Awards tips and advice

The basics

To ensure fairness to all entrants, the Department of Health cannot provide advice on entries.
Once you have submitted an entry, you can delete, change or update the entry at any time prior to the entry close deadline.
You can make edits by logging into the online awards portal and selecting the relevant entry up until the close date.
Answer all the award category’s specific assessment criteria. Be aware that criteria questions may change from one category to the other so it’s important to read, understand and respond to the criteria specific to the award category you are entering.
Pay attention to criteria weighting. Criteria questions that are weighted more heavily (with a higher number) are worth more than others. Details of weighting can be found in the award category criteria.
Have someone proof-read your work and do a spell check before submitting.
Use plain English that is free of acronyms and complex jargon. If you need to use an acronym in your submission, spell it out in full the first time you use it (eg: Victorian Public Healthcare Awards) and then use the acronym in each instance afterwards (eg: VPHA). It's best to assume the judges are not from a health background and may not be familiar with the acronyms you commonly use.
Ensure you keep to the word limit.

Don’t submit too early – if it will take another year to really be able to demonstrate the impact of your project or initiative, wait another year to submit for your best chance of being acknowledged at the VPHAs.
The strongest entries have sufficient evidence, data or narrative story-telling to support the achievements claimed in their submission.
If your work relates to a national standard, you need to demonstrate how you have gone above and beyond the requirements under the standard.
More than core business? Convince the judges that what you have achieved is more than core business or what could normally be expected from the funding or resources invested in the program. Explain why your results are significant in terms of the overall investment.
Is your catchment really ‘the most disadvantaged’? Many organisations make this claim. If you claim disadvantage, you should demonstrate your commitment to tackling and addressing this issue.
Have you claimed consumer involvement and participation? The judges want evidence that you had meaningful engagement with consumers throughout your initiative, which has resulted in better care, better outcomes and better patient experiences.
Be mindful of partnerships and acknowledge collaboration.
Use the appendices wisely - a photo of your happy smiling team/ patient/client is nice but it doesn’t score you any extra points.

Impact is important. Top-ranked entries outline the number of people impacted by the initiative and why the approach was an effective and efficient way of achieving these results. The judges are not looking for the largest budgets or initiatives, but rather a demonstration of achieving the best value through outcomes and supporting quantitative data.
Tell a convincing story and demonstrate how your story was achieved. Judges are looking for passionate stories about innovation, quality and excellence that benefit the community. Sell your project – innovation, sustainability and the replicability of your initiative are key points judges look at when scoring.
Entries are more interesting to read when written in an active voice. Writing in the active voice means constructing sentences where the subject ‘acts’. For example: “Every Wednesday Ben arrived at the hospital to volunteer” or “Ben always put his hand up to help out when needed”.
Judges want to be inspired by what they read.
Judges spend up to 30 minutes on each entry – this may not seem like a lot of time, but it means that across the five judges your entry is read for 2.5 hours in total. You have 30 minutes to make an impact with each judge so remember to be clear and concise with the important message you are communicating in your entry.

Reviewed 08 April 2024