MAVlab Innovation Awards

We see you shine! Celebrating innovative projects and people in Victorian local government.

Nominations for the MAVlab Innovation Awards are now open!

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The MAVlab Innovation Awards are back in 2026! Following an incredible premier year in 2025, we’re building on this momentum and have evolved this program with your input to be more accessible, far-reaching, and impactful than before.

In 2025 this new sector program earned incredible engagement across the local government sector. Almost half of all VIC councils nominated across 16 unique and pertinent categories, leading to the launch of a first-of-its-kind sector resource, the MAVlab Innovation Case Study Library with 49 case studies detailing brave and impactful work happening all over Victoria by our councils.

2026 is your opportunity to have your incredible work join this resource!

Explore the details below and join us in discovering some of the most inspiring council-led work happening across the state through the MAVlab Innovation Awards.

About the Awards
How to participate
What's new for 2026
Key dates
Eligibility
Events + support
Awards pack
FAQs

Looking for inspiration as you craft your nomination?

Join our We See You Shine Mixtape! event series, running 12–1pm on Tuesdays 9, 16 and 23 June.

About the Awards

Innovation in local government takes courage. It takes vision. And it takes persistence.

The MAVlab Innovation Awards are here to recognise those who rise to the challenge, spotlighting the bold ideas, imaginative minds, and everyday breakthroughs shaping the future of local government in Victoria.

Through sweeping transformation or quiet reinvention, councils across Victoria are responding to complex challenges like climate change, economic pressure and community wellbeing with creativity and care. We’re seeing innovation in action: smarter systems, more inclusive services, transformed public spaces, and forward-thinking policy.

Following assessment by an expert judging panel comprising MAV Advisory Panel members, Victorian local council specialists, and sector experts, three submissions will be short-listed in each category, with winners announced during an exciting Award Celebration event in September.

Learn more about Prizes and Recognition

Each year, finalists will contribute their stories to our growing sector resource – the MAVlab Innovation Case Study Library. Through sharing leading case studies, via photos, videos and project data, we will support councils to mobilise projects that take learnings and inspiration from these sector leaders, scaling innovation to build capability and resilience in our councils.

All council staff, from executives to council officers, are encouraged to participate in the MAVlab Innovation Awards, to share the value of their work. Whether you’re rethinking how services are delivered, designing for climate resilience, or finding new ways to engage your community — we want to celebrate your contribution.

Explore the MAVlab Innovation Case Study Library, featuring 2025 MAVlab Innovation Awards Finalists.

How to participate:

The MAVlab Innovation Awards are free to enter for all councils. To participate, councils should:

Review award details, including Eligibility, Terms and Conditions, 2026 Awards Categories, Criteria and Judging and the Entry Form.
You may prefer to download the Awards Pack (PDF - 254KB).

You have the option to participate in our online events. View the recording from the information session we hosted on 6 May.

Draft your submission using the new 2026 award portal on Award Force. You will first need to register, however this enables you to save your entry as you go. We've also created a Working document (Word - 87.9KB) to help you draft your entry in collaboration with your colleagues as required.
Submit entries from Thursday 23 April to 5.59pm to Wednesday 24 June, complying with all terms and conditions. There are no limitations on how many categories or projects you may enter.
Everyone who has submitted a nomination will be notified of the outcome in August 2026. All are welcome to attend the MAVlab Innovation Award Celebration on Thursday 17 September.
Read about the finalists and winners online from September 2026.

What's new for 2026

We launched the MAVlab Innovation Awards in 2025, to enthusiastic sector acclaim. An innovation awards program wouldn’t be what it is without innovating within! We’ve got some exciting new updates for year 2, to bolster support for our councils and impact for our communities.

What you’ll notice in 2026:

Thirteen refined awards – we reviewed the sixteen 2025 categories and have refined the lineup to 13 critical areas of focus. Explore our 2026 Categories.
Updated criteria to celebrate the impacts of innovative work on longer-term council resilience through systems change and capability building. Explore the 2026 Criteria.
Opened up submissions for leadership awards – Innovatio Pro Bono Publico – so that anyone in the sector can nominate a local government leader.
Additional support for Victorian regional and rural councils including a dedicated information session and mentoring sessions with the MAVlab team.
Extended nominations period - from seven weeks in 2025 to nine weeks in 2026.
Refreshed program for our Award Celebration in September, in an exciting new location.
New trophies with a local creative studio. More soon!

As in 2025, we’ll gather together to celebrate finalists and winners in an Awards Celebration. This year we’ll convene on the evening of 17 September 2026, with more information to come soon.

