom of the page when entries are open).

You may enter in more than one category. To do this, use the copy button to create a duplicate submission and select a different category. Please note that there may be different questions and criteria for different categories, so please ensure that you have answered all of the questions in each category that you enter.

You do not need to submit an entry for Young Entrepreneur or Business of the Year or Business of the Year. These awards will be selected from all eligible finalists.

Closing date for submissions will be 5pm, ~~Friday 30th August 2024~~
Sunday 1st September 2024

Award Categories

The Caroline Robinson Start Up Business

The business must have been trading for a maximum of two years, and a minimum of 12 months (you will need to show 12 months worth of financial data) at the time of applying, no limit on the number of employees.

WHEATBELT DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Sole Trader (owner/operator)

The business must be an owner operator business (up to two owners, with no employees other than themselves). They can be home-based or operate from a a commercial premises.

SHIRE OF MERREDIN Business (1-5 Employees)

This Award recognises a business that has effectively driven growth and is able to demonstrate the specific strategies implemented to achieve business success and/or resilience. Entrants are required to demonstrate their achievements over the past 12 months across the key area of business excellence. This category is open to businesses with 1 to 5 full time or equivalent employees at the time of entry, who have been trading for a continuous period of three years or more.

AVON VALLEY TOYOTA Business with 6-10 Employees

This Award recognises a business that has effectively driven growth and is able to demonstrate the specific strategies implemented to achieve business success and/or resilience. Entrants are required to demonstrate their achievements over the past 12 months across the key area of business excellence. This category is open to businesses with 6 to 10 full time or equivalent employees at the time of entry, who have been trading for a continuous period of three years or more.

Business with 11 plus Employees

This Award recognises a business that has effectively driven growth and is able to demonstrate the specific strategies implemented to achieve business success and/or resilience. Entrants are required to demonstrate their achievements over the past 12 months across the key area of business excellence. This category is open to businesses with 11 or more full time or equivalent employees at the time of entry, who have been trading for a continuous period of three years or more.

DPIRD - Excellence in Food and Beverage Manufacturing

This award is sponsored by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The business must use raw produce to create a processed food or beverage.

* To work out your full-time equivalent number of employees, add up the total hours worked by all employees and divide by 37.5 to give you the number of full-time equivalents, then pick the category relevant to that number. For example, if you have 7 employees each working 20 hours a week, that is the equivalent of 3.7 (so round up to 4) full time employees. You would enter in the business with 1-5.

DIGIT Community Organisation (Not-for-Profit)

This award recognises a not-for-profit organisation or charity in the Wheatbelt Region that, over the past 12 months, has delivered strong, community-based initiatives that positively impacts on, and delivers long-term benefits for the community.

These organisations may operate social enterprises, deliver social services and/or undertake charitable work and exist for educational, charitable, or social reasons and from which its shareholders, owners or trustees do not benefit financially from its activities.

The winning organisation of this award will demonstrate the implementation and use of innovative practices and approaches to meet community and public service objectives. The award is open to all Wheatbelt incorporated non-profit organisations.

WHEATBELT CONNECT Leading with Innovation

The business demonstrates the use and application of innovation in either processes, production or marketing that has tangibly improved their business operations and output.

Environmental & Sustainable Practices

The business demonstrates genuine commitment to embedding environmentally sustainable practices and processes in their business operation.

DIGIT Business Person of the Year

This award recognises an inspirational business leader who demonstrates outstanding entrepreneurial spirit, community development, strategic business direction and innovative ideas, whilst providing leadership to the new generation. As part of the application, entrants will be asked to provide a brief outline of their role, key challenges that have required leadership on the individual’s behalf, and an overview of your three-year goals and strategies.

Excellence in Tourism

This award recognises tourism operators who provide a unique or exceptional visitor experience, adding value and vibrancy toward the Wheatbelt tourism industry.

This business must be able to demonstrate a commitment to providing excellent customer service within the tourism industry. The award is to recognise their dedication to regional awareness, economy, development and local knowledge.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Young Entrepreneur of the Year is judged from all entrants of categories who have addressed the Criterion and the owner/s are under 30 years of age in the calendar year.

BRUCE ROCK ENGINEERING Business of the Year

Proudly sponsored by our Awards Partner, Bruce Rock Engineering. Business of the Year is judged from the winners of categories who have addressed the Criterion. The Business with the overall highest aggregate shall be announced Business of the Year.

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED And we congratulate our finalists: