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Entry Guidelines

Applications for the next AITD Excellence Awards 2027 must meet the following entry guidelines to be eligible.

Entering the Awards

  • Entrants must tick the box to confirm they accept the AITD Excellence Awards terms and conditions.
  • Entrants can submit an initiative, program, or resource into multiple categories; however, each entry must be tailored to the specific award criteria and accompanied by its own entry form and entry fee.
  • Nominations must be completed using this online portal. Hard copies are not required.
  • Award recipients and finalists will be responsible for all travel, accommodation, and attendance costs should they wish to attend the AITD Excellence Awards presentation ceremony.
  • The entry deadline is 5pm AEST on November 30th, 2025.  This date is final, and there will be no extensions provided.
  • You may edit your entry after submitting, up until the entry deadline of 30/11/25. 
  • Please contact the AITD team at events@aitd.com.au or on 02 9211 9414 if you have any questions about the awards.

Eligibility

  • At least one project contributor must be an AITD member (either an individual member or a person specifically named on a corporate membership; note that corporate membership does not signify blanket membership for the entire organisation). It is expected that the AITD member was actively involved in the nominated program/project.
  • AITD membership can be purchased at www.aitd.com.au.
  • The work associated with the submission must have been substantially designed within Australia and completed within the last three years.
  • It is expected that impact analysis of the project allows for sufficient time for implementation and a robust, possibly comparative analysis against a prior 12 month period.
  • If you are submitting a program designed for a third party, the user/client must give authorisation for the program to be entered in the awards.
  • Members of the awards judging panel, their organisations, and awards sponsors are not eligible to enter categories they judge or sponsor.
  • AITD board directors and their companies are not eligible for entry in any awards during their term as board directors.
  • Nominated applicants must have been substantially responsible for the design and production of the program or work specified in the nomination.
  • Any copyright material not owned by the applicant (or their employer or client) must be properly licensed and clearly identified and acknowledged.

Eligibility Dr Alastair Rylatt Award for L&D Professional of the Year

  • Applicants for this award must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
  • Applicants must have been working in the Learning and Development sector for a minimum of ten years. 

Fees

  • The entry fee for each submission is $330 (including GST) which is required to be paid on submission via credit card or within seven days of submission. If payment is not received by this time, your entry will not be put forward for judging.
  • There is no entry fee for the Dr Alastair Rylatt Award for L&D Professional of the Year. Applicants for this award must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Judging and the Judging Panels

  • AITD and the AITD Excellence Awards judging panels agree to hold all confidential, proprietary information or trade secrets provided by entrants in trust and confidence. 
  • Applicant information is for the sole use of AITD and judging panels in their assessment of entries, used only for the contemplated purpose and not disclosed to any third party.
  • AITD may decide not to offer one or more awards. Decisions of the judging panels are final.

Award Certificates, Logos, and Digital Badges

  • Only the award winners and finalists will receive a certificate as detailed in the submission.  AITD may, at its discretion, provide artwork for named partners to produce a copy at their own cost, conditional on the approval of the winner or finalist.
  • Only the organisations specified in the proposal will be named on the certificate, ie the primary and support organisation/consultant as applicable. This information must be accurate at the time of submission. AITD bears no responsibility for the inaccuracy of the supplied information replicated on certificates.
  • Only award winners and finalists have the right to use the winner or finalist logo in their own promotional material.
  • Any named partners as submitted on the nomination forms may apply to AITD for the right to use the winner or finalist logo. AITD, at its discretion, reserves the right to deny logo use.•
  • The winner or finalist logo may only be used to promote the individual, organisation, or the specific winning or finalist program. Using the logo to promote any other individual, organisation, or program not awarded will be considered a copyright breach.
  • Nominees for awards will provide their company logo(s), which may be used by AITD in promoting the winners and finalists on the AITD website, media releases, newsletters, and other promotional materials.
  • Where an entry is a finalist, winner, or highly commended, all project contributors listed in the application will be eligible to receive a digital badge to acknowledge their involvement. Contributors cannot be added after the entry has been made.


Promotion

  • Award winners and finalists may be invited to make a presentation at an AITD divisional networking function—this will be organised through relevant AITD State/ Territory Council.
  • Award winners may be profiled in AITD’s Training and Development magazine.
  • Award recipient names, organisation names, summary of nomination, photographs, and acceptance speeches may be used for promotional purposes by AITD.
  • Finalists may be asked to provide a sample or partial example of their work to be available to the public and used at the award ceremony.


Declaration

  • I confirm that all information provided in this award entry is true and correct. I confirm that permission has been obtained from my/our organisation(s) to apply for this award and that I/we have the right to submit this entry. I confirm that I/we have read and accept the terms and conditions of the 2026 AITD Excellence Awards

Additional Support

  • Please contact the AITD team at events@aitd.com.au or on 02 9211 9414 if you have any questions about the awards.