1. General
1.1 These Terms and Conditions set out all the information regarding the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards 2026. (the Awards)
1.2 The Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Ceremony 2026 will be held at City Hall on Friday, 30 October 2026 (the Ceremony) and is being organised and promoted by Brisbane City Council ABN 72 002 765 795 (Council), whose principal offices are at 266 George Street Brisbane 4000, acting through its wholly owned subsidiary, Brisbane Economic Development Agency Pty Ltd ACN 094 633 262. (BEDA)
1.3 For the purposes of administering the Awards, Council has granted operational responsibility and decision-making authority to BEDA. Any reference to a discretion being exercised under these Terms and Conditions is a reference to a discretion exercised by BEDA.
1.4 Entry into the Awards constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
1.5 All references to Brisbane in these Terms and Conditions means the City of Brisbane as defined in the City of Brisbane Act 2010.
2. Award Categories
2.1 There are 11 categories available to be entered into as part of the Awards as listed below (each an Award Category):
- Product Innovation Award;
- High Growth Business Award;
- Business Transformation Award;
- Small Business Award;
- International Business Award;
- Sustainable Impact in Brisbane Award;
- Social Enterprise Award;
- Investment in Brisbane Award;
- Micro Business Award;
- Young Business Person of the Year Award; and
- Business Person of the Year Award.
2.2 The winner from each Award Category from the above clauses 2.1(a) to (i) will automatically be entered into the running to win the Optus Platinum Award as specified in condition 7.3 of these Terms and Conditions.
2.3 The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding and enduring contribution to the business community over an extended period, they may be selected from finalists in the Business Person of the Year Award or from outside the finalists.
3. Eligibility
3.1 To be eligible to enter the Awards, each applicant must meet the following requirements at the time of application and continuously up to and including the date of the Ceremony:
(a) where the applicant is a natural person, they must have their permanent place of residence in Brisbane and a permanent place of business in Brisbane;
(b) where the applicant is a business, it must hold a current Australian Business Number (ABN), an office in Brisbane (whether or not its registered office) and place of business located in Brisbane;
(c) not be a department, statutory body (with the exception of educational institutions), agency or instrumentality of government, including a Government Owned Corporation pursuant to the Government Owned Corporations Act 1993 (Qld) or a company wholly or partly owned by the State under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);
(d) where the applicant is a company, not be a subsidiary of Council;
(e) where the applicant is a not-for-profit organisation:
- be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC); and
- be constituted as:
i. a company;
ii. an incorporated association; or
iii. a trust endorsed as a charity by the Australian Taxation Office and holding an ABN.
3.2 Employees of Council and its subsidiary companies, including BEDA, are not eligible to enter the Awards.
3.3 Additional eligibility for sponsors: Officialsponsors of the Awards, including their employees, are not eligible to enter the Award Category they sponsor; however, they may enter any other Award Category provided they satisfy the eligibility criteria for that Award Category.
3.4 Entrants must meet each of the criteria for the Award Category they are entering as specified on the application form for that Award Category. Application forms are available on the Awards website at www.lmba.com.au (the Website).
3.5 Entrants who have previously won a Lord Mayor’s Business Award Lifetime Achievement Award are ineligible to enter the Young Business Person of the Year Award and Business Person of the Year Award categories but may enter any other Award Category.
3.6 Additional eligibility requirement - Small Business Award:
Eligible businesses must:
- be privately owned;
- employ between five and no more than twenty full time equivalent (FTE) employees at all times including peak periods; and
- not be an ASX listed company.
3.7 Additional eligibility requirement - Micro Business Award:
Eligible businesses must:
- be privately owned;
- employ no more than four FTE employees, , at all times including peak periods; and
- not be an ASX listed company.
3.8 Winning entrants in the Award Categories from previous years may re-enter the Awards in all categories. However, if applicants choose to re-enter the same Award Category in which they were previously a winner, the application must relate to substantially new or different achievements.
3.9 BEDA may determine eligibility matters, including conflicts of interest, acting reasonably and in good faith. All determinations are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
4. How to Enter
4.1 To enter the Awards, entrants must:
(a) create a profile via the application portal available at https://brisbane.awardsplatform.com/; and
(b) fully and correctly complete an official application form (in accordance with the instructions on the relevant application form), for the Award Category they are entering and submit the application form online. Application forms are available on the Website (www.lmba.com.au). The Application form also forms part of these Terms and Conditions.
4.2 Entries for the Award Categories will open at 12:00 noon AEST on Wednesday, 6 May 2026 and close at 5:00 pm AEST Friday, 26 June 2026.
