ARA 2024 Awards



Your annual report should provide a clear,
big picture view of where your organisation
is, and where it plans to go.
 

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Guidelines for Selecting Industries

In the General Award, reports are judged in industries using relevant industry or activity criteria, and against their reporting basis. Using the guidelines below, entrants are asked to self-select the industry in which their report will be assessed.

Many entrants will see their report fitting into only one industry but some may see their report possibly fitting more than one industry. Such entrants should select the industry that best fits their main purpose or activity.

For example, a diversified manufacturing, retail and mining group might select say Manufacturing, or Resources and Mining or Retail; and a retirement accommodation service might select say Community and Welfare or Health and Health & Medical Research or Property and Construction depending on the focus of the organisation.

Industry Guidelines
Communications and IT Organisations largely dealing with the processing or supply of electronic or print services, computer services, telephone and data services
Community and Welfare Not-for-profit organisations with a community benefit focus - associations for a cause or particular group, traditional welfare and community enhancement charities and charitable funds, health promotion charities or charitable institutions that are more advocates and educators than deliveries of health services.
Education and Research Education: government, not-for-profit and for-profit services for any level of schooling, academic or vocational education or training.
Research: any organisation predominantly involved in research that is not health based.
Financial Services Organisations largely dealing with or assisting with money - APRA regulated bodies such as banks and other deposit taking and lending organisations, general insurance, life insurance and friendly societies, superannuation providers and non-registered bodies broadly covered by APRA; investing services like brokers.
Health and Health & Medical Research Health: organisations that deliver patient-centred health services and products or are involved in the logistics of service delivery, be they government, not-for-profit or for-profit services - hospitals, specialist clinics and services, service provider professional associations and the like.
Health & Medical Research: organisations predominantly established to conduct or facilitate health and medical research.
Infrastructure, Logistics and Transport Organisations providing basic services of modern communities:
Water: organisations involved in the physical or commercial supply of water to and/or from end-users.
Energy: organisations involved in the production or supply of electrical power and/or gas from any source to end-users.
Accommodation: organisations operating accommodation services for persons be they long-term residents or short-term stayers other than for leisure - such as hostels, hotels and renting agencies.
Transport: services to facilitate or conduct the mass movement of commuters or the transfer of goods or items - such as providers of rail or road facilities and/or services including airports, bulk handling services, ports, trucking and shipping services, courier and postal services and such.
Manufacturing Organisations that under their own control manufacture or assemble or arrange the manufacture of physical objects like vehicles or soft drinks or discrete service units like software packages.
Primary Industry Organisations involved in the production and supply of plant and animal products essentially in an unchanged form - fibres, fish, fruit, grains, horticultural products, meats, nuts, vegetables etc.
Professional Services and Trade Associations Not-for-profit and government sector organisations that largely provide specialist professional services - law firms, judicial services, accounting services, professional associations, or agencies established to facilitate or regulate various activities either under legislation or self regulation, auditing services and the like.
Property and Construction Property: organisations involved in owning, developing and/or managing property for use by others or in the sale of property - such as property trusts, building owners, property developers, real estate agents and the like.
Construction: organisations involved in building and civil construction including designing, project managing and constructing projects from dwellings to major public works - architectural firms, engineering firms, surveying services, construction companies and services and the like.
Public Administration Broadly government sector organisations responsible for a region, or a particular service or function within a region, characterised by having a governing body elected or appointed through a political process - be it National, State/Territory or Local government process. Generally departments or entities would be providing services as a public service rather than as a government-owned commercial enterprise.
Recreation and Entertainment Media: organisations predominantly producing media output or operating media services be they government-owned, community or not-for-profit services - such as traditional print, radio and TV and emerging web-based and wireless services and the like; production houses and agencies that produce output by the media.
Arts: organsations producing, facilitating or delivering artisic output, generally visual or aural be it tangible or ephemeral - music, works of art, concert halls, galleries and such.
Sport: organisations pursuing sporting activity predominantly for competition be it for attracting many or few spectators - major sproting codes, football, tennis, cricket, netball, racing etc.
Travel: organisations involved in the actual physical movement of persons - air, rail, sea, bus and other such services predominantly for leisure.
Tourism: organisations involved in organising and promoting tourism services be they government, industry or for-profit promotion agencies, tourist operators, venues and the like.
Entertainment: organisations producing, facilitating or delivering leisure output not generally classified as art - clubs, casinos, drama organisations and such.
Accommodation: organisations operating accommodation services for persons predominantly as short-term stayers for leisure - such as hotels and resorts.
Resources and Mining Minerals: organisations extracting resources like bauxite, coal and iron ore.
Petroleum: organisations extracting and processing oil and gas.
Exploration: organisations involved in the search for minerals and petroleum either to develop themselves or for others to develop.
Retail Retailers are organisations that predominantly sell objects or services, usually produced by manufacturers, to end-users via traditional shopping or online distribution.
 

Guidelines for Your Reporting Basis

All organisations will be reporting against some statutory or constitutional obligation, the requirements for which vary.

Many organisations will be required to report against more than 1 key obligation.

Key Obligations Guidelines
ACNC Act The Act sets out the objectives and functions of the ACNC and includes the ongoing obligations that charities must comply with.
APRA requirements The reporting requirements of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority apply only to specific organisations involved in the financial services sector and registered with APRA.
Corporations Act Those organisations, be they commercial, not-for-profit or government owned, that are required to report in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
Department of Education, Training & Higher Education standards This applies to any organisations that report under these standards.
Local government reporting Acts The local government reporting acts vary between States/Territories but broadly cover similar areas.
National Health & Hospital Network National Standards & Performance reporting This applies to any organisations that report under these standards.
Other incorporation Acts The reporting acts vary between States/Territories and the Commonwealth but broadly cover similar areas.
Specific State & Commonwealth government reporting requirements for entities, agencies, services, corporations etc The reporting acts vary between States/Territories and the Commonwealth but broadly cover similar areas.
State/Territory fundraising & gaming Acts These largely cover charities or community organisations with authorities to fundraise to the public in specific States/Territories either through charitable appeals or lotteries or other gaming processes.
Stock exchange listing rules The organisations subject to the listing rules that apply to ASX, Chi-X and any other stock exchange operating in Australia