Heart of the community

* There must be a minimum of three entrants in a category for all entrants to progress to the judging phase.

* Winner is eligible to enter the AHA National Awards (Outstanding Community Service and Achievement)

A written submission (maximum 1,000 words) must be provided by Wednesday, 10 December 2025.

This category is open to all venues (except group hotels entering as one group) working to support their community through facilitation, active participation and promotion of internal initiatives, community groups, charitable organisations and more.

Documents required for submission:

• A written response describing the judging criteria below.
• Supporting documents and images, where relevant.

Judges will be assessing the following points in your written submission:

• Provide a short summary of all your charitable initiatives and support. (Can be in dot point format)
• Describe the ways in which you support and promote community groups and activities.
• The extent to which the venue’s employees participate in community service activities.
• Describe any internal initiatives and events that support and promotes local groups and charity initiatives.
• How you communicate your efforts to the wider community and industry? Provide evidence (screenshots, articles, social media posts) to support this.

Supporting documents

• Succinct breakdown of funds raised, with evidence of donation. (Can be via donation receipt, thank you letters, images of recipients receiving novelty cheque etc)
• Evidence of public relations activity because of your work in the community.