A nationwide call for nominations will be conducted from February to March 2026 using The Educator’s online channels. Any individual or school operating in the Australian K-12 education industry is eligible to submit a nomination, either on their own behalf or for another individual or school. 

Nominations should focus on achievements and results from the previous 12 months. All information contained in the entries that is marked confidential will be treated as such and not be released without permission of the entrant.

All nominations must be submitted via the official Australian Education Awards online portal and must be submitted on or before the final date of entry (13 March 2026). The Australian Education Awards team reserves the right to refuse any nominations submitted after this date. 

Please note: The nomination process is completed in 1 step. Excellence awardees will not be required to provide further information at a later stage. All documents provided to the judging panel will be requested at the time of the nomination. Please allow extra time.

The Australian Education Awards team will review the submissions and draw on industry knowledge and information gained through sister publication The Educator  to indentify the outstanding schools and individuals in each category that will receive an “Excellence Award”.

Once the research has been completed, excellence awardees will be selected in each category (except Australian School of the Year and Australian School Principal of the Year) and notified via e-mail. Excellence awardees will also be announced on The Educator’s website on 11 May 2026. Excellence awardees for Australian School of the Year and Australian School Principal of the Year will comprise the winners of the other school and principal categories and will be announced at the event itself.