Community Partnership Resources Sector Awards

5 May 2025
Nominations open.

13 June 2025
Nominations close at 5pm. In the interest of fairness, no nominations will be accepted after 5pm (WST).

June 2025
Applications assessed for eligibility against criteria and applicants notified of results

July 2025
Eligible entrants invited to present their partnership to the Assessment Panel. Assessment panel will select the award recipients.

October 2025
Awards Ceremony

In 2025, the Community Partnership Resource Sector Awards will have two categories.

One award for producers and another award for explorers/prospectors will be presented at the awards ceremony in recognition of the contributions of both large and small scale operations to the local communities that they operate within.

To be eligible for a Community Partnership Resources Sector Award, entries must relate to a partnership between a resource industry operation and a community group or groups that provides positive outcomes for the Western Australian community.

Submissions can be made individually by either of the parties, or as a joint entry by both parties. Individual entries must clearly demonstrate collaboration between the parties. The winners of an award will receive two trophies, one for the community partner and one for the resources sector partner.

The award entry must relate to:

• A partnership between a Western Australian resource industry operation and a Western Australian community group.
• The Community Partnership assessment criteria as set out below.

The following definitions apply:

Resource industry operation - producers and explorers/prospectors

The resource industry operation (including basic raw material, mineral, petroleum or geothermal exploration, extraction, mining or production) must operate and have facilities or logistics based in Western Australia. Any company or individual operating within Western Australia’s resources sector may be eligible to apply, including industries that support the resource industry such as drilling companies and suppliers to the resources sector.

Community group

A community group is an association of individuals from a community, formed to advance a particular cause or interest. The community group must be based in Western Australia and have a connection with a resource industry operation (as defined below).

The definition includes a formal or informal community group or organisation. Examples of a community group may include, but are not limited to, not-for-profit organisations, Aboriginal Corporations and Foundations, sporting groups, voluntary groups (for example, fire brigade or search and rescue), school parents groups and citizens associations. When clearly demonstrating that they are acting in a supporting role with a relevant community group or groups, local government agencies and service providers to communities may also be included together with the community.

Community Partnership Awards

The parties mentioned above must be able to demonstrate that they are engaged in a collaborative partnership or alliance to provide sustainable and enduring benefits to the Western Australian community in which they are located. Entries can be for a collaboration which is a local activity or company-wide initiative but must be able to demonstrate positive outcomes for the community.

Those partnerships that are shortlisted will have an opportunity to present further information to the Assessment Panel later in the awards process.

Award entries must meet the eligibility criteria and clearly demonstrate how they meet the assessment criteria.

Applications for a Community Partnership Award are assessed against each of the four essential criteria. A fifth criteria can be addressed to support the other assessment criteria but is not a requirement.

1. Aligned partnership vision

The partnership should have a clearly defined vision or mission, with a set of goals for each partner that establish a clear direction and sense of purpose. The aligned vision for the partnership should reflect a genuine community need with an achievable plan for delivery of the goals set.

The application should detail:

• the vision of the partnership;
• what the goals are for the partnership; and
• how they align with the requirements of the resource company and the community.

2. Roles, responsibility and accountability in achieving results

Each partner should have clear roles and responsibilities within the partnership that drive the partnership to achieve results. These responsibilities and engagement between partners are managed appropriately, evident by effective communication strategies and accountability reporting.

The application should detail:

• what role each partner undertakes and how they work to accomplish their aligned vision and outcomes;
• how the partnership tracks and reports on fulfillment of these goals; and
• how accountability for responsibilities are managed and tracked.

3. Community impact

The Partnership should enhance the quality of life within the community by providing solutions to a genuine community need. Examples include (but are not limited to) changing behaviours, educating others, or committing to social outcomes to positively contribute to community development.

The application should detail how the partnership:

• engages with the community;
• has assisted in developing a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive community;
• improves the quality of life of those within the community/region; and
• has already achieved measurable outcomes.

4. Capacity building and sustainability

Community capacity building supports the community to develop their leadership, organisational development, relationships and governance to be independent, empowered and able to self-manage the vision put forward by the partnership.

The application should detail how the partnership:

• builds capacity in the community;
• has been evaluated and improved over time; and
• has the ability for the community to continue partnership operations if the partnership was to dissolve.