Learn about the 2025 Award Celebration

Key dates:

Nominations open – Thursday 23 April
Information session for councils – Wednesday 6 May, 12:30pm to 1:30pm, Teams (online)
Rural and Regional Councils Mentoring Sessions – Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 May (various times)
Rural and Regional Councils Workshop – Thursday 28 May, 12:30pm to 1:30pm (online)
Nominations close – 5.59pm, Wednesday 24 June (9 weeks)
Assessment – Monday 29 June to Friday 24 July
All entries notified of the outcome of their nomination (either finalist or unsuccessful) – By Monday 3 August, 2026.
Award Celebration – Thursday 17 September, 2026
2026 case studies live on the MAVlab Innovation Awards Case Study Library – 17 September, 2026.

Eligibility:

Submissions in the project categories (i.e. all except the Innovatio Pro Bono Publico awards) can only be made by an individual who is a fulltime, part-time or casual council staff member in a Victorian local council.

For the 2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico awards, nominations can be made by anyone in the Victorian local government sector. This includes Victorian State Government, local government, as well as industry and sector organisations.

Submissions must be about Victorian council staff or council-led projects or programs. Sector organisations and community groups can be considered as project collaborators and cannot make submissions.

Eligible projects, programs or initiatives include those that have been delivered or implemented during 2025 or 2026. Projects delivered in 2024 and earlier are not eligible.

Eligible staff for the 2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico award must be current Victorian council employees, employed by the council mentioned in the nomination. People may submit nominations for themselves or for others.

If there are multiple nominations for one person, submissions will be combined by the MAV. All council staff are encouraged to enter, from council officers to team leaders, management, senior leadership and executive.

Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for detailed guidance before you complete your submission.

Events + support

Information Session: Wednesday 6 May, 12.30pm to 1.30pm

Watch the recording from this information session hosted on Wednesday 6 May, to learn about the 2026 MAVlab Innovation Awards.

You’ll get insights about the 13 award categories, assessment criteria and submission process, and an update on what else is new for 2026.

Rural and Regional Councils Workshop: Thursday 28 May, 12.30pm to 1.30pm

This was a dedicated session for staff from rural and regional Victorian councils, combining an information session with a facilitated workshop to discuss nominations for the 2026 MAVlab Innovation Awards.

The session was designed to share relevant information, along with practical tips and suggestions to support your submissions. It also provided a forum for sharing questions, concerns and ideas with peers. As a result, this session was not recorded.

The event is in the past. If you would like to connect to access the slides or set up a time with the MAVlab team to discuss, please email mavlab@mav.asn.au

Rural and Regional Councils Mentoring: Monday 25 May, Wednesday 27 May, or Monday 1 June, 1pm to 5pm (15 minutes per session)

► Details

This optional 15‑minute session offers regional and rural councils a short, supportive 1:1 touchpoint with our team. It is designed to help you put forward your strongest story for the 2026 MAVlab Innovation Awards and ensure key aspects of your work are clearly communicated.

Bring your questions or concerns to discuss. After registering, you will receive a link to your Teams meeting.

Register now

Download the awards pack:

Awards Pack (PDF - 254KB)

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

It is free to enter?

Yes. There is no fee for council staff to nominate a council-led project or council staff in the 2026 MAVlab Innovation Awards.

Can I submit multiple times across different categories?

Yes, we encourage it. This year the Entry Form works slightly differently to 2025, with a separate submission required for each category you enter.

The Award Force platform makes this easy by allowing you to copy entries. To nominate one project across multiple categories, go to My entries, select the entry you wish to reuse, and choose Copy. When you refresh the page, the copied entry will appear. Open it, update the category you are nominating for, and adjust your responses as needed to suit that category.

What if my project is small?

We welcome all projects from the everyday innovations to the big bold transformations, no project is too small. We invite you to share details about the size and scope of your project in the Entry Form to help us assess each project and program fairly.

Do you need consent from a person to submit a nomination honouring them for their leadership in the people/team awards?

No. In 2026 we are not asking you seek permission to nominate a person or team, however we may iterate in future years. After assessment in July, we will inform you of the results or your nomination. If the person or team is not a finalist, you may choose if you'd like to share the nomination with them. If they are, we will be in touch with them and they may choose to opt out of the process or participate as a finalist.

Is there community voting?

No, short-listed entries will be determined by a rigorous judging process against specific award criteria. Learn more here: Criteria and Judging

Can I come to the awards night even if I don't apply for an award?

Yes, we'd love to see you there! We are opening a portion of tickets up to the sector and holding another portion to ensure short-listed participants can attend and celebrate their achievements. We will share a link to book tickets to the Awards Celebration on this page in August.

We will build on our FAQs over time according to your feedback and input. If you have a question, reach out to: mavlab@mav.asn.au.