ACT finalists announced for 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards

Telstra has announced the finalists for its 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards program.

Selected from more than 20,000 nominations of small businesses nationwide, the 17 ACT finalists in the awards program include GoBoat Electric Picnic Boat Hire, disability support provider Skipper Care Australia, consulting service Proximity and Canberra media company Region, publishers of Riotact.

Telstra Acting Group Executive, Consumer and Small Business, Amanda Hutton said small to medium-sized businesses were the engine room of the economy.

“It’s a huge privilege to be able to celebrate the resilience, success, and progress of Australia’s small business community,” she said.

“It’s been fantastic to see so many small and medium businesses nominated and come through the program, and to see first-hand the strength of the businesses that move Australia forward.”

Established in 2016 by Canberrans Tim White and Michael McGoogan, Region is a for-purpose news technology platform committed to local news and community information. Region’s mission is to serve regional Australia by facilitating important conversations through trusted, balanced journalism.

Co-CEO Michael McGoogan said Region was delighted to be an ACT finalist in all three categories the company entered.

“This is a business that builds community,” he said. “Region is wholly locally owned and operated and so are the stories we tell.

“We’ve invested in quality public interest journalism and we’ve proved it’s possible to provide that to the community without a paywall or subscriptions.”

Mr McGoogan said Region was expanding quickly and now employed more than 40 staff across commercial and editorial operations. He noted this year’s successful launch of Region Riverina and the Region Property Guide, in addition to the existing Riotact, Riotact China and About Regional platforms.

“In a time when media is concentrated in the hands of a few major players and contracting rapidly, we’re committed to serving communities across regional Australia as a thriving independent publisher,” he said.

“We believe it’s the way of the future and I’m so proud of the Region team who have worked hard on innovation, growth and community building.”

All finalists have been through a rigorous judging process to uncover those businesses that had made an impact in the areas and industries core to Australia’s economic and societal growth.

Judging criteria included: strategy and vision, customers and marketing, operations, people and culture, innovation and technology, social responsibility and financial acumen.

ACT winners of the 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards will be announced on 21 February at www.telstrabestofbusinessawards.com. State and Territory winners will be invited to Melbourne for the national judging on Wednesday 22 March, and a national dinner celebration in Melbourne on Thursday 23 March.

The 17 ACT finalists of the 2023 Telstra Business Awards are:

Accelerating Women – For businesses actively challenging exclusion and inequality to create meaningful and lasting equity for women

• Bandit Design Group
• Mels Massage
• Skipper Care Australia
• Torode Solutions
• Twenty Fifth
• Wildy Strong

Building Communities – For businesses working to make a positive impact on culture and society so people from all walks of life can thrive as part of a supportive community

• National Nursing Agency
• Region
• Skipper Care Australia
• Torode Solutions
• Twenty Fifth

Championing Health – For businesses focused on innovative solutions, improving health outcomes for every Australian.

• National Nursing Agency
• Wildy Strong

Embracing Innovation – For businesses innovating with technology to develop solutions for challenges faced by modern Australia

• Bluerydge
• Castlepoint Systems
• National Nursing Agency
• Pursuit Technology
• Region
• The Mullion Group

Indigenous Excellence – For Indigenous-led, owned and operated businesses succeeding through entrepreneurialism, innovation and inspiring the next generation of all Australians

• C&C Painting Group
• Evolve FM

Outstanding Growth – For businesses achieving significant growth and contributing to building a more resilient Australian economy

• Bluerydge
• GoBoat Australia
• National Nursing Agency
• Proximity
• Region

Promoting Sustainability – For businesses reducing their environmental impact by driving sustainable change within their industry for a cleaner and healthier planet

• Electromotiv
• The Mullion Group

For more information visit Telstra Best of Business Awards.