Terms & Conditions

Application

• The Awards are not open to elected members, employees or officers of Ashburton District Council (Council) or judges but are open to Council’s CCOs.
• Category sponsors cannot enter the category they sponsor.
• Council place high value on the Awards. Entrants must disclose any issues that may compromise the integrity of the Awards or cause the business to discontinue in the next year. These issues may include legal action, law changes, possible loss of funding, or other risks. In entering the Awards, the entrant confirms they are not under investigation, nor have they been prosecuted by any statutory authority, including but not limited to Police, Inland Revenue Department, Immigration New Zealand, WorkSafe NZ, Commerce Commission, or the Accident Compensation Corporation.
• Council reserves the right to remove an entrant or entry that may compromise the integrity of the Awards or result in reputational damage, including for any event or incident that may arise between entry and Awards night.
• There is no cost to enter the Awards.
• Any registered business of any size with its head office or centre of operations in the Ashburton District is eligible to enter.
• Entrants must have been trading for 12 months or more as at the time of application.
• If your organisation is part of a larger organisation you must be able to demonstrate that you function as a separate business unit.
• Franchises, branches and contractors may apply if they:

- Operate independently (e.g. do their own marketing, targets, hiring, finances) 

- Have their lead decision-maker based in Mid Canterbury 

- Are free to work with other clients (if contracting) 

• If you are a previous Business of the Year Award winner or finalist, you may enter the 2026 Awards. If you were a winner or finalist in 2024 and are eligible to enter the same award category again for 2026, your entry must clearly demonstrate significant improvements or changes compared to your 2024 submission.
• Council and the judging panel reserve the right to verify the accuracy of any information submitted. Any materially false or misleading statements may result in disqualification.
• If an entrant becomes ineligible or wishes to withdraw after submission, they must notify Council in writing as soon as possible. Council reserves the right to remove an entry if the entrant cannot be contacted, does not respond within reasonable timeframes, or no longer meets the eligibility criteria.
• Entrants are expected to act in good faith and demonstrate professional conduct throughout the Awards process. Council reserves the right to disqualify any entrant whose conduct brings the Awards into disrepute or breaches the terms and conditions, including but not limited to confidentiality, misrepresentation, or inappropriate behaviour.
• All finalists and winners agree to participate in media coverage and promotional activities related to the Awards. Where an award sponsor requests information to promote the finalists or winner in their category, Council and Ri Ra reserve the right to provide them with the organisational statement submitted in the entry form. Entrants' contact details may also be shared with Awards sponsors for promotional purposes.
• All entries must be received by 31 October 2025.

Judging Process and Awards Night

• All information submitted will be treated as confidential and used solely for the purpose of judging and administering the Awards, unless otherwise agreed by the entrant. Judges and staff involved will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Finalist information may be shared with Awards sponsors for promotional purposes, as outlined in the Application section.
• Council and the judging panel reserve the right to move an entry to a different award category if it is deemed more appropriate. Entrants will be notified before any such change is made.
• You must complete an online entry form for each of the categories you wish to enter.
• All entries are judged against the individual award category criteria.
• A franchise will be judged on its own individual/independent merit and business success not as part of the franchisor.
• The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into with regard to their decision.
• Council reserves the right to cancel the Awards night or individual award categories within the programme.

Privacy Statement

• You consent to the collection and use of your personal information supplied with your entry by Council and RiRa. We collect your information primarily to process and consider your entry. If you choose not to enter certain details we may not be able to accept your entry. You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong.
• You agree and acknowledge that Council’s Privacy Policy applies to this entry and you consent for your personal information to be used for the purposes of the Awards and as specified in the Customer Privacy Policy. If you are providing personal information on behalf of other parties, you undertake that you have collected and now provided to Council and RiRa the said personal information in compliance with the Privacy Act 2020.
• By entering the Awards you agree to your business and its representatives being photographed/filmed/ interviewed for promotional purposes, including promotion at the Business Awards ceremony. Exception may be made to this condition if advised in writing to Council.
• All entries will be securely held until after the Awards gala dinner. If entrants have not requested to have their entries returned, they will be destroyed using the Council’s secure document destruction processes.