4.3. BEDA will determine whether an entry has been received within the submission period in 4.2 above.
4.4 Applicants may enter more than one Award Category specified on the Website but must submit separate application forms for each Award Category they wish to enter.
5. Judging
5.1 Award Category winners will be determined by a two-stage judging approach:
(a) assessment of written applications to determine finalists; and
(b) in-person presentations by finalists to the judging panel.
5.2 All finalists must be available to present to the judging panel in late August or early September 2026.
5.3 Finalists must execute a statutory declaration confirming the accuracy of information presented to the Judges.
5.4 If a finalist is found to have provided false or misleading information BEDA may disqualify the entrant at any stage. 5.5 Finalists will be notified of the date and time of their presentation by phone by an officer of BEDA, at least one week before they are due to present.
5.6 The winner of each Award Category will be chosen on a determination of merit. Judging of entries will be in accordance with the responses to the criteria on the application form and the presentation made by finalists to the Judges.
5.7 The Judges will differ for each Award Category and will consist of a panel of representatives (including at least one representative from the sponsor of that Award Category), selected by BEDA, based on abilities and expertise relevant to that Award Category.
5.8 The Judges may request further information from entrants at any time as part of the judging process.
5.9 The Judges’ decision are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. Supporting documents
6.1 All finalists must provide a letter, dated no more than 30 days prior, from an independent accountant (external to the finalists’ business) stating the business is trading solvent. All financial information will be kept strictly confidential.
6.2 In addition to the letter from an independent accountant, noted in condition 6.1 above, entrants to the Young Business Person of the Year Award and the Business Person of the Year Award will be required to provide business and personal references.
7. Finalist and winner notification
7.1 Finalists will be notified by telephone by 5:00pm AEST Monday, 17 August 2026. A public announcement of the finalists will be made by the Lord Mayor in September 2026.
7.2 There will be one winner selected from each Award Category announced at the Ceremony.
7.3 The Optus Platinum Award winner and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.
8. Privacy
8.1 By entering the Awards you agree that any business and personal information delivered to BEDA and Council in your application form, during the judging process and at the Ceremony, including but not limited to digital images and recordings of you, your business or charity at the Ceremony and interviews in relation to and arising from the Awards, may be used for media, marketing and promotional material (excluding financial data, personal information of employees other than the applicant and referee details, which will remain confidential). Such information may be shared between Council and BEDA, and you consent and agree to Council and BEDA using the information obtained in relation to and in connection with your application form and the Awards for their own media, marketing and promotional purposes (excluding financial data, which will remain confidential).
8.2 BEDA and Council reserve the right to use and publish photographs and digital video recordings taken at any event within the awards program inclusive of but not limited to program launch, finalist function, the Ceremony, winners lunch, and pitch sessions for the purposes of advertising and promoting Brisbane’s economic development and associated programs. Entrants who do not wish to consent to this must notify BEDA prior to the Ceremony. Information will be retained by BEDA for seven (7) years.
9. Force Majeure
9.1 If for any reason the Awards are not capable of running as planned (including due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of Council and/or BEDA), which corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Awards, BEDA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take any action that may be available to it, and cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Awards without prior notice. BEDA reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify all entries from any individual who tampers with, or benefits from tampering with, the entry process which as a result corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Awards.
9.2 In the case of the intervention of any outside agent or event which naturally changes the result or prevents or hinders its determination, including but not limited to vandalism, power failures, tempests, natural disasters, acts of God, civil unrest or strikes; BEDA may in its absolute discretion cancel the Awards and recommence it from any point in time or from the start on the same terms and conditions.
10. Award updates or cancellation
BEDA reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time and to cancel or amend the Awards at any time without notice or further recourse to the applicants.
11. Consent and Due Diligence
11.1 By submitting an application, the applicant confirms that they are authorised to apply and warrants that the business:
- is solvent;
- complies with all applicable laws and regulations, and
- holds a valid ABN.
11.2 Please tick all boxes below to confirm your consent. Applications cannot be submitted without these confirmations.
☐ I consent to BEDA undertaking due diligence in connection with this application for the purposes of assessing eligibility and suitability for the Awards, including but not limited to company searches through ASIC, commercial credit checks, and searches of publicly available litigation and enforcement records relating to the applicant.
☐ I consent to BEDA requesting from Council, and Council accessing and disclosing, compliance and regulatory records relating to the applicant that may be held by Council’s Compliance and Regulatory Services Branch for the purpose of completing due diligence in connection with this application and I acknowledge that such records will be used only for the sole purposes of assessing eligibility and suitability for the Awards.
☐ I acknowledge and agree that BEDA reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to refuse or disqualify any application where adverse or unfavourable information is identified through such due diligence and BEDA considers that information relevant to the integrity or objectives of the Awards.