Entries have opened for the 2025 National Awards for Local Government – an annual event that recognises councils across the country for delivering innovative and future-focused solutions for their communities.
“The National Awards for Local Government are an important event on the calendars of councils across Australia,” Minister for Local Government Kristy McBain said.
Now in their 39th year, the peak awards for the local government sector will honour councils across 13 categories including:
- Cohesive Communities
- Disaster Readiness and Recovery
- Regional Growth
- Road Safety
- Women in Local Government
- Environmental Sustainability – formerly the Waste Management category, it encompasses successful environmental sustainability projects developed by councils during the past year.
There are also two new categories for 2025:
- Affordable Housing
- Outstanding Rural and Regional Council.
Recognising the unique challenges and significant contributions of smaller councils, the Outstanding Rural and Regional Council award is open to all elected local government areas, local government associations, local councils and other recognised organisations that 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.
“We know that our regional councils in particular have unique challenges and large footprints to manage, which is why we’ve introduced a dedicated award to recognise their innovation solutions,” McBain said.
The 2024 awards received 144 nominations, with around half of the entries from councils located in regional or remote areas, with just over half being small and medium sized councils servicing populations of less than 70,000.
Winners included Inner West Council for waste management; City of Gold Coast for road safety; City of Launceston for regional growth; Wyndham City Council for creativity and culture; and City of Dandenong for Indigenous recognition.
Key award dates for 2025:
- entries close 17 March
- voting opens 18 March
- voting closes 28 April
- winners announced in June.
“Every nomination and vote represent a job well done for the councils engaging, innovating and delivering at a grassroots level,” McBain said. “So get nominating and promote the work of your peers.”
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