Entries for the 2024 Australian Small Business Champion Awards are now open, recognising the achievements of Australian small business operators and celebrating their economic, social and cultural contribution.
The programme, which specifically highlights the best of Australia’s small businesses in retail, services and manufacturing industries, features more than 100 categories and is now in its 26th consecutive year.
The awards also include special spotlight categories such as Business of the Decade, Small Business Young Entrepreneur (aged 30 and younger), Small Business Entrepreneur (aged over 30) and the 2024 Growth Award.
“From high inflation and exceptional increases in operating expenses, to challenges associated with staff hire, productivity and the overall current high cost of living, there’s no disputing that Australian small businesses are doing it very tough,” says Steve Loe, Award Founder and Managing Director of Precedent Productions, the small business which has coordinated the awards since 1999.
According to Australian Government data, small businesses provide employment for 5.1 million Australians, almost double that of big businesses and accounting for one third of Australia’s GDP. In a report by the Reserve Bank of Australia earlier this year, small businesses were recognised as playing an important role in communities despite ongoing economic challenges.
“It is often rightly said that small business is the backbone of the national economy,” added Loe.
“The millions of Australian small business operators ought to be honoured now more than ever before, not just for their economic contribution but also for their invaluable support of community-based initiatives and worthwhile causes that couldn’t otherwise be supported so significantly.
“Even after more than two decades of presenting the Australian Small Business Champion Awards, I am still in absolute awe of the resilience and remarkable triumphs of our nation’s small business operators. It is truly a privilege to help shine a deserved spotlight on these small business champions.
“From regional and rural areas to the suburbs and capital cities, small business operators from all parts of the country are encouraged to enter the Awards – free of charge – as we strive to celebrate the people behind the small businesses that shape their local communities and our nation as a whole.”
Online entry to the 2024 Australian Small Business Champion Awards is free and remains open until 15 February 2024. Finalists will be announced in March, before the winners are revealed at two gala events at The Star in Sydney on 12 and 13 April 2024.
For more information and to submit an entry form, visit www.businesschampions.com.au.