Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards is making a last call for nominees with entries closing on 27 July 2023.

The national callout for tradies to enter comes with plumbers, electricians and trades services leading the charge with the most number of entrants, while categories such as baker, bricklayer, tiler and engineering lag behind.

“When people think of tradies they think of the classic chippies and plumbers, but really there are so many different tradespeople out there and we want to celebrate them all for the incredible work they do. So, to all the bakers, brickies and tilers out there, and if anyone has friends or family in these categories, we encourage you to give them a nudge and submit their free entry,” Precedent Productions managing director and Awards founder Steve Loe says.

“Plumbers, sparkies, trades services, hairdressing and builders have come out in droves, so we’re going to have our work cut out for us when it comes to selecting finalists for these categories.”

There are 47 industry categories in total but more than 14 of them have a lower-than-average number of entrants and organisers want tradies to get off the tools and onto a computer to submit their entry. Once entered, trades businesses can also be nominated for individual awards for Apprentice Champion, Trades Entrepreneur, Trades Champion Leader and the Champion Tradie.

Businesses will be assessed on criteria including customer service, quality of products, staff training initiatives, environmental sustainability and contribution to the community by 30 judges representing a variety of trade industries.

Eligible businesses must be based in Australia, suit a listed category, be a trade retail or service business with 40 employees or less or a trade manufacturing business with 100 employees or less.

Finalists will be revealed on 16 August and winners announced at a ceremony to be held at Western Sydney Conference Centre, Penrith in Sydney on 22 September 2023.