The Awards for Excellence judging panel is comprised of members of the ATA NZ association with relevant product and industry experience in all of the award categories.

Whilst entrants are free to select the categories they would like to enter, the judging panel reserves the right to re-categorise entries where appropriate.

The judging of entries is anonymous and the identity of entrants is not disclosed to judges.

The judging panel may decide not to grant an award in any category if they deem entries are not of sufficient standard or worthy of an award for excellence. In this case, the entries will not be promoted during the Expo or at the Awards for Excellence dinner.

Project entries are judged based on the following criteria:

• Complexity (30%) – How intricate or complicated is the project? How does the complexity of the project impact the finished project? How unique is the project? Does the uniqueness of the project impact the overall quality?
• Design / Innovation (25%) – How aesthetically pleasing is the project? Does the design suit its components – fabric, frame, etc.? Is the design appropriate given its surroundings?
• Function (20%) – How well does the project serve the function for which it was designed?
• Appearance / Workmanship (20%) – Is the project free of obvious flaws in workmanship? What is the overall quality of the work?
• Uniqueness of Entry (5%) – Is there enough supporting evidence to show the quality, complexity and details of the project?

Judges are only able to judge each project  based on the information and images that are supplied by each entrant. This is why it is imperative that high resolution .jpg images are supplied for each project and a detailed project description is provided.

The judge’s decision is final and no further correspondence will be permitted.