Eligibility
Nominations are open to all NSW Government agencies and departments. All state government public sector employees are eligible to be nominated. Contractors and volunteers are not eligible to be nominated.
Not-for-profit, private sector organisations, local government and academic institutions working in partnership with government are also eligible for nomination. However, all nominations must be submitted by a NSW government department.
Nominations for projects delivered through collaboration between multiple government departments/agencies are welcome.
Retired employees are eligible to be nominated and receive an award; however, their retirement should have occurred within the last 12 months.
Awards can be given posthumously.
Australian citizenship is not a requirement for nomination.
All information provided within a nomination is treated as confidential.
Nominations are eligible even if they have been submitted for the Premier’s Awards previously and were not selected as a recipient; however, applicants are encouraged to provide additional information to support the application.
Assessment process
Assessors of the nominations may, at their discretion, transfer nominations between categories. Nominees will be informed if their nomination is transferred to another category.
Nominations are assessed by a Review Panel. There are 4 Review Panels, each of which assesses one category of the awards. Panels may request additional information from applicants at any stage of the process.
The Review Panels are composed of up to 5 senior executives (including subject-matter experts) from across the sector, one of whom will be appointed Chairperson of the Panel. The Review Panel will select and recommend 4 finalists in each category.
The recommended finalists are then assessed by a Judging Panel, which endorses the finalists and determines the recipient (winner) in each category. The Judging Panel comprises the Review Panel Chairperson along with up to 3 other senior government representatives.
Finalists and recipients are then endorsed by the NSW Premier.
Finalists will be announced approximately 6 weeks prior to the award ceremony. Finalists will be notified prior to the announcement.
Recipients will be announced at the award ceremony and will not be notified prior.
Recipients receive a team or individual trophy and certificate. Finalists receive a certificate, either in hard copy or digital format.