The ACT Public Education Awards celebrate excellence in our public schools and Education Support Office. They recognise high performing school leaders, teachers, school support staff, allied health professionals and volunteers.
Who you can nominate
Anyone can nominate an exceptional individual or group who is making a real difference to the lives of students, their school or the broader public education system.
You cannot nominate an immediate member of your family.
How to nominate
Before you start, check the Public Education Award guidelines [PDF 553 kB] for what to include in your nomination.
To nominate online:
- Choose the award category and follow the nomination link.
- Include a description of what the person or team has done.
- Include examples or evidence of their performance and impact.
- Submit your nomination before the closing date.
Award categories
There are 14 award categories.
Excellence in Cultural Integrity
This category is open to all employees as individuals or as a team.
We assess nominations based on how the nominee/s have performed or demonstrated their alignment to the 3 school-based domains of the Cultural Integrity Framework:
- Teaching with Cultural Integrity
- Engaging with students, families, and community
- Creating a school culture of respect
Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion
This category is open to all employees as individuals or as a team.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee/s have performed or demonstrated alignment to the principles of the Future of Education and Set Up for Success strategies:
- Equity
- Student Agency
- Access
- Inclusion
Early Childhood Teacher of the Year
This category is open to all early childhood teachers. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee/s have performed or demonstrated their alignment to the principles of the Set up for Success strategy:
- Equity
- Student Agency
- Access
- Inclusion
Primary Teacher of the YearÂ
This category is open to all primary teachers. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the foundations of the Future of Education strategy:
- Students at the Centre
- Empowered Learning Professionals
- Strong Communities for Learning
- Systems Supporting Learning
Secondary & College Teacher of the Year
This category is open to all secondary or college teachers. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the foundations of the Future of Education strategy:
- Students at the Centre
- Empowered Learning Professionals
- Strong Communities for Learning
- Systems Supporting Learning
School Leader of the Year
This category is open to all school leaders. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the foundations of the Future of Education strategy:
- Students at the Centre
- Empowered Learning Professionals
- Strong Communities for Learning
- Systems Supporting Learning
New Educator of the Year
This category is open to all new educators (within their first 3 years of professional practice). This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the foundations of the Future of Education strategy:
- Students at the Centre
- Empowered Learning Professionals
- Strong Communities for Learning
- Systems Supporting Learning
Learning Support Person of the Year
This category is open to Learning Support Assistants. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
School Support Person of the Year
This category is open to non-teaching support staff based in a school, such as business managers, building service officers, and administration staff. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Education Support Office Employee of the Year
This category is open to all Education Support Office employees. This is an individual award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Allied Health Professional of the Year
This category is open to all allied health professional employees. You can nominate an individual or team for this award.
This category includes psychologists, social workers, youth workers, speech language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and allied health assistants.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Volunteer of the Year
This category is open to all volunteers. You can nominate an individual or team for this award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Excellence in Innovation
This category is open to all employees. You can nominate an individual or team for this award.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Outstanding Partnership of the Year
This category is open to all partnerships. This is a joint category between a school and a person or group outside of a school.
We assess nominations for this category based on how the nominee has performed or demonstrated their alignment to the ACT Public Service Values:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Director-General’s Excellence Award
The Director-General of the Education Directorate picks one of the winners from the other 14 categories to receive the Director-General’s Excellence Award.
How we choose winners
We assess nominees against one of four sets of category criteria. You can read the criteria in the Public Education Award guidelines [PDF 553 kB].
We rate nominations based on:
- examples or evidence showing how the nominee meets the category criteria
- number and quality of examples provided
- evidence of the impact the individual or team has made to students, schools or the public education system.
Judging panel
The awards are judged by senior members of the Education Directorate. To provide a balanced assessment, the judging panel has members with a mix of subject matter expertise. Conflicts of interest are also submitted as part of panel deliberations.
Past winners
Find past winners of the ACT Public Education Awards.