Submit a Nomination for the Premier’s Awards
Nominations for the Premier's Awards are open to all NSW Government agencies and departments.
Nominations
All nominations are submitted via the online portal accessed via the link above.
Nominators will be required to create an account with their government email address in order to nominate. Applicants will receive an email confirmation on submission of the online nomination form.
Sample Nomination Forms
Below are sample nomination forms for the team and individual categories. These can be used to assist with preparing nominations and seeking endorsement. PDF nomination forms will not be permitted as entries. All nominations must be submitted via the online nomination portal.
Team Categories (PDF 211.37KB)
Eligibility
Nominations are open to all NSW Government agencies and departments. All state government public sector employees are eligible to be nominated. Contractors and volunteers are not eligible to be nominated.
Not-for-profit, private sector organisations, local government and academic institutions working in partnership with government are also eligible for nomination. However, all nominations must be submitted by a NSW government department.
Nominations for projects delivered through collaboration between multiple government departments/agencies are welcome.
Retired employees are eligible to be nominated and receive an award; however, their retirement should have occurred within the last 12 months.
Awards can be given posthumously. Except for the Anthea Kerr Award due to the leadership development activities for the recipient.
Australian citizenship is not a requirement for nomination.
All information provided within a nomination is treated as confidential.
Nominations are eligible even if they have been submitted for the Premier’s Awards previously and were not selected as a recipient; however, applicants are encouraged to provide additional information to support the application.
Endorsement of nominations
It is the responsibility of the nominator to ensure that the information provided is correct.
Any nomination for the Premier’s Awards must be endorsed by an Executive Director–level staff member or higher, from the nominating department/agency, before it is submitted via the online portal. Please ensure the time taken to seek this endorsement is factored into planning so the nomination deadline can be met.
The endorsement must be in writing (either a letter or email) and should be uploaded via the online portal at the time of nominating.
In the case of a cross-agency team, the nominator is expected to coordinate the nomination in liaison with the other team members’ representative agencies and obtain an endorsement from the relevant Executive Director from the lead agency.
Preparing a nomination
Each department/agency has a nominated Ambassador. Ambassadors can assist with selecting the appropriate category and preparing nominations. Click here to view the Ambassador directory.
When preparing a team nomination, please ensure the following:
- Determine a name for the nomination. This should be a succinct title that represents the work done (noting this title will be used if the nomination is selected as a finalist). Please refrain from using the department/agency name in the title as this will be added by the Premier’s Awards team and displayed on the website.
- Provide a brief and clear overview of the project or initiative. It might be helpful to use the STAR method – Situation/Task/Action taken/Result.
- Explain the problem that needed addressing or the opportunity for improvement that arose and how it was addressed.
- innovation in responding to a problem, opportunity or new policy, and in the delivery of the project
- what was outstanding or remarkable about the delivery of the work
- perseverance and dedication throughout the project to ensure success
- Detail the results that were achieved including such metrics as:
- evidence of tangible results, e.g. how many people were impacted
- how the work improved systems, services or outcomes
- how the project contributed to targets/goals
- whether the project was completed on time and on budget
- Outline how the project or initiative went above and beyond. This could include details of:
- how the team exceeded the expectations of their normal duties
- how the work succeeded compared with past initiatives
- whether the project or initiative is transferable or scalable, i.e. if it can be adapted for other organisations or projects
- commitment to public sector values, leadership, collaboration, excellent customer focus and stakeholder engagement
When writing the nomination, please use plain English and avoid the use of technical jargon so those reviewing the materials can clearly understand the project/initiative. The online nomination portal accommodates up to 10 digital attachments to support the nomination. Hard copy materials are not accepted.
Attachments could include:
- photos and/or videos
- graphs, tables, diagrams
- collateral, e.g. PDF of flyers/posters, reports
- letters from referees
- links to websites.
Supporting material is encouraged but not essential. Please consider only providing material that tangibly supports the claims in the nomination. Quality is more important than quantity.
A high-resolution image must be included at the time of nominating. In the case of individual awards provide a headshot of the nominee in portrait aspect. For team categories, it is preferable to include a high-resolution image that depicts the project e.g. new facility/building or photo of the service initiative. If a suitable photo is not available a photograph of the project team members can be submitted.
Assessment process
Assessors of the nominations may, at their discretion, transfer nominations between categories. Nominees will be informed if their nomination is transferred to another category.
Nominations are assessed by a Review Panel. There are 4 Review Panels, each of which assesses two categories of the awards. Panels may request additional information from applicants at any stage of the process.
The Review Panels are composed of up to 5 senior executives (including subject-matter experts) from across the sector, one of whom will be appointed Chairperson of the Panel. The Review Panel will select and recommend 4 finalists in each category.
The recommended finalists are then assessed by a Judging Committee, which endorses the finalists and determines the recipient (winner) in each category. The Judging Committee comprises the Review Panel Chairperson along with up to 3 other senior government representatives.
Finalists and recipients are then endorsed by the NSW Premier.
Finalists will be announced approximately 6 weeks prior to the award ceremony. Finalists will be notified prior to the announcement.
Recipients will be announced at the award ceremony and will not be notified prior.
Recipients receive a team or individual trophy and certificate. Finalists receive a certificate, either in hard copy or digital format.