Conditions of entry

By submitting an application you are agreeing to the conditions of entry and rules of the awards:

All applications must be received on an official entry form by the stated deadline. Late applications will not be accepted.

By entering an application you are verifying that the information contained within the application is true to the best of your knowledge.

By entering an application you confirm that you have read and understood the; “Guidance Notes for Participants” and the “Category Criteria” (with all requested information included within your application) and understand that submitting this application indicates that you accept the rules of the Awards outlined within the Conditions of Entry.

2 Year Rule: Initiatives which won in the previous 2 years will not be considered for this year’s awards, unless they can provide evidence of further, significant improvement since the last application and this improvement is clearly documented in the application form. They could also consider applying to the Sustainability Institution of the Year category provided that there is evidence of further improvement since the last Award. Other initiatives from the institutions concerned, or ones which were previously submitted but unsuccessful, can be re-submitted, again with the condition that they provide documented evidence of further, significant improvements since the previous submission.

Applications must be for an individual institution initiative and not for wider sector initiatives. Applications recognising collaboration from multiple institutions are welcomed but must have a leading institution. We recognise that partnerships can have a significant role to solving sustainability issues and these will be recognised – if appropriate – in the form of a group/partnership name.

The Awards organisers reserve the right to refuse entry if the rules have not been met.

The Awards organisers reserve the right to audit winning applications to ensure that claims made are fully justified.

Applicants, by applying, agree to disseminate good practice to the sector and this information will be in the public domain.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit under the appropriate category. The Awards organisers will not move entries between categories even if they feel a different category is more appropriate, unless in exceptional circumstances.

The Awards’ organisers have the right to refuse applicants for a specific category if insufficient entries are received. Applicants will receive 3 working days’ notice to resubmit their application to an alternative category.

Whilst not mandatory, all finalists are encouraged to submit a short 2-minute animation. This can take the form of a video, vlog, infographics or other, as part of their commitment for dissemination to the wider sector. Winners of the 8 international categories: Climate Action, Benefitting Society, Creating Impact, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Nature Positive, Next Generation Learning and Skills, Student Engagement and Sustainability Institution of the Year Award are required to complete this element as part of their entry.

All applications will be governed by the same rules and no preferential treatment will be given. Entries are accepted from any legal entity within the post-16 education sector or Registered Training Organisation residing within the Australasian region. If you are an institution outside Australasia then you can enter a regional Green Gown Award (e.g. UK & Ireland) or if outside of those regions enter the International Green Gown Awards. An exception is available to any current ACTS institutional member from outside the Australasian region, who may elect to enter the Australasian Awards but in doing so forfeit their eligibility to directly apply to the International Awards within the 2024 award cycle.
The regional winners of International categories will automatically move forward as finalists in the following year’s International Green Gown Awards. Winning a regional Award is currently the only pathway for Australasian institutions to enter the International Awards. In the event that a regional category does not proceed to stage 2 due to a lack of submission numbers, the Awards organisers research the right to review any received applications on their own merits and if approved, will progress as a finalists in the International Awards without being named a regional winner.

Only current staff and students of ACTS Member Institutions are eligible to be nominated for the Individual awards.

Members of the ACTS Executive Board are not eligible to be nominated for the Individual awards.

The Awards organisers will aim to provide general feedback on unsuccessful applicants. However, due to the number of applications and sheer volume, this cannot be guaranteed and specific feedback cannot be provided.

All applications received agree to their contact details being passed to any relevant supporters or sponsors of the Awards and to be included in relevant future communications. If you do not wish to have your details included you must notify us by email, please refer to our Privacy Policy for full details.

The Awards organiser’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Judging

The winners of the Green Gown Awards Australasia are determined by an independent judging panel consisting of a range of sector representatives and industry experts from Australasia and internationally. Each year between 20 and 30 individual judges access all eligible applications through a comprehensive two-stage process.

Individual judges are assigned to a judging group in order to review and select the winners for one award category. Judges are assigned a category that best reflects their experience and expertise. As such, all categories are judged independently of each other by their assigned judging group.

ACTS does not disclose individual judges’ names, however, a list of all the organisations represented by judges can be found on the judging organisation’s page, and in the finalist brochure.

The Australasian Awards are administered by ACTS staff. As such, ACTS staff members may be present throughout the judging process. However, their role is to strictly ensure that the rules and outcomes of the judging process are adhered to. A member of ACTS staff cannot judge and/or influence the judges’ decisions during any stage of the Awards process.

Judging of the Australasian Awards is managed independently from the operations of the ACTS Executive Board. Members of the ACTS Executive Board cannot participate in judging and/or influence the judges’ decisions during any stage of the Awards process. The judging results of the Australasian Awards are not known to members of the ACTS Executive Board prior to any official announcements.

Judging, including the selections of winners, is based on a composite view of the submitted application, taking into account: a) the specific judging criteria for the category; b) the generic criteria that are relevant across all categories (outlined within the application form) and; c) significance to the sector.