NCOSS Awards – 2026 Nominations

Before you start

• Read the award criteria and the terms and conditions and then nominate using the form below.
• Nominating takes about 10 minutes.
• You can nominate in writing (500 words across four short questions), by video or audio recording (up to three minutes covering the same questions), or by phone: call 02 9211 2599 or email events@ncoss.org.au and we will complete the form with you.
• Interpreter support is available on request.
• You do not need to be an NCOSS member to nominate or be nominated. Every valid nominee will be recognised with a certificate and a listing on our online honour roll.
• Finalists will be announced on Wednesday 7 October and celebrated at the ceremony on Tuesday 27 October 2026 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, where the Minister for Families and Communities will be guest of honour.
• Key dates: nominations open Wednesday 12 August and close 5.00pm, Friday 18 September 2026.
• Shortlisted nominees may be asked two or three follow-up questions or invited to a short conversation. We judge substance, not polish.

With your consent, judges may move a nomination to a category that fits it better. Self-nomination is welcome for the organisation, collaboration and advocacy categories; individual categories (Leadership, Frontline Worker, Amir Bodenstein Recognition) must be nominated by someone else.

Question 2 (up to 200 words, worth 40 per cent).

What has changed because of this work, for people, families or communities? How do you know? Use examples or evidence from the past two years: numbers, evaluation findings, or the words of the people affected.

What makes this organisation’s work stand out: its innovation, responsiveness to emerging needs, inclusion, or the way it works with its community?

Who is involved in this collaboration, and how do the partners genuinely share power, resources, credit and decisions? What could none of them have achieved alone?

What has this person’s leadership made possible for other people: their team, organisation, or community? How do they enable, develop and back others?

How does this person lift the people around them: sharing knowledge, supporting colleagues, and improving how their team or service works?

Question 4 (up to 100 words, worth 15 per cent).

How is this achieved relative to the nominee’s size and resources, and in ways their people can sustain? We celebrate impact and skilled practice, not overwork.

Amir Bodenstein Lived/Living Experience Recognition

Nominations may be written, video, audio or by phone. LEAP may follow up with you or the nominee for a conversation. Please share only what you and the nominee are comfortable sharing: nominees will never be asked to retell personal hardship. This recognition honours advocacy and the change it creates.

Question 1 (up to 150 words). Tell us about this person’s advocacy. What do they do, and who does it help?

Question 2 (up to 200 words). What has changed because of their advocacy, for people going through similar experiences, or in policy, services or public understanding?

Question 3 (up to 100 words). How do they help bring the voices of people with lived and living experience into the decisions that affect them?

Question 4 (optional, up to 50 words). Anything else LEAP should know?

1. I confirm the information in this nomination is true to the best of my knowledge.
2. I confirm the nominee has agreed to be nominated and to be contacted by NCOSS.
3. I have read and accept the awards’ Conditions of Entry, including eligibility, conflict of interest and judging rules.
4. I understand how NCOSS will handle this information under its privacy policy. Nomination content is seen by NCOSS’s awards team and judges; nothing is published without the nominee’s consent.

A FINAL NOTE:

• Finalists will be asked for media consent at the time of shortlisting.
• Consent can be adjusted or withdrawn at any time without affecting the award.
• With consent, finalist and winner stories may also feature in NCOSS’s public communications and media program that builds the profile of the NSW social services sector.