Terms & Conditions

2024 EQUITANA BUSINESS AWARDS

1. TERMS OF REFERENCE

In these Terms and Conditions, the following definitions shall apply:
Organiser means Equine Productions Pty Ltd ABN 17 138 346 611.
Event Manager means the Business Awards Event Manager, Show Pony Creative Pty Ltd ABN: 92 624 453 916
Confirmed Exhibitor means the exhibitor has booked an exhibition site at EQUITANA Melbourne 2024 and has received confirmation from Equine Productions on their site booking and has paid their deposit for their site.
Awards means the 2024 EQUITANA Business Awards.
Awards Entry means the Exhibitor Entry into the EQUITANA Business Awards.

2. INNOVATION AWARDS ENTRY

The Awards are free to enter by confirmed exhibitors, displaying at EQUITANA Melbourne 2024 or open to any company sharing a site at EQUITANA Melbourne 2024.
A product may only be entered once as an Award Entry, even if distributed by multiple companies.
If the exhibitor is representing a manufacturer, the exhibitor MUST have permission from the manufacturer to enter the awards on their behalf.
The product must not have been on the Australian market prior to 1^st November 2022.
The product must be fully developed (no prototypes) and already on the Australian Market or ready to be launched and sold at EQUITANA Melbourne 2024.
The product must be different in shape, appearance, material properties, handling and / or technology or ingredients from products already on the market.
The product must not violate any existing intellectual property and comply with Australian legal and retail regulations.
Multiple products, up to a maximum of 5, can be entered by one exhibitor however they must be significantly different and not variations of the one product (i.e different flavours or colours).
The Event Manager reserves the right to refuse entries that do not meet the criteria.

3. INNOVATION AWARDS JUDGING PROCESS

Awards entries are first judged on a written / photographic submission from which the top 3 finalists are selected in each category by the independent panel of 3 Judges.
Entries Open 9am 2^nd September 2024
Entries Close 12pm Monday 14th October 2024
Finalists are announced 1st November 2024
Three Finalists from each category will be invited to present to the Awards independent panel of three Judges during two sessions at EQUITANA Melbourne, located in the foyer ARIAT Pavilion, Building 3 on Thursday 14^th November 2024.
These presentation sessions will be filmed, and the public can watch.
The Award Entry winner and runner up of each category will be notified on Friday 15^th November 2024 and will be invited to accept their awards at the Awards Presentation during the VIP Night Function held Saturday 16^th November located in the Exhibitor Lounge, Building 5.
Award Entries must have paid their Exhibitor Site Fees in full prior to EQUITANA Melbourne 2024 to be eligible for final Awards.
The judge’s decision is final and cannot be contested.

3.1 INNOVATION AWARDS JUDGING CRITERIA

Overall concept and impression of the product
Sustainability
Differentiation from other existing products
Quality and functionality
Potential sales success and market acceptance

4. FINALIST PRESENTATION SESSIONS

The Award Entry Finalist presentations will be held during two sessions at EQUITANA Melbourne located in the foyer ARIAT Pavilion, Building 3 on Thursday 14^th November 2024.
Each Finalist is given strictly a maximum of 10 minutes to present their product to the panel of judges. A buzzer will sound at 10 minutes. The finalist must stop their presentation at the sound of the buzzer.
This is the finalists opportunity to sell their product and its differences to the Judges.
Finalists are welcome to be creative, props are welcome (must be portable and removable). No live animals are allowed.
At the end of a finalists allotted 10 minutes the judges have the opportunity to ask further questions on the product.
Finalist Presentation sessions are not private, are available to be viewed by the public, and will be filmed / photographed.

5. EQUITANA BUSINESS AWARDS DISPLAY

All Award Entry Finalists will be required to provide their product to be displayed at the EQUITANA Business Awards Trade Stand.
Products can be dropped off and removed from the stand each day or left at the stand for the duration of the event. The product must be on display from 9am Thursday 14^th November 2024 until exhibition close, 4.00pm
Sunday 17^th November 2024.
Neither the Organiser or Event Manager will be held responsible for any losses, damages to any of the products displayed.
The stand will be manned by the Event Manager each day during the exhibition opening hours.
This stand is located in Off The Track Pavilion, Building 1, Stand Number 554.

6. AUSTRALIAN MADE AWARD - NEW

The Awards Category is a new separate award judged on the written / photographic submission only with one winner.
A product may only be entered once, even if distributed by multiple companies.
This product must not have been on the Australian market prior to 1^st November 2022.The product must be fully developed (no prototypes) and already on the Australian Market or ready to be launched and sold at EQUITANA Melbourne 2024.
In order to be eligible for this award:
- The product must be manufactured in Australia from a minimum of 50% Australian Components or Ingredients.
- The Company / Business must be 100% Australian Owned.
The Event Manager reserves the right to refuse entries that do not meet the criteria.
Award Entries must have paid their Exhibitor Site Fees in full prior to EQUITANA Melbourne 2024 to be eligible for final Awards.

6.1 JUDGING PROCESS

The highest scoring Awards Entry out of the written submissions will win the award.
In the event of a tie, the Judges will be asked to re-judge the tied entries until there is a single winner.
The winner will be notified during EQUITANA Melbourne and will be invited to accept their award at the Awards Presentation.

7. PEOPLE’S CHOICE EXHIBITION DISPLAY AWARD

All Confirmed Exhibitors at EQUITANA Melbourne 2024 are automatically entered into the Exhibition Display Award.
Voting Opens Thursday 14th November 2024 and ends 12pm Saturday 16^th November 2024.
Voting takes place at the EQUITANA Business Awards Stand located in Off The Track Pavilion, Building 1, Stand Number 554.
The winner will be notified 2pm Saturday 16^th November 2024 and will be invited to accept their awards at the Awards Presentation during the VIP Night Function held Saturday 16^th November located in the Exhibitor Lounge, Building 5.

8. PRIVACY / GENERAL TERMS

Entries are handled and processed by the Event Manager and the Organiser.
Awards Entries will be processed and provided to the Judges for review.
Award Entries will not be shared with any additional third parties.
By entering the Awards, you give the Event Manager and Organiser permission to use photos / information uploaded and provided during the Award Entry process and at the presentations for future promotion of the Awards.
You guarantee that you have unlimited rights to use the product, product information, photos and other data as part of your entry.
You give the Organiser and the Event Manager, and the Awards partners permission to contact you about future Awards / promotions.
All judging decisions are final. No entry is permitted to lobby or question the judges about final decisions, the judging process or awards decided on or presented. No correspondence or discussion will be entered into with entrants.

9. PRIZES

Prizes are not redeemable for cash or transferable.
Show Pony Creative: Voucher must be used within 1 year. Vouchers can be used on consulting, website design and development, graphic design, or digital marketing and exclude paid advertising spend or printing.

Equitana Melbourne