Nomination Entry Terms

These terms apply to everyone who makes a nomination, and to every creator who is nominated. By submitting a nomination you agree to them. Please read them with our Nomination Privacy Notice.

1. Who runs the Awards

1.1 The Awards are run by B.H.S. Limited, trading as SUGRco (NZ company number 1488131, NZBN 9429035510673), 2a Finch Street, Morningside, Auckland 1022, New Zealand (“SUGRco”, “we”, “us”).

1.2 Hnry (HNRY Limited) is the presenting partner. Hnry does not nominate, longlist, shortlist or choose any nominee or winner.

1.3 Contact us through our contact page.

2. Key dates

Nominations open	Monday 5 October 2026
Nominations close	11.59pm NZDT, Tuesday 17 November 2026
Nights	Gold Coast, Tue 10 November · Sydney, Mon 16 November · Melbourne (Australian finals), Tue 24 November · Auckland (New Zealand finals), Tue 1 December 2026

2.1 We choose nominees in rounds. Three Impact Nominees are named at each night. Each night’s three are chosen from the nominations we have received by then, so the earlier you nominate, the more nights a creator can be considered for.

2.2 A nomination received late in the window may be too late for some nights. In particular, an Australian nomination received in the final days before the close may arrive after the Australian nominees have been chosen.

2.3 We may change these dates. If we do, we’ll update this website.

3. Who can nominate

3.1 Anyone aged 16 or over, anywhere, for free.

3.2 You can nominate yourself. If you do, you must name a referee who can speak to the impact of your work, and we may contact them.

3.3 One good nomination is enough. The number of nominations a creator receives doesn’t affect whether they are chosen. Please don’t organise campaigns of repeat nominations.

3.4 If you manage, represent, employ or pay the creator you’re nominating, you must say so on the form. You may still nominate them.

4. Who can be nominated

4.1 A creator is eligible if they:

• are an individual creator, or a duo or group who publish together as one creator;
• are aged 16 or over on 17 November 2026;
• live in and create primarily from Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand; and
• publish on any platform: social video, streaming, podcasts, newsletters or anything else.

4.2 The work nominated must be public, and it must have been live at some point in the twelve months before nominations close.

4.3 Not eligible: members of the judging panel; employees and contractors of SUGRco and Hnry working on the Awards; and their immediate families.

4.4 A nominee under 18 needs a parent or guardian’s written consent before they can accept a nomination.

5. How nominees and winners are chosen

5.1 Review. SUGRco reviews every nomination, removes duplicates and carries out a brand-safety check.

5.2 Longlist. SUGRco builds a longlist against the published criteria below.

5.3 Shortlist. An independent judging panel scores the longlist on a 60-point sheet and chooses twelve Impact Nominees: nine from Australia and three from New Zealand. Panellists declare conflicts and abstain where they have one.

/20	Evidence of change. Something happened because of this creator, and people will say so on the record.
/10	Authenticity of the connection. Real, personal and sustained. A campaign they were paid to front does not qualify.
/10	Cut-through relative to audience. Judged against the audience they have, not its size.
/10	Durability. Twelve months or more behind it, with reason to think it continues.
/10	Who it served. The intentionality of who benefited.

5.4 Named on stage. Three Impact Nominees are named at each night. A nominee does not have to be from the state or city where they are named.

5.5 Creator of the Year. One Creator of the Year is chosen for each country by a live vote of an invited list of creators on finals day: Tuesday 24 November for Australia and Tuesday 1 December for New Zealand. Nominees don’t vote.

5.6 We may name fewer nominees than planned if the field doesn’t support it. Decisions of SUGRco and the panel are final, and we can’t give individual feedback.

5.7 This is the first year of the Awards, and we’re aiming for the best process possible. We reserve the right to update the panellists and the judging criteria at any point throughout the process. If we do, we’ll update this website.

6. What happens after you nominate

6.1 We may contact the creator, the nominator and any referee to verify a nomination.

6.2 If someone else nominates a creator, we’ll let the creator know we hold information about them (see the Privacy Notice). If you asked to stay anonymous, we won’t tell the creator who nominated them.

6.3 Shortlisted creators are told privately. To become an Impact Nominee, a creator must accept the Nominee Acceptance Terms, which cover a content licence, a posting commitment, confidentiality and attendance. Agreeing to the use of their content is a condition of being an Impact Nominee.

6.4 Confidentiality. Nominee names stay private until they are named on stage. Nominators and referees who learn a creator has been shortlisted must keep it confidential.

7. Paid partnerships and conduct

7.1 Work that was mainly a paid brand campaign doesn’t qualify on its own. Any paid partnership connected to the nominated work must be disclosed on the form.

7.2 We may decline or withdraw any nomination, at any stage, if we reasonably consider that it raises a material brand-safety, legal or reputational concern, or that the information given is false or misleading.

8. Content and licences

8.1 Your nomination. You grant SUGRco a free, non-exclusive licence to use the words you write in your nomination to run the Awards. We may quote them without your name in citations and publicity for a creator who has accepted their nomination. We won’t publish your name without your consent.

8.2 Self-nominations: content licence. If you nominate yourself and tick the licence box on the form, you grant SUGRco a free, non-exclusive licence to:

• use the content you link to or submit to assess your nomination; and
• if you become an Impact Nominee, edit that existing content into your nominee piece, winner content and the series recap. These may include a voiceover or presenter link and may carry Awards and Hnry branding. They may be published on the Awards’ website and social channels, and by you.

The licence lasts for 12 months from the date you’re named, plus ongoing archive use on the Awards website. Hnry may not use your content for anything else without your separate consent. You confirm you own the content, or have the rights needed to grant this licence.

8.3 Nominations by someone else. A nominator can’t grant rights in a creator’s content. Creators nominated by someone else grant the content licence only if they accept the Nominee Acceptance Terms.

8.4 We don’t need anyone to upload files. Links to public content are enough.

9. No payment, no endorsement

9.1 Nominating is free. Nominees and winners are not paid, and nothing in the Awards is an endorsement by Hnry or a paid engagement.

9.2 Travel and accommodation to attend any night are at the nominee’s own cost. Attendance is hoped for, but it is not a condition of being named.

10. General

10.1 We may change or cancel the Awards, or these terms, if circumstances outside our reasonable control require it. We’ll post any change on this website.

10.2 To the extent the law allows, SUGRco isn’t liable for any loss arising from a nomination or the Awards, except loss caused by our negligence or breach of these terms. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (NZ), the Fair Trading Act 1986 (NZ) or the Australian Consumer Law.

10.3 These terms are governed by New Zealand law.

Version 1.0 · 1 October 2026