Judging Process

At the conclusion of the entry period The Epic Team, as managers of the Australian Event Awards, will compile the entries and prepare for on-line judging. If fewer than three entries are received in a category, that category will not be awarded. If fewer than five entries are received in a category, the Co-Chairs of Judges will decide if the entries sufficiently address the criteria for a potential winner to be named. The Co-Chairs will either advise that the judging process continue for the category, or that the category not be awarded.

Judging of the Australian Event Awards then takes place in two distinct and separate phases:

First Round Judging

All entries will be assigned to members of the Industry Judging Panel. Each entry will be assessed by a minimum of two judges.

Judges check the entries assigned to them and alert the Co-Chairs of Judges of any real or perceived conflicts of interest
Judges assess all entries assigned to them, scoring each entry against the criteria and providing comments to assist entrants with future entries.
As a judge assesses further entries, they may wish to amend scores from previously-judged entries for consistency. This can be done at any time up until the close of the judging period.
At the end of the judging period all scores will be scaled using a standard algorithm to ensure consistency across judges. The three highest-scored entries in any category will be deemed finalists in that category.
Each judge is notified of the finalists in their category. At that time, each judge is entitled to nominate one wild card to also become a finalist. Wild cards should only be nominated if the judge feels that an exceptional entry has been overlooked as a finalist.

Final Judging

Prior to Judging Day:

The Head Judge from each category receives any wild cards that have been nominated for that category. Should there be two or more wild cards in a category, the Head Judge must choose one that will become a finalist. The Head Judge may, if they wish, contact the other judges of that category for information or clarification. Only one wild card may become a finalist in a category.
All finalist’s entries and judges’ comments are made available to all Head Judges via the secure web Portal for review prior to the Final Judging Day. Judges are only required to review the finalists pertaining to their sub-panel (see below) but may review any or all other finalists if they wish.

Final Judging Day

All Head Judges, plus the Co-Chairs of Judges attend the Final Judging Day at which all finalists are assessed in the following manner:

The following process will be used to choose all winners other than the Headline Awards:

Head Judges are divided into sub-panels, each with approximately four Head Judges.
Each Head Judge leads a discussion of the finalists in their category. Entrants have the opportunity to submit supplementary material that would be reviewed at this stage. Entrants are instructed to limit supplementary material to what could be reasonably reviewed by a panel within 5 minutes.
Head Judges do have the opportunity to contact a nominated contact person, or a referee in some categories (eg Young Achiever of the Year) and may do so if they feel further information or clarification is required.
The sub-panel then decides on a recommendation that will be brought to the full panel later in the day. It is desirable that consensus be reached on the outcome of each category.
The full panel then convenes to hear the recommendations of each sub-panel
A short discussion may take place at the discretion of the Co-Chairs of Judges, covering any questions or concerns that any Head Judge may have regarding the finalists
Voting takes place by secret ballot. Votes are sealed in an envelope to be counted at a later date, the results will not be made known to the members of the Industry Judging Panel. Should there be a tie, the entry with the highest First Round score will be declared the winner.

The Young Achiever of the Year and the Event Manager of the Year will be decided using the following process:

The Head Judge gives a short summary of finalists in that category
A short discussion may take place at the discretion of the Co-Chairs of Judges, covering any questions or concerns that any Head Judge may have regarding the entries
Voting takes place by secret ballot. Entries are sealed in an envelope to be counted at a later date, the results will not be made known to the members of the Industry Judging Panel. Should there be a tie, the entry with the highest first round score will be declared the winner.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be decided using the following process:

All Head Judges will have had the opportunity to review entries via the web Portal prior to the judging day.
A short discussion may take place at the discretion of the Co-Chairs of Judges, covering any questions or concerns that any Head Judge may have regarding the entries
Head Judges vote for up to three entries, numbering them from 1 to 3 in order of preference.
Ballots are given to an independent adjudicator approved by the Co-Chairs of Judges. The winner is declared by preferential voting.
Should the winner not wish to accept the Award (ie they did not have prior knowledge of the nomination and do know wish to be recognised in this way) then the winner will be the entry with the next highest number of preferences.

The Australian Event of the Year is chosen from the winners of each ‘Best Event’ category. Voting for this category is as follows:

Head Judges are presented with a ballot paper listing all finalists in all ‘Best Event’ categories
Head Judges vote for five entries, numbering them from 1 to 5 in order of preference
Ballots are given to an independent adjudicator approved by the Co-Chairs of Judges. The winner is declared by preferential voting.
Should the winner not be eligible (ie they did not win the category for which they were a finalist) then the winner will be the entry with the next highest number of preferences.

Conflicts of Interest

It is the responsibility of each judge to bring any real or perceived conflicts of interest to the attention of the Co-Chairs of Judges. The Co-Chairs will then decide whether a conflict of interest exists, at which time the following processes will be followed:

First Round Judging - The judge will remove themselves from judging any entries in that category
Final Judging - The judge will leave the room before the Panel begins discussing the affected category. The judge cannot participate in discussions concerning that category either during the meeting, during breaks or at any other time. Should that judge be a referee for an entry, they may be called by phone in the same manner as any other referee. The judge cannot provide a statement from within the judging room.

Unforseen Circumstances

Should a ruling be required on a matter not covered in this document, the Co-Chairs of Judges will make a unanimous ruling on that matter. The Co-Chairs of Judges may take advice from judges or others as they see fit.