The National Awards for Local Government (National Awards) recognise and showcase inspirational projects local governments are delivering in communities across Australia.
This year's awards are designed to better reflect the changing economic, social and environmental issues facing Australia today, with new categories to recognise local councils. The new categories include Affordable Housing, Outstanding Rural and Remote Council and the expansion of the Waste Management category, now called Environmental Sustainability.
The new Outstanding Rural and Remote Council Award recognises the unique challenges and significant contributions of smaller councils in rural and remote areas. To be eligible for this award, councils must provide direct services to Australian communities with a population of 15,000 or less, and have entered a project in one or more of the other 12 award categories. Eligible councils will automatically be entered.
The 2025 National Awards will recognise local councils across a total of 13 award categories:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People's Recognition
- Addressing Violence Against Women and children
- Affordable Housing (new for 2025)
- Arts and Culture
- Cohesive Communities
- Disaster Readiness and Recovery
- Environmental Sustainability
- Outstanding Rural and Remote Council (new for 2025)
- Productivity Through Infrastructure
- Regional Growth
- Road Safety
- Women in Local Government
- Workforce and Skills.
All elected local government organisations, local government associations and other recognised organisations that provide direct services to Australian communities are eligible to enter.
This is an exciting opportunity to promote your council's project/s, highlight community spirit and celebrate the creative solutions that have benefited your community.
You can enter a project or projects simply and quickly through our National Awards for Local Government Awards Platform. You can enter one or more projects and the same project can be entered into one or more categories.
Entries close 23:59 (AEDT), Monday 17 March 2025. Voting will then open in March and the winners will be announced in June 2025.
