MAVlab Innovation Awards
We see you shine! Celebrating innovative projects and people in Victorian local government.
The MAVlab Innovation Awards are here to spotlight the bold ideas, imaginative minds, and everyday breakthroughs shaping the future of local government in Victoria.
This new awards program celebrates the ingenuity, determination, and impact of local council teams and individuals who are driving real change through sweeping transformation or quiet reinvention.
Across Victoria, councils 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. The MAVlab Awards honour this work and the people bringing it to life.
Innovation in local government takes courage.
It takes vision. And it takes persistence. These awards are about recognising those who rise to the challenge. They are about celebrating the everyday innovations to the big bold transformations, where councils staff are finding opportunities at all scales to be creative, to deliver value to the communities who they passionately serve. 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.
📢 NOMINATIONS OPEN 13 JUNE 2025
Know a council project or person that's delivering outsized impact? Nominate them today!
Watch the recording of the information session we ran on Tuesday 24 June 2025.
Follow the MAVlab Innovation Awards to discover some of the most inspiring council-led work happening across the state.
Nominations close 5.59pm Thursday 31 July 2025.
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, 2025 Awards Categories, Criteria and Judging and the Entry Form . You may prefer to download the Awards Pack (PDF - 873KB).
- Attend the online information session on 24 June, or watch the recording, shared here from Wednesday 25 June 2025. During this we will also provide some practical tips for submitting a great application.
- Draft your submission. We've created a Working document (Word - 29.4KB) to help you.
- Submit entries from 13 June to 31 July, 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 September 2025.
- All are welcome to attend the MAVlab Innovation Awards Gala on Wednesday 8 October. See below for ticketing information.
- Read about the finalists and winners online from November 2025.
Preview Entry Form (PDF - 101KB)
Download Working Document for Drafting Award Entries (Word - 29.4KB)
Nominations close 5.59pm Thursday 31 July 2025.
Key dates
- Nominations open – 9am, Friday 13 June
- Information session for councils – Tuesday 24 June 12pm to 1pm, Teams (online). This will be recorded and shared afterwards.
- Nominations close – 5.59pm, Thursday 31 July (7 weeks)
- Assessment – Monday 4 August to Friday 29 August
- All entries notified of the outcome of their nomination (either finalist or unsuccessful) – Wednesday 3 September
- Innovations Awards night – Wednesday 8 October
- Sharing finalists and winners online – November.
Winner benefits
Three submissions will be short-listed in each category. Winners will be awarded a unique, artist commissioned trophy, and featured on the MAV website and in a variety of communications. The two other short-listed submissions will receive a MAVlab Innovation Awards “Sunshine Certificate” in acknowledgment of their excellence in innovation.
All short-listed submissions will be profiled on our website for sector-wide learning and inspiration.
Sharing your stories: Not just any awards program
As part of the MAVlab Innovation Awards, we are collecting and sharing great stories of innovation. Following the announcement of winners in October, we will profile the top three projects in each category in a campaign of rich storytelling.
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.
By submitting a nomination in the MAVlab Innovation Awards, councils agree to participate in this component should their project be shortlisted.
Eligibility
Submissions to the MAVlab Innovation Awards can be made by any individual who is a fulltime, parttime or casual council staff member in a Victorian local council.
Submissions must be about Victorian council staff or council-led projects or programs, relevant to the Project and People and Teams categories. Sector organisations and community groups can be considered as project collaborators and cannot make submissions.
Eligible projects include those that have been delivered or implemented in the last three years, during 2023, 2024 and 2025, or that are due for implementation later this year (before December 31 2025). If a project is not yet implemented and due for completion later in 2025, sufficient evidence must be provided in the Entry Form and MAV has the right to seek further proof if required.
Projects implemented in 2022 and earlier are not eligible.
The Now and Forever Award is excluded from this eligibility requirement. In this category we seek to highlight the value of high impact projects and programs that deliver long term benefits to community. In this category we seek to recognise projects that are at least five to 10 years old and continue to continue to deliver significant value into community.
Eligible people and teams must include people who are currently employed by the council referenced in the nomination. People may submit nominations for themselves or their teams, or for others. If there are multiple nominations for one team or person in the people and teams categories, 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.
Information Session
Watch the recording from the information session we hosted on Tuesday 24 June from 12pm to 1pm to learn about the inaugural Innovation Awards and the 16 categories for 2025.
During this session we step you through the submission process, run through the categories and more.
Awards Pack
You can download an Awards Pack which includes:
- Awards Categories
- Criteria and Judging
- Eligibility and Terms and Conditions
- Example Nomination Form.
Please note we will add FAQs to this page as they are submitted by participants.
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 2025 MAVlab Innovation Awards.
Can I submit multiple times across different categories?
Yes, in fact we encourage it. Our Entry Form invites you to select all relevant Project or People and Teams categories that are relevant to your submission.
Is it better to do one Entry Form per project for each category or two?
You can either choose to select multiple categories in one Entry Form, or enter two Entry Forms with different criteria responses for each category. You might do this in order to tailor your responses to the award category. We have designed the process so that you can choose either method in the hopes of making the process as easy as possible to participate.
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 2025 we are not asking you seek permission to nominate a person or team, however we may iterate in future years. After assessment in August, 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 soon.
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.
Partners
The MAVlab Innovation Awards are supported by the following partners, with more to be announced soon.
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If you would like to discuss supporting these awards, please reach out.
Connect
Subscribe to MAVlab newsletter for updates:
Get in touch via MAVlab@mav.asn.au.