5. Going beyond (optional)

The Community Partnership Award publicly recognises outstanding achievements and leadership in building beneficial community-resource industry partnerships that provide positive outcomes and promote strong guiding behaviour within the resources sector.

Please include any detail in which you think your partnership goes above and beyond.

Each entrant can submit up to 10 pages to succinctly describe their partnership and how it meets the criteria. The page limit includes all pictures, diagrams, plans, graphs and tables. Videos can be included separately.

Submissions should include (but are not limited to):

• an introductory background to the resource industry operation and the company, to provide context for the Assessment Panel who are not all from the resources industry;
• what the partnership is addressing,
• its location, the size, the number of people involved;
• information that addresses each of the stated criteria; and
• supporting evidence and information such as photos, graphs, tables or testimonials that demonstrate the main initiatives and results of the partnership.

It is recommended that applications are separated into sections for each criteria.

Submitting an application

Applications must be submitted by email in PDF format to the Community Partnership Resource Sector Awards Coordinator at communitypartnerships@demirs.wa.gov.au. Remember to include contact details with your application. Should a submission be too large to email, the Coordinator can provide a link to the departments’ file transfer system upon request.

Upon submission, confirmation of receipt will be provided within one business day. Should a confirmation email not be received, or you experience any problems with the submission process, please contact the Coordinator via email.

As the department cannot accept late submissions, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications in advance of the final day of nominations being open.

Short-listed applicants will have the opportunity to provide more information to the assessment panel at the presentation day.

Each application is reviewed to ensure that it is eligible to be considered for an award subject to the above requirements and criteria. The department will notify entrants of their eligibility by the end of June.

Eligible entrants will be invited to provide a presentation to the Assessment Panel on the partnership. This is expected to occur during July 2025.

The panel will take into consideration the type of operation as part of the assessment process to ensure the nomination has been made for the correct category.

Following the presentation day, the Assessment Panel will confer to select the award recipients.

The Assessment Panel is chaired by the department’s Deputy Director General, Resource and Environmental Regulation and has representatives from other agencies and organisations.

At this stage, applicants will be required to submit:

• company logo (a colour version and a black and white version, both provided as PNG files at a minimum size of 2MB);
• four high resolution photographs of the project for publications; and
• A 200 word summary for use in DEMIRS publications and website.

1. The following Terms and Conditions of entry apply to all submissions for the 2025 Community Partnership Resource Sector Awards for Excellence.
2. DEMIRS must receive submissions by email to the nominated address in accordance with the criteria by 5pm on 13 June 2025, to be eligible to participate in the 2025 Awards for Excellence. Late applications will not be accepted.
3. It is the responsibility of an applicant to ensure that all information relevant to the submission is:
   1. Provided in full and meets the page limit requirement; and
   2. Correct – any information provided which, in the view of the judging panel, is misleading or deceptive in any way will result in disqualification.
4. The judging panel has complete discretion and its decision is final and binding in:
   1. Assessing a submission’s compliance with the terms and conditions of entry;
   2. Assessing that submission against the assessment criteria;
   3. Determining the winner or making no award if the eligible submissions are not within the required standard; and
   4. Any other matters relating to the Resources Sector Awards for Excellence.
5. The assessment, conduct and results of the Resources Sector Awards for Excellence will not create any legal obligations between applicants and DEMIRS.
6. DEMIRS will not be responsible or liable for:
   1. Any loss or damage to submissions; or
   2. Any loss, injury or negative publicity to an applicant as a direct or indirect result of the Resources Sector Awards for Excellence.
7. DEMIRS reserves the right to verify information contained in a submission, including requiring an applicant to answer questions or provide additional information relating to the submission at any time during the judging process.
8. All submissions will be treated as confidential except for purposes associated with the Resources Sector Awards for Excellence and the matters set out below.
9. By entering the Resources Sector Awards for Excellence you agree for your organisation to be part of any media publicity and for information provided in a submission to be used for promotional activities of DEMIRS, if required

Recipients of the Community Partnership Resources Sector Awards will be interviewed on stage at the Awards Ceremony in October, so please ensure the person nominated to collect the award is familiar with the Partnership and has the ability to answer questions from the compare.

Assessment is merit based so there is no competition between entries. There may be more than one award presented as it is not possible to compare two completely different partnerships, which both demonstrate outstanding achievements and leadership in building constructive community-resource industry partnerships.