Submissions for the 2025 ACA Excellence Care Awards are now open.
If you are intending to submit an entry for the awards, please make sure to read all information on this page carefully.
The winners will be announced at the ACA awards ceremony to be held on Thursday, 30 October at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre.
Overall guidelines
- Ensure that you have a good understanding of all the required information before starting your entry.
- Please try and keep your entry as concise as possible.
- To enter, submit a completed entry form (links below) that clearly describes the entry, with all entry boxes in relation to the assessment criteria complete, including name(s) and contact detail(s) for the nominated care facility.
- In addition to written entries, visual material (video or photo) may also be provided to illustrate your entry and/or demonstrate how your entry meets the assessment criteria. Media may be shared on social media, and so consent is required from anybody featured in the media. Ensure your supporting material demonstrates how your entry meets the criteria for the category you have entered, and that all individuals featured in these materials has given consent.
- Additional materials such as PowerPoint presentations, photos, and videos can be supplied via email, Dropbox or WeTransfer.
- You must be a current financial ACA member for the 2025/26 year to be eligible for entry.
- For more information, download the Award Criteria Booklet 2025.
Entry Format
- Entries MUST be submitted via the official online application forms (links below). Entries not submitted on these forms will not be considered. All entries, including additional material, must be submitted electronically by 5pm Friday, 29 August 2025.
- Please note that all material sent in to support your entry will become the property of the ACA and may be used by the ACA to prepare case studies, which may in turn be used by the ACA at any time for publicity. By submitting your entry, you consent to release this material to the ACA.
- The ACA will provide appropriate safeguards for the storage, use and disclosure of this information by the Privacy Act. You may request your information or material at any time from the ACA.
Entries must be submitted via the appropriate online form:
Any application received after 5pm Friday, 29 August 2025 will not be considered.
Awards Process
- All entrants must complete the official entry form by Friday, 29 August 2025
- Once all entries are received, they will be judged by one of three judging panels.
- Two finalists will be agreed upon by the judges for each category.
- All finalists will be notified of the outcome of their entry by Friday, 26 September 2025.
- Finalists in the care facility categories will be asked to complete a second round of judging.
- Following the completion of all judging, the judging panels will convene to decide on the winners of each category and the overall winner.
- Category and the overall winner will be announced at the ACA conference gala dinner on Thursday 30 October 2025. Finalists will be required to attend an awards briefing at 4.30pm on Thursday.
Evaluation and Judging
Applications will be evaluated against the assessment criteria by the ACA award judging panels, to identify finalists. The panels may seek further information, or they may wish to interview/site-visit a person, care facility or organisation before deciding on finalists and/or winners.
Award Winners and Ceremony
All finalists and other entrants are invited to celebrate the success of the industry at the ACA/ASB gala dinner and awards ceremony on the evening of Thursday, 29 October 2025. Tickets to the awards ceremony can be purchased as part of conference registration. If you have not purchased your Gala Dinner tickets, contact Urvi@nzaca.org.nz to enquire.
Winners of each category and the overall winner will be announced during the dinner, with trophies, certificates and prizes awarded on the night.
Finalist Presentation Criteria
MAXIMUM of three minutes to give a brief outline of their entry.
Time: These presentations will be scattered throughout the conference; you will be contacted closer to the time with the details.
Venue: Auditorium, Te Pae Convention Centre
- A two-minute warning bell will be given to presenters.
- Presentations will be cut short if they are longer than three minutes.
- Finalists will be marked on their ability to stay within a maximum of four minutes as part of the final judging process.
- Presentations may include a PowerPoint presentation if finalists wish to do so.
- Presentations or videos are to be sent via Dropbox, WeTransfer or email before the first day of the conference (Wednesday, 29 October 2025), in a bid to avoid technical issues.